Houses are destroyed in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province as flash floods and landslides hit the country and neighbouring East Timor, killing scores of people.
‘Shangri-La has continued its relationship with the same body that purchases weapons used to murder our people.’ - Justice for Myanmar This article, Myanmar activists put pressure on Robert Kuok’s niece over alleged business ties with military, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company.
James Dyson has switched his residency from Singapore to the UK, reversing a move he made about two years ago after his technology firm revealed plans to relocate its headquarters to Singapore.
A Canadian judge on Wednesday adjourned Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou's extradition hearing until August, giving her team time to review newly obtained documents from investment bank HSBC they say are key to her defense.
Thousands of protesters massed outside German parliament on Wednesday as lawmakers prepared to vote on a law amendment giving Angela Merkel's government power to impose tougher measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
The Australian parent of failed specialist finance firm Greensill Capital, whose recent collapse sparked worldwide corporate fallout, job loss fears and a major UK political scandal, has entered liquidation, administrators said Thursday.
China's Belt and Road Initiative deals are "used for propaganda", a top Australian official said Thursday as he defended Canberra's decision to scrap a state government's deals with Beijing.
Hong Kong customs has arrested six people including a couple and their son on suspicion of laundering about HK$2.5 billion (US$322 million) through 59 bank accounts over two years, as officers investigate possible links to an even bigger criminal case involving another family. In the latest arrests revealed on Thursday, a 23-year-old man and his parents, aged 48 and 50, were held along with the mother’s 36-year-old male friend, who officers suspect are the core members of a money-laundering syndicate. Also arrested were two men – a garage worker, 23, and a chef, 25 – thought to be the holders of 13 bank accounts used to collect and launder HK$550 million in 2019 and 2020.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Hong Kong crime family arrested in HK$3 billion money-laundering investigation In September, officers picked up five members of another family accused of laundering more than HK$3 billion, alongside the owner of a money exchange company which had previously employed the woman, 48, arrested in the latest case. Officers from the Customs and Excise Department’s syndicate crimes investigation bureau are looking at whether the two cases are connected and if the same ringleader is behind both families. Law enforcers are also trying to track down two directors of another money exchange company in relation to the new arrests. The woman detained this month was in charge of that company and the 36-year-old man was her colleague before it closed for business last year. Acting on intelligence, Hong Kong customs began investigating the syndicate in mid-2020, but the couple and their son were not initially under investigation. The family was only identified in connection with the alleged money-laundering activities after customs officers arrested the three men in a series of raids in Tai Po last Thursday. It is understood the woman was at the home of the 36-year-old suspect during one of those raids, but she was not arrested at the time and officers took her personal details before letting her go. “While carrying out analysis and further investigation, we believe the woman and her husband and son were behind the three men. The family also involved a lot of suspicious financial transactions. Officers immediately took action and arrested them on the next day [last Friday],” a law enforcement source said. Superintendent Grace Tang Wai-ngan, of customs’ syndicate crimes investigation bureau, said the couple’s son was responsible for recruiting people to help process the suspicious transactions, and he had also opened 12 bank accounts for handling HK$200 million in 2018 and 2019. Tang said 22 bank accounts belonging to that suspect’s parents were also used to handle HK$1.2 billion in suspicious transactions, adding she believed the mother played a key role in the syndicate because her accounts dealt with about 45 per cent of the HK$2.5 billion involved in the case. According to officials, the woman was paid HK$20,000 a month while working at the money exchange company in Sheung Wan and her husband, 50, was employed at a restaurant on a monthly salary of HK$30,000, while their son earned HK$15,000 a month in the catering industry. They are all now unemployed. “The family had a total monthly income of HK$65,000, but around HK$1.4 billion had been funnelled through their 34 bank accounts in about 1,400 transactions in 2018 and 2019,” said Senior Superintendent Mark Woo Wai-kwan, who heads customs’ syndicate crimes investigation bureau. “The amount of the money dealt by the family is not commensurate with their family’s income and profiles.” The 36-year-old man was accused of using his 12 bank accounts to launder HK$600 million in 2019 and 2020. Woo said preliminary investigation revealed the group had laundered HK$2.5 billion through 59 bank accounts between January 2018 and February 2020. “Over 2,600 suspicious financial transactions were involved. The biggest single transaction was more than HK$22 million,” he said. More than half of the transactions involved dozens of shell companies with no record of running businesses in the city. Registered directors of the shell companies included residents of mainland China. The cash from the rest of the transactions came from other individuals and unknown sources. “It’s a typical money-laundering tactic used to conceal the origins and the flow of the dirty money,” Woo said. After a months-long probe, dozens of customs officers swooped to arrest the six suspects in a series of raids in Yuen Long and Tai Po on Thursday and Friday last week. Mobile phones and documents including bank statements were seized, but neither cash nor assets linked to the funds were confiscated or frozen in this case. It is understood the core members left hundreds of dollars in each of their accounts. The source said the suspects might have used other bank accounts to hide their money or for deploying other tactics to conceal their assets. All of the suspects have been released on bail pending further investigation. Customs officers are investigating the origins of the money and the types of illegal businesses behind the funds. Woo also warned of online employment traps in which jobseekers were offered high pay, but had to hand over control of their bank accounts to hold money from unknown sources. Regardless of whether monetary reward was involved, those offering up their personal bank accounts to deal with money from unknown sources might risk committing money-laundering crimes, he said. In Hong Kong, money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail and a HK$5 million fine. Police in January arrested seven current and former Hong Kong bankers in a crackdown on an international money-laundering syndicate alleged to have handled HK$6.3 billion in criminal proceeds over four years – the city’s biggest such case in nearly a decade. According to the force, the syndicate sent 16 people – a mix of Belgians and mainlanders – to the city to open business accounts to be used for money laundering. The city’s largest ever money-laundering case – involving HK$13.1 billion – came to light with the 2012 arrest of a 22-year-old mainland man. He laundered the money through his bank accounts between August 2009 and April 2010, making 4,800 deposits over an eight-month period. In January 2013, he was sentenced to 10½ years in jail.This article Hong Kong couple and son among six arrested for laundering HK$2.5 billion, officers probe links to other transactions involving different family and even more cash first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
All travellers who have been to India in the preceding two weeks will be barred from entering Singapore from 11.59pm on Friday.
A Mrs World winner facing criminal charges after an on-stage fracas at a Sri Lankan beauty pageant has relinquished her title, organisers said Wednesday.
The guide price for the city fringe shophouse property is $4.5 million The post City fringe shophouse along Serangoon Road for sale at S4.5m appeared first on iCompareLoan.
A US spy plane buzzed the Chinese coast this week, one of several warplanes deployed close to Chinese territorial waters amid live-fire exercises by the PLA Navy, according to a think tank. The Beijing-based South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative said a US Air Force RC-135W electronic reconnaissance aircraft made an unusually close flight along China’s eastern coast on Tuesday, coming within 40 nautical miles of Qingdao, the headquarters of People’s Liberation Army Navy’s North Sea Fleet. An RC-135W and a P-8A anti-submarine aircraft also patrolled the South China Sea on Wednesday during live-fire exercises in the disputed waters, according to the think tank.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Last week, US spy planes patrolled along the southeast coast of Guangdong province before heading south to the disputed Paracel Islands, also in the South China Sea, according to open-source aviation radar responder records. The think tank said the aircraft involved in the patrols last week and on Wednesday temporarily “disappeared” from public radar records when flying over the eastern to northern section of the Paracels, possibly “having turned off their responders”. Beijing’s ‘combat drills’ near Taiwan seen as a message to US military State broadcaster China Central Television said near-shore patrols enabled planes to detect electronic signals on land in their mission to collect intelligence on the PLA. “The patrols enable them to obtain more information in the shortest time and more valuable signals in the most efficient manner,” the broadcaster said. At the same time, PLA’s Liaoning aircraft carrier strike group has been conducting exercises near Taiwan. Last September, China accused US warplanes of masquerading as civilian aircraft in close-shore reconnaissance missions, posing a “serious security threat”. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said identity disguise was a “common trick”, with the US Air Force carrying out such exercises at least 100 times in 2020. In August, a US surveillance plane flew into the no-fly zone China announced for a military exercise in the Yellow Sea, prompting a protest from the Chinese defense ministry.More from South China Morning Post:China ‘not afraid of falling behind’ on military technology, analyst saysWas China’s military modernisation driven by its ‘humiliation’ in 1996?China’s aviation capabilities stuck at ‘low-end’ as military-civil fusion weighs on innovation: official reportChina’s military to hold live-fire drills off Taiwan as US delegation visits the islandThis article US spy planes keep close eye on China amid live-fire military exercises first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
Snooker star Mark Williams hit out at attempts to ban his unusual break-off shot after easing into the second round of the World Championship with a 10-4 victory over qualifier Sam Craigie on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 24 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore on Thursday (22 April) including 22 imported cases, one case in the community, and one dormitory resident, taking the country's total case count to 60,904.
The Czech government on Wednesday warned Moscow it might expel more Russian diplomats unless the 20 Czech nationals ejected from Russia were allowed to return to work within a day.
Joe Biden's emotional voice on the call to George Floyd's family told the story of his presidency: "I wish I were there just to put my arms around you."
A Chinese scientist on the joint international team investigating the origins of Covid-19 has accused WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of being “extremely irresponsible” for pursuing the “lab leak” theory. The rare public display of discontent – voiced by an anonymous expert and reported in local state media – showed how Beijing subtly protested against the World Health Organization’s pursuit of a hypothesis that China preferred to abandon while leaving room not to bruise ties with the UN agency. The issue might potentially sour the relationship between China and the world health body but would not fundamentally change it, an observer said.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. China has been firmly pushing back against any suggestions that a leak from a high-level biosecurity lab in the central Chinese city of Wuhan started the Covid-19 pandemic. It has also insisted China was very cooperative and transparent with the investigation. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday afternoon that all parties should respect science and the opinions and conclusions of scientists, and the WHO in particular, should play an exemplary role. Last month, following the release of the report by the Chinese and international experts on their 28-day mission to study how Covid-19 erupted in Wuhan, Tedros expressed concern that the international team had difficulty gaining access to raw data during the visit early this year and that the team was too quick to dismiss the laboratory leak theory. He told member states during a meeting in late March that the laboratory leak required further investigation, potentially via additional missions involving specialist experts he was ready to deploy. “Tedros’ remarks were extremely irresponsible,” state-owned broadcaster Hubei Media Group reported, citing an unidentified Chinese expert from the mission. There were 17 Chinese experts in the joint mission. Hubei province administers Wuhan, where the investigation mission took place. Scientists call for new probe into coronavirus origins – with or without China The unnamed expert expressed “surprise” and “discontent” that Tedros made such comments after scientific facts and expert consensus showed the laboratory leak hypothesis was unfounded, the report said. “As an authoritative body in the field of global public health, the WHO should have shown more respect for science, held science in awe and taken the lead in maintaining the authority of the report. However, director general Tedros disregarded the experts’ painstaking research and scientific consensus, which should not be the WHO’s position,” the expert was quoted as saying. The expert said Tedros’ remarks were being used by “forces with ulterior motives” to attack the report, although did not elaborate. The expert said foreign counterparts in the mission were under pressure from the United States and senior officials from the WHO in their exchange. Such remarks by Tedros might jeopardise future coronavirus tracing work, the expert warned. “There are already forces with ulterior motives seizing on the director general’s statement to question the authority and scientific validity of the report. The joint experts are very worried about it, and even discontent,” the expert said. “If the next phase of global virus origin tracing is thus stalled because of this, then the WHO should also be held responsible.” Tedros, who prompted criticism for publicly praising China for its handling of the Covid-19 outbreak after his visit to the country in January 2020, has been caught in the crossfire between China and the US over the handling of the outbreak during the early stages. He was personally attacked by then US president Donald Trump, who accused the WHO of being China-centric, writing in an open letter to Tedros that the WHO must show its independence from China. The accusations by the anonymous expert was a reversal of China’s long-time call for supporting the WHO, though Tedros had been consistent in keeping the lab leak theory hypothesis open. Liang Wannian, leader of the Chinese side of the investigation team, has said repeatedly that biological samples and data could not be taken out of the country or photographed, citing China’s privacy law, but that international experts could view the database and materials just as much as Chinese experts could. Beijing’s floating of views through unofficial channels and with anonymous sources is not an uncommon method. An anonymous expert from the Chinese team told the Global Times last month he was “surprised” after the WHO announced the release of the investigation report without telling China first and was concerned the report would be a “deviation from consensus”. The report was eventually released later than the WHO’s original announcement. Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, a New York-based think tank, said that even though it was unclear whether the expert’s view represented the official stance of the Chinese government, publication by a state media outlet showed it had received official approval. “I feel it’s not so much indication of China’s displeasure of what Tedros said as China’s frustration that WHO is siding with the US and some Western countries to pressure China,” Huang said, adding that China had repeatedly indicated the origin tracing had become a political issue rather than a scientific one. Unseen Wuhan research notes could hold answers – and why lab-leak rumours refuse to die This display of discontent could sour the China-WHO relationship and it remained to be seen how damaging it was, Huang said. “I don’t think China will act like Trump [by starting to exit the WHO] because it would undermine China’s image in the global health leadership. I don’t think this will fundamentally change the relationship between China and the WHO,” Huang said. “China seeks to play that leadership role in the world health governance and they count on the WHO’s support in critical events.” But the episode was likely to have an impact on the future of tracing the coronavirus origins in China, Huang added.More from South China Morning Post:Coronavirus: US diplomat Anthony Blinken criticises China, insists on ‘need to get to the bottom’ of pandemic originWHO team probing coronavirus origins in China pushes back as report faces global criticismCovid-19 hunt needs more research and better data-sharing, says WHO chief after Wuhan report fails to find originWhy limiting AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines over blood clot fears could do more harm than goodCoronavirus vaccine scams pose a growing threat to the global economy and public healthThis article Coronavirus: Chinese expert rails against WHO chief and Wuhan lab leak theory first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
A Chinese drone maker says it has manufactured a prototype unmanned stealth aircraft that it claims could rival the B-21 Raider being developed for the US Air Force. Zhongtian Feilong Intelligent Technology, based in Xian, said in a statement on its WeChat social media account on Tuesday that the Feilong-2 – or Flying Dragon-2 – prototype had recently been completed. It said the multirole high-subsonic unmanned aerial vehicle could be used for precision strikes on key assets such as enemy command centres, military airstrips and aircraft carriers.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. The Feilong-2 could also be used with a swarm of drones to carry out reconnaissance and surveillance, a saturation attack or damage assessment, the statement said. It is designed to identify targets using optical and active radars in difficult weather conditions, and stealth features include a special coating to reduce reflection. The drone has an internal payload capacity of 6 tonnes and an operating range of 7,000km (4,350 miles) and it can be flown at an altitude of 49,000 feet. The aircraft can fly at up to 780km/h. According to its developer, the Chinese drone comes close to Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider in terms of speed, attack range, payload and stealth capabilities – but Zhongtian Feilong claims its unmanned aircraft is cheaper to produce and is expected to last longer. “This means the American B-21 has already fallen behind, even before it enters service,” the statement said. The B-21 Raider is an advanced, very long-range, heavy-payload stealth strategic bomber that will be able to deliver both conventional and thermonuclear weapons. It is expected to enter service around 2026. The US Air Force plans to retire its B-1B long-range supersonic conventional bombers to make way for the B-21s. The B-1Bs have been used for missions including reconnaissance over the South China Sea and near Chinese airspace, according to Beijing-based think tank the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative. Zhongtian Feilong’s other drones include an unmanned attack aircraft, long-range reconnaissance aircraft and a fixed-wing light small drone, according to the China Aerospace Studies Institute in the US. China should use drones to patrol and defend contested seas, academics say Drones, which can be used to carry out attacks against enemies while minimising a military’s own casualties, have become increasingly important for defence forces around the world, and developing them is a key part of the rivalry between China and the United States. A Shenzhen-based company unveiled a new military micro drone for surveillance in February that could rival the Black Hornet Nano used by the US, while in October, Chinese media reported that a low-cost “suicide drone” – dispatched in a swarm to attack a target – had been developed in the country.More from South China Morning Post:Chinese fishermen find drone ship ‘used for spying by a foreign country’How Shenzhen, the hi-tech hub of China, became the drone capital of the worldChinese military micro drone unveiled at Abu Dhabi weapons showThis article Chinese firm claims new stealth drone may rival US Air Force’s B-21 Raider first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
The optimism in Singapore real estate performance investment is not surprising considering that property investors were confident even during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic that transaction volumes in Asia Pacific will rebound meaningfully by early 2021. The post Singapore real estate performance investment expected to recover in coming quarters appeared first on iCompareLoan.
Belgium's ambassador to South Korea apologised Thursday after footage showed his wife hitting two boutique staff in the head in a row over shoplifting.
A Syrian officer was killed and three soldiers wounded Thursday in strikes launched by Israel after a missile was fired towards a secretive nuclear site in the Jewish state, a monitor said.
