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AdvertisementViral storiesPeople & Culture‘Don’t sell loneliness’: Korean restaurant refuses service to solo diners, sparks debateNoodle outlet advertises sarcastic ‘options’ for people who want to dine alone as country faces rising number of single households
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAlice Yanin ShanghaiPublished: 9:00am, 26 Nov 2025A restaurant in South Korea has caused controversy by refusing to serve solo diners as the country experiences an increase in the number of people staying single.
AdvertisementA sign outside the noodle restaurant in Yeosu City, South Jeolla Province in the south of South Korea, went viral on social media after an internet user who visited the eatery posted it online on November 17, according to a report by the Korea Times.
The notice said the restaurant provides four “options” for customers eating alone: pay for two servings, eat two servings, call a friend and come back with your wife next time.
This relatively quiet fast food restauran..

. US president Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order to start the process of declaring certain branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organisations. The order names chapters in Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan. According to the order, these branches “engage in or facilitate and support violence and destabilisation campaigns” that harm their regions, US citizens and US interests.“President Trump is confronting the Muslim Brotherhood’s transnational network, which fuels terrorism and destabilisation campaigns against US interests and allies in the Middle East,” the White House said.Trump Targets Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorist Organization The Muslim Brotherhood is a pan-Islamist movement founded in Egypt in 1928. Its founder, Hassan al-Banna, believed that returning to Islamic principles would help the Muslim world resist Western influence. A US “terrorist” designation allows Washington to freeze any assets the group may hold in the country and block members from en..

Letitia James and James Comey A federal judge on Monday (local time) dismissed the indictments against former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James. The decision came after the court ruled that president Donald Trump’s appointment of interim US attorney Lindsey Halligan in Virginia was invalid.Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, in her order, wrote that the attorney general’s attempt to install Halligan as the interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia “was invalid,” and that all actions taken under her “defective appointment”, including the indictments, were unlawful.Letitia James welcomed the decision, saying, “I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country,” she said. “I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.”Comey responded in an Instagram video, saying, “I’m grateful that the court ended the case against ..

AdvertisementThe PhilippinesAsiaSoutheast AsiaPhilippines’ Marcos on sister’s drug claims: ‘we’re worried about her’The president suggested that something was troubling Imee Marcos, saying ‘the lady that you see talking on TV is not my sister’
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAssociated PressPublished: 9:30am, 25 Nov 2025Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr refused to respond on Monday to an allegation by his estranged sister, a senator, that he has been a long-time drug addict whose cocaine dependence has undermined his governance, saying with a sombre tone that he did not want to discuss a family rift in public.AdvertisementCommunications Undersecretary Claire Castro has said that Senator Imee Marcos’ accusations against her own brother before a huge religious rally in Manila last week were “a web of lies”, and may have been a desperate attempt to distract from ongoing investigations into a corruption scandal that may implicate her opposition allies in the Senate.Aide..

AdvertisementWomen and genderOpinionWorld OpinionChristile DrulheOpinion | Together, we can move closer to eliminating violence against womenNo jurisdiction is spared from gender-based violence. Thus international cooperation is essential to build momentum and find solutions
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPChristile DrulhePublished: 9:30am, 25 Nov 2025On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, how can we unite and act together to defend gender equality and the rights of women and girls? This was the guiding question of the fourth ministerial conference on Feminist Foreign Policy, which France hosted late last month, convening governments from across the globe, representatives of international organisations, public development banks, as well as civil society, research bodies and philanthropic foundations.
AdvertisementOn this occasion, a coalition of 31 states pledged to support gender equality and build a firewall against the threats targeting w..

US secretary of state Marco Rubio (C) attends a discussion with a delegation from Kyiv to end the Russia-Ukraine war in Geneva on Sunday

BRUSSELS: Europeans have submitted a modified version of the US' peace plan for Ukraine that pushes back on proposed limits to Kyiv's armed forces and territorial concessions, according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.The document, prepared for talks on the plan in Geneva, proposes that Ukraine's military be capped at 800,000 “in peacetime” rather than a blanket cap of 600,000 proposed by the US plan. It also says “negotiations on territorial swaps will start from the Line of Contact”, rather than pre-determining that certain areas should be recognised as “de facto Russian”, as the US plan suggests.The counter-proposal was drafted by the so-called European E3 powers – the UK, France and Germany, a source said. The document takes the US proposal as its basis, but goes through point by point with suggested deletions or changes. ..

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro at an event in Caracas on Saturday. US President Trump has said that Maduro’s days were numbered as head of state PARIS: The US military operation against Venezuelan alleged drug traffickers coupled with threats by Donald Trump for a ground assault against President Nicolas Maduro have troubled European powers who retain strategically located territories in the Caribbean, observers say.The concern of France, the Netherlands and the UK is such that they have started limiting intelligence sharing with Washington about the Caribbean over worries it could be used for strikes that would be considered illegal in their countries, according to officials and sources who spoke to AFP.The UK retains small overseas territories in the Caribbean from the colonial era, while the large islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe as well as French Guiana on the South American mainland are now officially part of France.The Netherlands is the most geographically implicated, ..

AdvertisementViral storiesPeople & CultureJapan woman marries AI partner, wears augmented reality glasses during ring exchange‘Crazy’ 32-year-old shuns human relationships after real fiancé split, takes part in virtual ceremony after developing feelings for chatbot
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPYating Yangin BeijingPublished: 9:00am, 24 Nov 2025A Japanese woman turned to ChatGPT for comfort after ending a real three-year engagement, then found herself in love and marrying her artificial intelligence (AI) generated partner.
AdvertisementThe virtual relationship was sealed when she wore augmented reality (AR) glasses to exchange rings with her digital husband at their “nuptials”.
The woman, 32, who uses the pseudonym Kano, began chatting with ChatGPT after ending her three-year engagement to a real man, gradually turning to her AI “man” for comfort and advice.
Kano, above, dons augmented reality glasses for the digital wedding ceremony. Photo: X.comTheir conversations becam..

AdvertisementAustraliaAsiaAustralasiaSnapchat makes Australian teens verify age as social media ban loomsFrom December 10, social media platforms in Australia must remove users aged below 16 or face fines, in one of the strictest bans globally
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAgence France-PressePublished: 8:37am, 24 Nov 2025Snapchat has begun asking teenage Australians to verify their ages, the company said on Monday, just weeks before Canberra enforces sweeping laws banning under 16s from social media.AdvertisementFrom December 10, Australia will force social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, to remove users under the age of 16 or face hefty fines.“Starting this week, many users will be asked to verify their age to continue accessing Snapchat,” the company said.
Users will be able to do so using an Australian bank account, government-issued identification, or by taking a photo of their face, which a third party will then use to provide an estimated..

In this photo released by Christian Association of Nigeria, a man walk past belongings at the St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community (Image credits: AP)

More than 300 students are confirmed missing after armed men attacked a Catholic school in northern Nigeria on Friday, the latest in a series of mass abductions in Africa's most populous nation. Gunmen who attacked St Mary's School in Papiri, Niger state, kidnapped 303 students and 12 teachers, the Christian Association of Nigeria said on Saturday. The figures were revised upwards “after a verification exercise” to determine the extent of Friday's attack, CAN said.It ranks as one of the worst abductions in the country and increases public scrutiny on President Bola Tinubu, who critics say has been insipid in his approach to dealing with such incidents since taking office two-and-a-half years ago. Authorities shut dozens of schools across the co..