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AdvertisementSouth China SeaChinaDiplomacyBeijing looks for social workers to place on disputed South China Sea islandsJob adverts for ‘community workers’ say military veterans and Communist Party members will be favoured for the posts
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMP2Laura ZhouPublished: 2:00pm, 15 Jan 2026China is recruiting social workers for disputed islands in the South China Sea.
According to a notice published on Monday, the government of Sansha, the authority set up to administer the disputed territories, said it was looking for 11 “community workers” to post on eight reefs and islands in the Paracel and the Spratly islands.
The territories include Woody Island, the administrative centre of the disputed territories, and Mischief Reef, which is home to a large military base.
AdvertisementThe notice was unclear about the nature of the roles, but it suggested they would play a role in day-to-day governance. Beijing recruited 16 people to similar positions in 2023.
It a..

World’s Safest Airline Announced and Emirates Fans May Be Shocked In an aviation milestone that is turning heads worldwide, a national carrier of the United Arab Emirates based in Abu Dhabi, has been named the world’s safest full-service airline for 2026 by AirlineRatings.com, beating out more than 320 global competitors and relegating even the region’s famed Emirates to a lower spot on the list. This marks the first time a Gulf carrier has claimed the very top spot in the annual safety rankings, underscoring the UAE’s rising influence in global aviation safety and operations.The annual AirlineRatings list, considered one of the most trusted benchmarks in global aviation, assesses carriers not by popularity or luxury branding but by incident history, fleet age, pilot training, international audits and other rigorous safety metrics, including a new emphasis on turbulence prevention efforts and onboard real-time response protocols.UAE airline that surpasses the giants: Why it topped the ..

AP image Former US President Bill Clinton and former first lady Hillary Clinton on Wednesday defied a congressional subpoena through a letter, declining to testify in a House investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and their past associations with the convicted sex trafficker, even as Republican lawmakers move to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against them.In the letter, which was shared on social media, the Clintons criticised the House Oversight Committee’s probe as “legally invalid” and said the committee’s Republican chair, Representative James Comer, was pushing a process “literally designed to result in our imprisonment.”“We will forcefully defend ourselves,” the Clintons, who are Democrats, wrote.“Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences,” the Clintons wrote. “For us, now is that time.”Bill Clinton was due to appear before the committee on Tuesday, while H..

AdvertisementMalaysiaAsiaSoutheast AsiaMan fined US$2,200 in Malaysia for masking Singapore number plate to buy subsidised fuelA judge said Long Sa Kow will be required to serve nine months’ imprisonment if he fails to pay the fine
Reading Time:1 minuteWhy you can trust SCMPCNAPublished: 2:01pm, 14 Jan 2026The man who was caught on video pumping subsidised RON95 fuel into his Singapore-registered car in Johor was on Wednesday fined 9,000 ringgit (US$2,217) for obstructing the registration number of his vehicle.Malaysian Long Sa Kow, who is a Singapore permanent resident, was charged under Section 108 (3) (E) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for allegedly exhibiting an altered or tampered vehicle registration number.
The offence carries a fine of between 5,000 ringgit and 20,000 ringgit, a prison term of one to five years or both.
AdvertisementIn the video that made its rounds on social media, Long was seen pumping RON95 fuel – which is subsidised only for Malaysians with locally register..

AdvertisementScienceChinaScienceChinese risk study finds space solar power stations could accidentally zap satellitesBeijing team finds that potential electrical discharges, though brief, could induce abnormal currents in spacecraft systems
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPLing Xinin OhioPublished: 2:00pm, 14 Jan 2026As China pushes to take the global lead in building space-based solar power stations, a new study warns that powerful lasers beaming energy back to Earth could pose serious risks to other satellites in the increasingly crowded low-Earth orbit.
If these beams miss their targets – because of tracking errors or system malfunctions – they could strike nearby spacecraft, overheat solar panels or trigger electrical discharges, according to a team from the Beijing Institute of Satellite Environment Engineering.
Such discharges can induce unintended currents, potentially damaging on-board electronics and forcing an emergency shutdown. The risk is greater when the laser ..