Laddli Khatun pulled one document after another from a yellow bag, desperately hoping one would be enough to keep her name on India’s electoral rolls. As the world’s largest democracy overhauls its voter lists, millions like Khatun are scrambling to re-establish their credentials, despite having voted before. Critics and opposition parties say the exercise risks mass disenfranchisement, and those removed fear wider citizenship repercussions. More than 133 million names – including 28 million...

When people think of Cantonese food, buttery scrambled egg between slices of soft white bread may not be the first dish to come to mind. For Lucas Sin Lok-yeung, this quintessential Hong Kong classic is the first recipe in his inaugural cookbook, Cha Chaan Teng: Comfort Food from Hong Kong’s Iconic Diners – listed as the “Perfect Scrambled Egg Sandwich”. Sin, 33, has been a staunch advocate of Hong Kong cuisine for more than a decade, starring in a long list of YouTube videos – from explaining...

Hong Kong’s exceptionally warm October weather is being driven by a combination of a super typhoon, El Nino and global warming, a climate expert has said, warning that higher-than-usual temperatures are likely to persist through the winter. The warning came as autumn temperatures across the city topped 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) over the past few weeks. Professor Amos Tai Pui-kuen, of the earth and environmental sciences department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, explained on...

New World Development and China Merchants Land broke ground recently on a joint residential project in Pak Shing Kok, Tseung Kwan O, with presales expected to begin as early as 2028, when surveyors say pricing pressure may have eased. James KT Cheung, executive director of the valuation department at Centaline Surveyors, said property prices remain lower than they were in 2022, when the consortium won the project. “If property prices can recover to 2022 levels by the time the Pak Shing Kok...

Chinese scientists have developed what they say is the world’s smallest wearable mini brain monitor that can track the activity of thousands of neurons at the same time. Weighing in at one gram (0.35 oz), the wireless “Airscope” is the lightest device of its kind and enables researchers to track a wider range of brain activity in untethered laboratory animals. The device was jointly developed by scientists from Tsinghua University and the Chinese PLA Medical School, and detailed in a paper...

Malaysia’s border control chief pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to two charges of assaulting junior police officers at the country’s main international airport last month, after a video of the confrontation went viral. Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain, director general of the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency, was filmed confronting two men at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on September 28. He previously linked the incident to an operation against airport touts following complaints about...

In the latest showdown from Brazil’s increasingly rancorous presidential race Tuesday, both candidates called for the disqualification of their rivals over allegations of social media malfeasance, according to court filings and campaign officials. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s campaign said Tuesday they will request the disqualification of right-wing rival Flavio Bolsonaro on Wednesday over alleged election interference by tech giant Meta. Later Tuesday, Bolsonaro’s team struck back with...

Malaysia is negotiating with Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia to establish overland transit routes for fresh durian exports to China, according to Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu. The minister said the move would reduce transport costs and improve access to the lucrative Chinese market. “Durian is a favourite among Chinese consumers, but they sometimes find it difficult to get the fruit at a more affordable price,” he said during parliament’s question and answer time on...

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words. I refer to “Hong Kong’s Generation Y unhappiest amid housing and economic pressures, poll finds” (October 6). As a 40-ish millennial, I found myself nodding in agreement that my happiness level is medium at best, given the mounting economic pressure and self-perceived midlife...

A Singaporean couple who regularly abused their first child after he was born, resulting in his death at the age of eight months, were sentenced to jail on Wednesday. Chloe Gan Ci Xuan, 23, and Neo Jia Ming, 27, were sentenced respectively to 15 years and three months’ jail and 16 years’ jail for various charges over the death of their son, Trevor Neo Yu Hin. Gan pleaded guilty to three charges comprising causing the death of a child, ill-treating a child and permitting such ill-treatment. Neo...

Only 3 per cent of Hong Kong companies have fully integrated AI into their workflows, with many facing hurdles including resistance to organisational change and outdated digital infrastructure, a survey has found. Consultancy Accenture, which polled 150 companies and released the results on Wednesday, said the survey suggested businesses had a strong desire to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) in their work but many struggled to put it into practice. “Hong Kong really has strong AI ambitions...

Georgina Tang’s childhood was deeply unhappy. Growing up in poverty in Hong Kong’s New Territories in the 1960s, as one of eight children born into an arranged marriage, her first memories are of physical abuse at the hands of her jealous mother. “When they were forced to marry at the age of 21, my father was in love with another woman, whom he never quite forgot about,” says Tang, now 63. “It drove my mother crazy. It made her furious that I was my father’s favourite – she hated me because he...

A Russian satellite moved within just 100 metres of a European commercial spacecraft that supports Ukraine’s military at the weekend, orbital tracking data showed, raising concerns about Moscow’s activities in space. Russia launched the Cosmos-2612 military satellite into low Earth orbit in April. It began changing course late September and eventually moved into the same orbit as ICEYE-X36, a satellite operated by Finland’s ICEYE under contract with the United States. The two spacecraft came...

Machines whirred around Siddiqui as her vision blurred and her heart hammered. The garment factory on the outskirts of Karachi was sweltering. The room was packed with sweating fellow workers and huge industrial equipment that radiated heat. The air felt thick with the humidity of this summer’s monsoon. Siddiqui, who asked to be identified only by surname, felt like she was suffocating. Concerned colleagues called over her supervisor. “The supervisor said, ‘Just complete this work,’” the...

An unconventional course at prestigious Nanjing University encourages students to call strangers to hone their social skills, challenging the traditional value of “do more, speak less”. At the top-tier institution in Jiangsu province, eastern China, former television producer and director Xu Kai launched a course called “Oral Expression” in 2015. Over the years, it has become one of the students’ favourite public courses. The course includes a legendary assignment: students must call a stranger...

China Cosco Shipping Holdings, the country’s largest ocean carrier, has prioritised resilience as it rolls out an emergency response system to cope with rising geopolitical conflicts, infrastructure bottlenecks and climate-related disruptions. The company is launching fresh capacity and new trade routes as part of the plan, as it looks to ensure its supply chains can withstand a mix of potential shocks, according to chairman Wan Min. “We believe that true resilience is not merely restricted to a...

At Cartier, the animal kingdom has long been a source of creative inspiration. What began with birds and insects in the early 20th century gradually expanded to include reptiles, big cats, zebras and elephants, establishing a distinctive menagerie in which nature is reimagined through precious materials and exceptional craftsmanship. Now, with Into the Wild, the maison revisits this rich heritage, bringing five striking creatures into focus: the tiger, parrot, carp, crocodile and...

The BBC announced more than 100 job cuts and the closure of two channels Tuesday as the cash-strapped UK broadcaster aims to save £500 million (US$668 million) over the next two years. BBC News announced the “net closure of just over 100 roles”, according to an internal note by director Rachel Jupp, part of some 2,000 job cuts the broader organisation is eyeing to achieve its planned savings. The job cuts represent £5.5 million in savings, said Jupp. She was appointed BBC News’ director this...

Taiwan’s defence ministry has confirmed for the first time that it has allocated funding for the US Indo-Pacific Command to send a retired general and other personnel to observe the island’s largest annual war games. The disclosure sheds rare official light on military exchanges that Taipei and Washington have traditionally kept out of public view, as security cooperation between the two sides deepens amid growing pressure from Beijing. According to a defence ministry report submitted to the...

Getting relations with China right is widely seen as Britain’s epoch-defining challenge. It is also one it is woefully unprepared to face. So concluded a recent audit by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), which highlighted that top negotiators lacked basic Chinese language skills. More critically, it exposed a deeper deficit: a poor grasp of China spanning political elites and the public alike. This is rooted in a desk-bound classroom sinology rather than a nuanced appreciation...