Verified News Online

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..

AdvertisementSCMP HighlightsChinaScienceNipah virus alarms China, semiconductor fibre breakthrough: 7 science highlightsFrom PLA developing quantum weapons to China’s dark matter breakthrough, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPSCMPPublished: 3:00pm, 28 Jan 2026We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.1. China’s Shenzhou-20 spacecraft returns to Earth broken and unbrokenChina’s Shenzhou-20 spacecraft returned to Earth with no astronauts inside – just metal, heat and a cracked window – touching down at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia on Monday.
2. Nipah virus outbreak in India sparks worry in China before Lunar New YearHealthcare workers in the southern Indian state of Kerala wear protective gear as they attend to a man with symptoms of the Nipah virus in Septembe..

Can Nipah reach the UAE? India outbreak explained in simple terms / AI Generated Image A shadow of concern has fallen over international travel routes as India battles a fresh outbreak of the Nipah virus (NiV) in the southern state of Kerala. Health authorities have confirmed multiple cases and, tragically, a small number of fatalities in the Malappuram and Kozhikode districts.Because Nipah is a “zoonotic” virus, meaning it jumps from animals like fruit bats to humans, it is notorious for its high fatality rate, which can reach up to 75%. While the outbreak is currently localized, the high volume of travel between Southern India and the Middle East has put health officials on high alert. Nipah virus outbreak in IndiaIndia is dealing with a fresh outbreak of the Nipah virus, especially in the eastern state of West Bengal. Health authorities have confirmed at least five cases and placed around 100 close contacts under quarantine as they try to stop further spread.This particularly includ..

File photo: Tom Homan (Picture credit: AP) US President Donald Trump has announced that his border czar, Tom Homan, will be sent to Minneapolis, a city that has emerged as the epicentre of protests against the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics following two fatal shootings involving federal agents this month. Trump on Monday said Homan would report directly to him, describing him as “tough but fair”. Trump Deploys BORDER Czar Tom Homan To Minnesota Amid Protests, Investigations, And Chaos The announcement came days after the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti by federal agents, the second such incident in Minneapolis in January Earlier, Minneapolis resident Renee Good was also shot dead by an ICE agent. In both cases, official explanations by homeland security secretary Kristi Noem were questioned after eyewitness videos appeared to contradict claims that the victims posed an immediate threat.Protests have intensified across the city, with growing calls from both Demo..

AdvertisementHong Kong transportHong KongTransportOn This Day | Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific rebrands Dragonair subsidiary in 2016 – from the SCMP archiveIn 2016, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific renamed Dragonair as ‘Cathay Dragon’, while keeping it as a separate airline within the group
Reading Time:4 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPSCMPPublished: 3:15pm, 27 Jan 2026This article was first published on January 27, 2016
Exit the Dragon­air as Cathay rebrandsby Sijia Jiang
Cathay Pacific group is likely to announce a rebrand­ing of its Dragon­air sub­si­di­ary as “Cathay Dragon” as the com­pany seeks to strengthen its cor­por­ate iden­tity.
The idea to strengthen the sis­ter air­line’s asso­ci­ation with the premium air­line Cathay Pacific Air­ways has been under dis­cus­sion for a few months, sources famil­iar with the mat­ter told the South China Morn­ing Post.
AdvertisementCathay’s man­ager of cor­por­ate com­mu­nic­a­tions, Car­o­lyn Leung, declined to com­ment on whether the com­pany had any ..

AdvertisementMalaysiaThis Week in AsiaEconomicsMalaysia aims to be sustainable aviation fuel hub, but what about low Asian demand?Most of the demand still comes from Europe, with Malaysia aiming to produce 1 million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel by 2028
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPIman Muttaqin YusofPublished: 2:57pm, 27 Jan 2026When Hong Kong-based EcoCeres opened Malaysia’s first commercial-scale sustainable aviation fuel plant in Johor on Monday, officials pitched it as a new export segment positioned for strong growth, backed by the country’s ports, processing capacity and palm-adjacent supply chains.The problem is that the biggest buyers are still not in Asia, EcoCeres says.
“The major part of the demand is in Europe,” EcoCeres CEO Matti Lievonen told reporters at a press conference, adding that “absolutely much more than 50 per cent” of the plant’s output would go to the European market because demand in Malaysia and much of the region was still thin.
Advert..