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A lavish premiere of Melania, a big-budget documentary centred on US First Lady Melania Trump, brought together senior members of the Trump administration, global celebrities and business leaders at Washington’s Kennedy Center on Thursday, even as domestic and foreign policy tensions loomed large for the White House .The film, financed at a reported $75 million by Amazon MGM Studios, chronicles the 20 days leading up to President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration and the family’s return to the White House. Melania Trump is among the producers.Melania Trump’s $40 Million Documentary Struggles Before Premiere: Insider | WATCHAmazon MGM paid $40 million to license the film and an accompanying docuseries, with another $35 million spent on promotion and international distribution, according to a person familiar with the matter .Trump and Melania were seen leaving the White House together for the premiere. The couple also interated with media at the event. The premiere was attended by several..

AdvertisementBanking & financeBusinessBanking & FinanceBreaking | HSBC suffers system shutdown, stopping services in Hong KongBoth the bank’s mobile app and in-person services at several branches were made unavailable by the outage Friday afternoon
Reading Time:1 minuteWhy you can trust SCMPEnoch YiuPublished: 3:13pm, 30 Jan 2026HSBC, Hong Kong’s biggest bank with a customer base of 6.2 million, saw a system breakdown on Friday afternoon.
The bank’s mobile banking app could not be accessed, instead showing a message stating the system was under maintenance and would be available at a later time.
A staff member at the bank’s Mong Kok branch said HSBC’s computer network across the city had failed, but did not know the reason for the stoppage.
AdvertisementAn official with the bank also confirmed there had been a breakdown, but the system began resuming service around 3pm.
Official comments from HSBC or the Hong Kong Monetary Authority were not immediately available.
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AdvertisementSingaporeThis Week in AsiaLifestyle & CultureSingapore begins ban on ‘undesirable’ visitors as airline boarding rules take effectAmong such visitors barred from entering are those with a criminal record in Singapore or who pose a threat to public safety
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPSCMP’s Asia deskPublished: 3:07pm, 30 Jan 2026Singapore’s ban against undesirable visitors began on Friday, with airlines flying to the city state required to bar passengers flagged as risks from boarding.The new directive is aimed at preventing “undesirable or prohibited immigrants, and those who do not meet Singapore’s entry requirements, from boarding flights bound for Singapore”, according to an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) statement released on November 28 last year.
Starting on Monday, airlines flying into Seletar and Changi airports had been issued no-boarding directive (NBD) notices, the ICA said.AdvertisementForeigners subject to NBDs include those with pre..

Breaking Bad Star Giancarlo Esposito Declares 'Time for Revolution,' Sparks Outrage and Support In a striking political statement that has quickly gone viral on social media, Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito urged collective action and described the present moment in the United States as one requiring “a revolution”. The remarks have ignited intense discussion online, across political circles and within the entertainment community.Esposito made the comments during the Sundance Film Festival, where he was attending the premiere of his new crime thriller The Only Living Pickpocket in New York. Speaking to Variety, the Emmy-nominated actor framed his remarks in the context of mounting political tension, particularly relating to federal law enforcement actions such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations that have drawn national scrutiny.“This is time for a revolution”: What Giancarlo Esposito actually said
Esposito’s remarks were forceful and literal, not met..

AdvertisementSingaporeThis Week in AsiaPeopleSingapore court rules man, 97, mentally capable to remarry, dismisses son’s suitThe widower, who had an extramarital affair with his secretary since 1971, has filed separate lawsuits against his second son and grandson
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPSCMP’s Asia deskPublished: 3:35pm, 29 Jan 2026A Singapore court has dismissed a man’s attempt to have his 97-year-old father declared mentally incapable for wanting to marry his long-time mistress, with the judge saying that mental capacity should not be determined solely by age or appearance.
The elderly man, who is still chairman of the chemical company he founded in the 1960s, had been conducting an extramarital affair with his secretary since 1971, Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported on Tuesday, citing court proceedings.
The two had a child together, while he had three sons with his wife, whom he married in 1950. His wife, who died in 2014, was aware of the affair b..

AdvertisementSCMP HighlightsPeople & CultureTrending in ChinaJapan’s love for Chinese noodles; AI’s Year of the Horse forecasts: 7 Lifestyle highlightsFrom AI’s predictions for the Year of the Horse to an ‘unlucky’ chocolate mahjong set, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPSCMPPublished: 3:30pm, 29 Jan 2026We have selected seven Lifestyle stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.1. How did China’s dan dan mian noodle dish become so popular in Japan?It seems an unlikely match. Japanese cuisine traditionally venerates light, clean flavours and the essence of each ingredient. So how did the country end up having such a spicy love affair with the dish?
2. Is the Year of the Snake’s 12th month lucky for you? Forecasts for all signsHow’s your luck in the Year of the Snake’s 12th month? Feng shui master Andrew Kwan gives his predictio..

Australia uncovers the world’s largest dinosaur footprints from 130 million years ago (Image source: National Geographic) Researchers have found some of the biggest dinosaur footprints ever. They are so huge that an adult could curl up inside one without a problem. It’s wild to imagine, honestly. This kind of find really turns our old ideas about prehistoric life on its head. This ancient print was uncovered along the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia and is given the title of “Largest dinosaur footprint” by Guinness World Records. They are embedded in fossil-rich sandstone that dates to the Early Cretaceous, which was roughly 130 million years ago. The site stands out because the prints aren’t just massive; they’re deep and come in all kinds of shapes, showing off the variety of dinosaurs that wandered through this part of northwest Australia. It’s more than just proof of some truly gigantic creatures. These tracks give us a real peek into the world of Gondwana, the ancient south..

Dubai gold prices have officially broken all records, surging past Dh630 per gram / AI Image The “City of Gold” has officially entered uncharted territory. On Wednesday, January 28, 2026, Dubai gold prices shattered all previous records, with 24-karat gold soaring to a staggering Dh632 per gram. This historic peak follows a relentless rally that has seen the precious metal gain more than Dh111 per gram since the beginning of the month.To put this explosive growth into perspective, gold was trading at just Dh520 on New Year's Day; in less than 30 days, the market has witnessed a near 20% increase, marking one of the steepest and fastest price climbs in the history of the UAE retail market.Gold prices in DubaiThe surge isn't just limited to gold. The entire precious metals sector in Dubai is seeing significant movement as investors look for alternatives to traditional stocks and currencies. Below are the retail rates for today:Metal Type / PurityPrice per Gram (AED)Monthly Tren..

Photo released by Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) rescuers search for victims in Pasir Langu village after a landslide, in West Bandung district of West Java province, Indonesia, Monday (Credit: AP)

A devastating landslide in Indonesia's Pasirlangu village has claimed 34 lives, with 32 people still missing. The disaster, triggered by heavy rainfall last week, destroyed dozens of homes and forced over 650 residents to evacuate. Rescue teams are carefully searching the unstable area in West Bandung, Java island, amid fears of further landslides.”The identified bodies will be handed over to the victims' families for burial,” said national disaster mitigation agency spokesman Abdul Muhari on Tuesday evening. Local officials worry the number of missing people could be much higher than reported.The landslide has severely damaged more than 50 houses in the mountain village. Rescue workers are using both manual methods and heavy machinery to search for s..

AdvertisementIndiaThis Week in AsiaHealth & EnvironmentNipah cases in India raise regional anxiety but experts say wider spread unlikelyThe virus’s high fatality rate has prompted precautionary measures across Asia, even as analysts say the outbreak remains limited
Reading Time:4 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPBiman MukherjiPublished: 3:14pm, 28 Jan 2026A small cluster of Nipah virus infections reported in eastern India has sparked regional anxiety because of the disease’s high fatality rate, prompting countries across Asia to tighten health screening ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush, even as experts say the outbreak is likely to remain contained.That assessment follows confirmation by Indian authorities of two Nipah cases in West Bengal, but analysts have said the limited numbers, combined with the time that has passed since the infections were detected, point to a contained outbreak rather than an escalating public health threat.
The cases have nevertheless prompted precautionar..