Category: Uncategorized

AdvertisementJapanThis Week in AsiaLifestyle & CultureIn greying Japan, killings of parents by elderly children spur soul-searchingTwo cases of victims aged 100 and 102 killed by their children aged above 70 have highlighted the challenges faced by elderly carers
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPJulian RyallPublished: 10:00am, 3 Dec 2025Masato Watabe made no effort to hide the killing. A little over an hour after he held his hand over his victim’s mouth until she was no longer breathing, he called the emergency services. Taken into custody, 79-year-old Watabe admitted to police that he alone was to blame for her death.
Instead of blanket condemnation, however, Watabe has attracted sympathy in Japan, which is struggling to come up with solutions to a rapidly ageing population and growing pressure on families to take care of the elderly and infirm.“I killed my mother,” police quoted Watabe as saying. “I held her mouth. I was too tired from caring for her.
Advertisement“I am no..

The White House on Monday defended a follow-up US military strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean Sea last September, saying the Navy commander involved acted lawfully, even as the episode triggered bipartisan calls in Washington for investigations and a parallel inquiry in Caracas into the deaths of Venezuelans.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Vice Admiral Frank Bradley, then commander of Joint Special Operations Command, operated “within his authority and the law” when he ordered a second strike on September 2 after an initial hit left survivors on the disabled boat. She added that defence secretary Pete Hegseth had authorised Bradley “to conduct these kinetic strikes.”President Donald Trump distanced himself from the follow-up strike, saying on Sunday he “wouldn’t have wanted that – not a second strike,” though he later defended Hegseth, telling reporters, “Pete said he did not order the death of those two men… And I believe him.”Congress seeks ..

AdvertisementHong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedyHong KongLaw and CrimeBreaking | John Lee orders judge-led independent inquiry to uncover truth behind Hong Kong fireThe committee will be chaired by a judge and will investigate the cause of the deadly fire in Tai Po which claimed 151 lives
Reading Time:1 minuteWhy you can trust SCMPMatthew ChengPublished: 10:09am, 2 Dec 2025Updated: 10:11am, 2 Dec 2025Hong Kong’s leader has ordered the establishment of an independent inquiry committee, chaired by a judge, to investigate the cause of the deadly fire in Tai Po which claimed 151 lives.
Chief Executive John Lee Ke-chiu said on Tuesday ahead of his weekly meeting with the city’s key decision-making Executive Council that authorities will set up the committee to find out the truth and enable a “systematic change”.
He will be in touch with the judiciary to have a judge to chair the committee, which will conduct its work in “high efficiency”.
AdvertisementThe fire at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court last We..

AdvertisementHong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedyHong KongSociety‘Grieving and exhausted’: Hong Kong fire victims call for centralised relief platform‘Now all the information is here and there and we have to spend a lot of time searching and filling it in one by one,’ a survivor says
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPJiang ChuqinPublished: 9:42am, 2 Dec 2025Victims of Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades have called for a unified platform to access funds and resources, as some elderly people say they feel “exhausted” having to travel around and repeatedly provide their personal information to different parties for support.
Several people who lost their homes in the Tai Po fire, which had claimed 151 lives as of Monday, told the Post that while retrieving new identity cards and other documents from the Immigration Department was a smooth process, they faced difficulties navigating funds and other forms of support dispersed across various locations.
The Immigration Department said on M..

A nuclear bomb test in Mururoa atoll, French Polynesia, in 1971 (Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo) If World War III ever breaks out, where on Earth would actually be safe? It’s the kind of uncomfortable question that emerges quietly during news alerts, diplomatic escalations, and late-night doomscrolling. Most people don’t really believe civilisation will collapse, but many are aware it could. And that’s why researchers, analysts and risk observers continue to examine which regions might offer the greatest insulation from global conflict, especially in a nuclear era.The current geopolitical climate, and why people fear a major war International tensions are at their highest levels in decades. Conflict in Ukraine continues to destabilise European security and fuel fears of escalation involving NATO and Russia. In the Middle East, hostilities between Israel and surrounding states fluctuate between diplomatic friction and open threat. China’s ongoing rhetoric around a future “reunification..

AP photo US president Donald Trump on Sunday said he is ready to release the results of the MRI scan he took in October. Speaking to reporters while flying back to Washington from Florida, Trump said, “If you want to have it released, I’ll release it.” He described the results as “perfect.”Trump further told reporters he has “no idea” which part of his body the MRI covered. “It was just an MRI,” he said. “What part of the body? It wasn’t the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it.”The MRI was done during Trump’s visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in October.The debate over releasing the report began after Minnesota governor Tim Walz replied to Trump’s post saying, “Release the MRI results.” Trump had earlier used an offensive term for Walz while claiming that Somali immigrants were “taking over” Minnesota and criticising the governor for not acting.The White House has not explained why the MRI was done or which part of Trump’s body was scanned. Press sec..

AdvertisementHong Kong propertyBusinessHong Kong’s home sales recovery looks more solid as transactions, prices edge upMortgage and resale data both show a sustained rise in sentiment amid improving rates, prices and rental yields, agents say
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPYulu AoPublished: 9:30am, 1 Dec 2025Hong Kong’s property market is expected to extend its gradual recovery into the end of the year, supported by improving sentiment, rising rental yields and firmer demand in the mass-market segment, according to property analysts.
The latest mortgage and resale data suggest that buyers are returning following rate cuts and stamp-duty adjustments earlier this year, although the pace of improvement remains uneven across districts and price brackets.
Mortgage registrations continued to climb in October, reflecting a sustained rebound in transactions, climbing 7.1 per cent from September to 6,463, excluding off-plan units, according to a Centaline Property report on Thursda..

AdvertisementJapanThis Week in AsiaLifestyle & CultureIs decline in Japanese studies risking US relations with key Indo-Pacific ally?Academics bemoan the myopic approach after a recent report calls dropping Japan-focused subjects a ‘looming crisis in US-Japan relations’
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMP3Julian RyallPublished: 9:30am, 1 Dec 2025Academics are bemoaning the decline in programmes focused on Japanese language, culture, history, art and other social science subjects at universities in the United States, warning that a “short-sighted approach” could threaten future trade and business opportunities as well as the critical diplomatic relationship.Funding for liberal arts courses at US universities has been under pressure for some years, they point out, but that appears to be accelerating as greater emphasis is placed on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes.The situation has become so serious that a recent report has described universitie..

33 Thomas Street/ Image:X In a city obsessed with views, one of Manhattan’s tallest towers has none. At 33 Thomas Street in Lower Manhattan, a 550-foot concrete block rises above the Civic Center with no windows, no visible life, and no obvious explanation. When a recent video of the building resurfaced on Reddit, the old question came back with force: what exactly is going on inside this thing? Even celebrities have joined in the curiosity. Back in 2017, Tom Hanks posted a photo of the structure on X and wrote: “This is the scariest building I've ever seen! WTF goes on inside?” Years later, the tower still offers no clues from the pavement – just blank granite walls and a handful of ventilation openings.What 33 Thomas Street was actually built for
The building is not an abandoned relic or an art project. It was built in the 1970s for a very specific purpose: to carry phone calls. Known as the AT&T Long Lines Building, 33 Thomas Street was designed to house massive switching equi..