A Singaporean blogger said he had crowdfunded almost $100,000 that he was ordered to pay as damages for defaming the prime minister by sharing an article on Facebook.
AFP
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Hong Kong Bar Owners in ‘Hunger Strike’ over Virus Closures
A group of bar, karaoke and mahjong parlor owners have gone on a symbolic hunger strike in Hong Kong over anti-coronavirus measures that have kept them shuttered for most of the last year.
Pope Shares Solidarity with Myanmar Youth as Protesters Decorate Easter Eggs
Anti-coup demonstrators in Myanmar decorated boiled eggs on Sunday, as Pope Francis in his Easter message expressed solidarity with the country’s youth.
Japan’s Pioneer for Revolutionary LED Lamp Dies
Japanese Nobel laureate Isamu Akasaki, who won the physics prize for pioneering energy-efficient LED lighting — a weapon against global warming and poverty — has died aged 92, his university said Friday.
BTS Agency to Acquire Scooter Braun’s Ithaca for $1.05 Billion
The agency behind K-pop phenomenon BTS announced a $1.05 billion deal Friday to buy the US firm that manages Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and other major stars.
Japan’s ANA $540 Gourmet Meals on Parked Planes Sold out in a Day
Airline food might be one of the last things people are missing during the pandemic, but one Japanese carrier has customers flocking to sample luxury in-flight meals on its parked planes.
Taiwan’s TSMC Plans $100B to Meet Soaring Demand of High-Tech Chips
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company said Thursday it was planning to invest $100 billion over the next three years to meet soaring demand as a global shortage of chips hits the auto and other industries. Plan
Philippines Says Chinese Ships ‘Swarming’ Area around Disputed Spratly Islands
A fleet of Chinese ships that sparked a diplomatic row after parking at a reef off the Philippines for weeks are now scattered across the contested Spratly Islands, a government agency said Wednesday, condemning Beijing’s “unlawful presence” in the area.
Japanese Karate Champion Testifies She Was Bullied by Official
A Japanese karate champion who will compete at the Tokyo Olympics testified before an ethics commission Wednesday, alleging that a federation official hit her in the face with a bamboo sword.
Hong Kong Domestic Worker Fired after Cancer Diagnosis Dies
A Filipina who was sacked as a domestic worker in Hong Kong after being diagnosed with cancer — a case that exposed the vulnerability of low-paid foreign workers — has passed away, a friend confirmed Wednesday.
Vietnam Jails Four Activists Up to 10 Years on Anti-State Charges
Four activists have been jailed for up to ten years after Vietnamese courts found them guilty of spreading “anti-state propaganda”.
Video Shows Asian-American Woman Attacked on New York Street
New York police were searching Tuesday for a man who violently attacked an Asian-American woman as bystanders seemingly looked on without intervening, the latest incident of anti-Asian violence in the United States.
Japan Man Charged over Insults after Netflix Star’s Suicide
A man has been charged over online abuse directed at a Japanese star of Netflix reality show “Terrace House” who took her own life last year, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Toddler Survives Myanmar Airstrike that Killed Father
A Myanmar toddler has miraculously survived a weekend airstrike that killed his father in their bamboo hut near the coup-hit country’s border with Thailand.
New Hong Kong Museum Will Not Show AI Weiwei’s Tiananmen Photo
A picture of Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei flipping a middle finger in Tiananmen Square will not be shown at the opening of a prestigious new museum in Hong Kong, an official said on Monday.
The Wuhan Lab at the Heart of the ‘Extremely Unlikely’ Leak Theory
A team commissioned by the World Health Organization to investigate the source of the coronavirus in Wuhan in January concluded that it was “extremely unlikely” that the pathogen originated in a top-security lab in the ground-zero Chinese city.
Delayed Report Says COVID Probably Came to Humans from Animals
Covid-19 probably passed to humans from a bat via an intermediary animal, an international expert mission to China concluded in a report seen on Monday, with investigators all but ruling out a laboratory leak.
Britain Says Hong Kong ‘Has No Right to Dictate’ Passport Recognition
Britain told Hong Kong on Friday that it had “no right” to order other countries not to accept a UK travel document for a popular youth working scheme after the city confirmed it had made the request to several other nations.
Chen Wins Third Straight Figure Skating World Title as Hanyu Slips
American Nathan Chen landed five quadruple jumps in the men’s free skate on Saturday to overhaul faltering Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu and collect a third consecutive world title.
World Press Photo Opens in Hong Kong after Being Nixed over Security Fears
An exhibition of World Press Photo winners opened at a different venue in Hong Kong Sunday after a local university called off the event that features images of the city’s 2019 pro-democracy protests because of security fears.