US summons Malaysian envoy over ban on Israeli citizens

The ambassador told the State Department that Malaysia’s policy of not recognising Israel was not new, the foreign minister said

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A pro-Palestinian supporter paints her face with the Palestinian flag during a march to the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on March 13. Photo: Reuters

Malaysia ’s ambassador to the United States was ⁠summoned by the ⁠US State Department to explain ⁠Kuala Lumpur’s position on Israel, state media reported, citing the country’s foreign minister.
Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Ambassador Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob told the State Department that
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Securities watchdog to channel more medium- and long-term capital into China markets

China’s securities watchdog has pledged to channel more medium- and long-term capital into the country’s stock markets and fortify financial defences against external shocks, as authorities move aggressively to stabilise sentiment following recent market turbulence.

At a meeting on Thursday, the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced a raft of measures aimed at maintaining smooth market operations and reinforcing the capital market’s resilience.

The regulator said it would “more precisely and effectively implement counter-cycle adjustments”, pushing to steadily increase the scale and proportion


UN leader candidates pitch visions to save world body in crisis

The six candidates vying to lead the United Nations stressed the importance of restoring the credibility of an organisation in crisis during a restrained debate Thursday, one week before the selection process formally starts.

With the campaign struggling to generate real enthusiasm for a front-runner, the hopefuls faced nearly two hours of questions from diplomats, UN employees and civil society representatives at an event in the huge General Assembly Hall, broadcast by Bloomberg.

Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador’s Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Costa


South Korean unions use new labour rules to push envelope on bonus demands

This Week in Asia Economics

Without clearer boundaries, the revised act could fuel labour disputes and create uncertainty for businesses and the economy, critics warn

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Members of the South Korean Confederation of Trade Unions hold signs reading “basic labour rights” during a rally in Seoul on July 16. Photo: EPA

Barely four months into its implementation, South Korea ’s new labour-friendly law is coming under growing scrutiny as workers’ demands for bonuses tied to a fixed percentage of corporate profits spread across the country.

If left unchecked, critics warn, the revised Trade

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Fresh US tariffs on 60 economies; first China duo win Fields Medal: SCMP’s 7 highlights

From a new Chinese AI model to a Singapore minister’s resignation, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting

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US President Donald Trump at a rally in Georgia on Wednesday, before the administration’s tariff announcement. Photo: AP

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would

Trump tech official accuses China’s Moonshot AI of stealing from Anthropic

Michael Kratsios alleges Beijing-based company targeted Anthropic’s most powerful model, Claude Fable 5, through large-scale ‘distillation’

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The Trump administration claims that outputs from Anthropic’s most powerful model, Claude Fable 5, have been incorporated into Moonshot AI's new Kimi K3 model. Photo: Shutterstock

Vincent Chow in Washington

The Trump administration has accused Chinese start-up Moonshot AI of covertly extracting capabilities from leading US artificial intelligence models and obtaining restricted Nvidia chips abroad, escalating Washington’s scrutiny

China’s cyberscam crackdown pushed syndicates to target Americans, analysts say

A UN report estimates victims of Asia-Pacific online scams lost up to US$114.1 billion last year. Photo: Getty Images

Criminal syndicates increasingly turned from targeting Chinese nationals to Americans after Beijing’s 2023 crackdown on online scams in Southeast Asia, analysts said on Wednesday, triggering a global game of “whack-a-mole”.

“China has a huge advantage and a head start in terms of trying to protect its own citizens from scams compared to the US,


Daniel Siad, French modelling scout with links to Epstein found dead

Daniel Siad, 69, was one of several men accused of helping the US financier traffic and abuse women

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Daniel Siad, a French modelling scout who worked with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, is seen in an undated photograph. Photo: US Department of Justice
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Ukraine’s strikes on ‘Russia’s Amazon’ bring war closer to ordinary Russians

⁠From humble origins as a family business run out of an ⁠apartment near Moscow, Wildberries has grown in under two decades into Russia’s top online retailer and a key economic driver in the country. It has now become a target of strikes by Ukraine.

Ukraine has attacked four Wildberries warehouses over the last week in a widening campaign of drone strikes against a company at the heart of Russia’s consumer economy, bringing the war closer to millions of ordinary Russians.

In towns across Russia, pickup points for ‌

Tatyana Kim, founder of online retailer Wildberries, speaks at the Central Asian Women’s Forum “BeWoman” in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in October 2024. Photo: Reuters

Mainland Chinese dental clinics in Hong Kong come under scrutiny of authorities

Models of gums and teeth at a Hong Kong dental expo. The Health Bureau and the Department of Health said they were following up on reports about booths run by mainland Chinese dental clincs in the city. Photo: Edmond So

Hong Kong authorities have warned of possible enforcement action after mainland Chinese dental chains were suspected of operating illegally in the city, as local industry leaders called for tighter supervision.

The Hong Kong Dental Association also said on Wednesday a poll of local practitioners found that each dentist needed to follow up on an average of four cases a month relating to treatment received across the