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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..

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..