Malaysians have accused business owners of “blatant profiteering” over the increase in service charges at restaurants during the Lunar New Year holiday next week. Complaints started to bubble earlier this week after coffee chain Oriental Kopi, which has 23 outlets across the country and one in Singapore , announced that it will charge a 15 per cent service charge on the two holiday days (January 29 and 30) instead of the usual 10 per cent. The Malaysia Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors’ General Association said other restaurants were also imposing similar surcharges that can be levied at their discretion, local media reported. Andrew Lo from the Labour Solidarity and Learning Resources Association questioned whether business owners plan to take a cut of the 15 per cent service charge instead of giving
Category Archives: WORLD NEWS
Jan
In a rare moment of accord amid their simmering feud over the South China Sea , Beijing and Manila have agreed to maintain a provisional deal allowing the Philippines to resupply a remote outpost at the Second Thomas Shoal – a move hailed as a “win” for Manila, albeit one fraught with uncertainty. The agreement, reached during the 10th bilateral consultation mechanism (BCM) meeting in Xiamen on Thursday, comes as the Philippines continues to push back against what it calls a rising tide of Chinese incursions in the South China Sea. The BCM, established as a forum for dialogue, has often been weighed down by the deep mistrust between the two neighbours. But this time, envoys described the talks as “frank and constructive”, according to the Philippines’ foreign affairs department.
Jan
Israel knows, as it has for decades, that we are dealing with a group of people who glorify death and destruction, who turn light into darkness. By JPOST EDITORIAL JANUARY 21, 2025 06:00 Israelis watch the release of three hostages from Hamas captivity as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas, at hostage square in Tel Aviv, January 19, 2025. (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90) When Jews all around the world, of all colors and creeds, raise their glasses in a toast, we famously say “LeChaim” – to life. When we wish someone a happy birthday in Hebrew, we say “Ad meah v’esrim” – (may you live) until 120 (years old). If someone has recovered from a serious illness or completed a dangerous journey, Jews have a special blessing known
Jan
Hong Kong will welcome more than 1.4 million mainland Chinese tourists over Lunar New Year, the city leader has predicted, saying the trend of having overseas visitors will be noticeable in the Year of the Snake. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday a 23-minute fireworks display and a parade featuring international performance groups would be among a string of celebratory events set for the holiday, which will run from January 28 and February 4 on the mainland. “[We] estimate that more than 1.4 million mainland tourists will visit Hong Kong via different borders during the eight-day holiday,” Lee said before his weekly meeting with the Executive Council, the city’s top decision-making body. He said the estimated number of daily visitors would represent 3 and 14 per cent increases
Jan
China has executed a man found guilty of killing at least 35 people in a car attack in November, in what is thought to be the deadliest attack in the country for a decade. Fan Weiqiu, 62, injured dozens more when he drove his car into people exercising outside a stadium in the southern city of Zhuhai. State media said a second man was executed for a separate attack that came days later. Xu Jiajin, 21, killed eight people in a stabbing spree at his university in the eastern city of Wuxi. Authorities said Fan was driven by “dissatisfaction” over how his property had been divided following his divorce, while Xu carried out his attack after “failing to obtain his diploma due to poor exam results”. Fan was detained at the scene on 11
Jan
TikTok briefly went dark in the US over the weekend after the Supreme Court denied a last-ditch challenge from its Chinese owner ByteDance to overturn a law banning the platform. But it was back after a day with a message thanking incoming president Donald Trump for his “efforts” in restoring the app. The US Supreme […]
Jan
Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China and economy stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing . 1. With Trump’s inauguration, US-China rivalry opens new and uncertain chapter When Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, a new chapter of geopolitical uncertainty will be written, potentially ushering in an intensified rivalry between the US and China under his “America First” policy. 2. Han and Vance strike positive tone for US-China ties ahead of Trump inauguration Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng held talks with the US vice-president-elect J.D. Vance and tech billionaire Elon Musk at separate meetings in Washington ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to a “long
Jan
The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) has been awarded the highest accreditation by an internationally recognised halal travel promotion company, the first of such venues to obtain such a certification, giving a boost to the city’s effort to tap Muslim markets for more tourists. The centre’s management company on Monday announced Singapore-based research and consultancy firm CrescentRating had accredited it with the Gold Certification for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions – or MICE venues – last month. “The HKCEC is the first MICE venue in Hong Kong to receive this Gold Certification, the highest ranking of the certification scheme, reflecting the good experiences that the exhibition centre has created for Muslim exhibitors and visitors,” its spokesman said. “In order to support the [government’s] initiative of promoting Muslim-friendly business
Jan
The Dangote Refinery was commissioned in May 2023. Dangote Refinery has said that the recent adjustment in the company’s ex-depot price of petrol “is directly related to the significant increase in global crude oil prices”. The company assured Nigerians that three of its partners will sell petrol for ₦970 per litre nationwide despite the company’s recent increase in the ex-depot price of petrol. A spokesman for the refinery Anthony Chiejina in a statement on Sunday said, “While we have made a 5% adjustment to our ex-depot price from N899.50 to N950 per litre, it is important to note that this increase is considerably lower than the 15% rise in global crude oil prices, which has seen Brent Crude rise from $70 to $82 in a matter of days, in addition to
Jan
Humberside Police Officers found £800,000-worth of cannabis plants and £100,000-worth of equipment in the building Two men are in custody after a cannabis grow worth an estimated £800,000 was found in a vacant building. Humberside Police was called to reports of the suspected cannabis grow on Bull Ring Lane, Grimsby, on 14 January. The plants and £100,000-worth of equipment were found. The men, aged 33 and 48, have been charged with production of a Class B drug and illegally abstracting electricity. Following a hearing at Grimsby Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, they were remanded into custody ahead of a pre-trial hearing at Grimsby Crown Court on 17 February. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds , watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you
Jan
The UK economy grew for the first time in three months, driven in part by a boost in trade for pubs and restaurants. Official figures showed an expansion 0.1% after the economy shrank in each of the two previous months. The return to growth will be a welcome sign for the government after recent turbulence in financial markets sent its borrowing costs to the highest level for several years and the value of the pound fell. But the figure was lower than economists had expected, with declines in manufacturing and business rentals and leasing. Chancellor Rachel Reeves reiterated her pledge to go “further and faster” to improve economic growth in order to boost living standards, declaring it was the “number one priority” for the government. “That means generating investment, driving
Jan
South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol faced renewed questioning on Thursday, a day after his dramatic arrest over a failed martial law declaration, but his lawyers said he would not take part. The Constitutional Court was also to hold its second hearing in a trial that will decide whether to uphold Yoon’s impeachment, after the dawn raid that made him the country’s first-ever sitting president to be detained. The former star prosecutor – facing charges of insurrection – was questioned for hours on Wednesday but exercised his right to remain silent before being moved to a detention centre. Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) were to resume Yoon’s questioning on Thursday at 2pm local time, but his lawyer said he could not for health reasons, the Yonhap news agency
Jan
BBC The area in Gaza which Israel’s military has told people to go to “for their safety” has been hit by 97 strikes since May, BBC Verify analysis has revealed. The findings come as negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appear to be nearing a breakthrough. Mediators in Qatar say talks are in their final stages, raising hopes that an agreement could be reached soon. The “humanitarian zone” was first established by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in October 2023 to protect civilians and keep them out of harms way. On 6 May 2024, the IDF significantly expanded the zone to include the cities of Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah. The area – much of which is a strip of land along the Mediterranean sea – is densely
Jan
The updated Tesla Model Y is going into production today in Germany. The report comes from the German newspaper Handelsblatt. American customers will have to wait a little longer to get their hands on the facelifted crossover. The updated Tesla Model Y is reportedly going into production today at the company’s European factory in Germany. According to the German newspaper Handelsblatt , employees at Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin facility were informed of the product launch yesterday, with assembly set to begin today, January 14. Tesla’s sole manufacturing facility in Europe only assembles the Model Y, which was once again the best-selling electric vehicle in the world last year. However, Tesla’s grip on the car world slipped slightly in 2024 when it saw global delivery numbers fall for the first time, despite
Jan
Indian corporate titan S.N. Subrahmanyan has provoked outrage by championing a seven-day work week and holding up Chinese professionals’ gruelling schedules as a benchmark, reigniting fierce debates about India’s culture of overwork and the future of productivity. Subrahmanyan, chairman of the conglomerate Larsen & Toubro, was filmed in an undated video that surfaced on January 10 asking employees, “How long can you stare at your wife?” as part of a call for professionals to spend less time at home. He went on to praise Chinese workers for their commitment, claiming they “work 90 hours a week”, while contrasting them with Americans, who he said “work only 50 hours a week”. “If you have got to be on top of the world, you have to work 90 hours a week,” he