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UAE updates school admission age rules from 2026–27 / AI-Generated Image The UAE Ministry of Education (MoE) has officially hit the “refresh” button on school admissions. Starting from the 2026-2027 academic year, schools that begin in August or September, including British, American, and IB curricula, will move their age cut-off date to December 31.Previously, children had to reach the required age by August 31. This four-month extension is a game-changer for “end-of-year” babies who would have previously had to wait an entire extra year to start their journey. Under the new rules, if your child turns three, four, or five by New Year's Eve, they are officially eligible to step into the classroom that September. It’s a move designed to align the UAE with international standards and provide families with more flexibility.Who is affected and who is not?While much of the education sector is shifting gears, schools following the Indian, and Japanese curricula are holding steady. Becau..

Kuwait and Oman declared January 18 a public holiday to observe the holy Isra Wal Miraj/Representative Image As Isra Wal Miraj approaches, only two Gulf countries, Kuwait and Oman, have announced a public holiday to mark the sacred occasion, highlighting its importance in the Islamic calendar.Kuwait and Oman have declared Friday, January 18, as a public holiday to observe Isra Wal Miraj, coinciding with the latter part of the Islamic month of Rajab. The announcement comes as Muslims prepare to commemorate the night through prayer, reflection, and recognition of its historical and spiritual significance.What is Isra Wal Miraj?Isra Wal Miraj is a major event in Islamic history that commemorates the miraculous night journey of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).According to Islamic belief, on this night the Prophet was taken from Masjid Al Haram in Makkah to Masjid Al Aqsa in Jerusalem, an event known as Isra. This was followed by Miraj, during which the Prophet ascended to the heavens.The occasion ..

AdvertisementSouth KoreaThis Week in AsiaPoliticsSouth Korea’s Yoon gets 5 years in prison for obstructing justice during martial law bidThe ruling comes days after prosecutors in a separate case demanded Yoon Suk-yeol be sentenced to death for masterminding insurrection
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAgence France-PressePublished: 2:08pm, 16 Jan 2026Updated: 2:18pm, 16 Jan 2026A South Korean judge sentenced former president Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday to five years in prison for obstructing justice and other charges linked to his disastrous martial law declaration and in its chaotic aftermath.The sentence is the first in a series of verdicts for the disgraced ex-leader, who briefly suspended civilian rule in South Korea on December 3, 2024, prompting massive protests and a showdown in parliament.Now ousted from power, Yoon faces multiple trials for actions taken during that debacle and in the turmoil that followed.
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AdvertisementUS-China relationsChinaDiplomacyChina’s US envoy says world faces ‘stark choice’ as 2026 opens with instabilityXie Feng barely mentions Donald Trump by name but draws contrast between Washington’s recent actions and Chinese-led stability
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMP3Mark Magnierin New YorkPublished: 2:00pm, 16 Jan 2026Updated: 2:04pm, 16 Jan 2026China’s top diplomat in the United States delivered a sharply worded rebuke on Thursday over US President Donald Trump’s tumultuous approach to global relations, laying out a stark choice between a world informed by China-led stability and one battered by Washington.
Chinese ambassador Xie Feng’s comments to the 1,000-member China General Chamber of Commerce come two weeks into Trump’s second year of his latest term in the White House.The past fortnight has already seen the Trump administration abduct Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro; threaten Greenland, Mexico, Colombia and Cuba; pull the US out of 61 international..

Kuwait property owners can now receive instant alerts on new leases through PACI’s Sahel app/Representative Image Property owners across Kuwait will be notified instantly when a lease linked to their property is registered, as the Public Authority for Civil Information has launched a new digital service aimed at tightening oversight and protecting ownership rights.The Public Authority for Civil Information announced the launch of its new “Residence Notification” service through the unified government application Sahel, marking another step in Kuwait’s push toward integrated digital government services. The service allows property owners to receive immediate alerts whenever a new rental contract is registered against their property, giving them real-time visibility into tenancy records and residency registrations.According to PACI, the service is designed to help owners verify whether a lease registration is legitimate, accurate, and authorized. If a property owner receives a notificati..

Oceanographers studying the Atlantic Ocean are revisiting an old assumption using newer data and slower, more detailed analysis. For decades, researchers believed the Atlantic lacked a true equatorial water mass, unlike the Pacific and Indian oceans. Instead, water in this zone was thought to be an extension of South Atlantic Central Water. Using temperature and salinity measurements from thousands of Argo floats, scientists have now found a clearer pattern. In the upper 2,000 metres of the Atlantic, especially near the equator, water properties show a consistent structure that does not fully match known categories. The findings suggest that a distinct body of water exists within the equatorial Atlantic thermocline, shaped by mixing rather than direct formation. This adds a new layer to how the Atlantic Ocean is understood and classified.
A vast underground ocean has been lurking beneath the Atlantic for millions of yearsOcean water is not uniform. Scientists define water masses by sha..

AdvertisementConsumer protection in Hong KongHong KongSocietyMapping issues in 7 of 8 power bank rental platforms tested by Hong Kong watchdogConsumer Council also finds significant variance in rental fees across different stations within the same platform
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPHarvey KongPublished: 2:14pm, 15 Jan 2026Seven out of eight power bank rental platforms tested by Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog displayed inaccurate navigation or positioning data on map applications, a problem that may waste users’ time and incur extra charges due to delays.
The Consumer Council on Thursday also found a significant variance in rental fees across different stations within the same platforms, with charges for a 30-minute rental differing by nearly 1.3 times and the daily cap on charges differing by more than 2.3 times.
“When in urgent need of a power bank, consumers’ phone battery is often critically low. Inaccurate navigation not only wastes time, but may also deplete the p..