Secular News

China’s ultra-wealthy are quietly parking their private jets offshore to sidestep tougher compliance rules at home, while corporate executives are downgrading to commercial flights, analysts say, as economic headwinds hit the country’s business aircraft fleet. Aircraft owned by affluent Chinese nationals are said to be increasingly resurfacing in hubs such as Singapore and Japan, while more billionaires and corporate executives are turning to first-class commercial cabins or timeshare jet...

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi is set to host the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand to “consolidate” the new ceasefire deal between the Southeast Asian countries. The trilateral gathering, to be held Sunday and Monday, marks Beijing’s latest effort to cement its role as an international mediator and secure a lasting peace deal in the deadly border clash between the two neighbours. At Wang’s invitation, his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow...

Russian ‌President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine was in no hurry for peace ‍and if it did not want to resolve their conflict peacefully, Moscow would accomplish all its goals by force. Putin’s remarks on Saturday, carried by state news agency Tass, followed a vast ⁠Russian drone and missile attack that prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to say Russia was showing its wish to continue the war while Kyiv wanted peace. Zelensky is to meet US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday to...

BBC Sport looks at the key questions going into the divisive Battle of the Sexes-style match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios on Sunday.

BBC Sport looks at the key questions going into the divisive Battle of the Sexes-style match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios on Sunday.

BBC Sport looks at the key questions going into the divisive Battle of the Sexes-style match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios on Sunday.

BBC Sport looks at the key questions going into the divisive Battle of the Sexes-style match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios on Sunday.

Trump administration has overhauled nation’s refugee admissions system and severely restricted legal pathways for African immigrants

The newlywed owners of a Shiba Inu dog famous online for its adorable smile, which was poisoned to death in a village in eastern China, have been accused of cashing in on its death. The six-year-old canine, Peppa, had been raised by the couple since it was three months old. It died recently after its owners took it to their hometown in rural Shandong province for a honeymoon, where it ate poison-tainted food on the road. The dog has a combined half a million followers on several mainland social...

Singapore’s Workers’ Party (WP) on Sunday said that its party cadres have requested a special conference to be held and that the party’s top decision-making body – the Central Executive Committee (CEC) – will be “following up on the request”. WP’s statement comes after party secretary general Pritam Singh’s conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee, with the matter set to be discussed in parliament on January 12 next year. More than 20 cadres have signed a letter calling for the special...

It was a year defined by war with Cambodia, but also the unravelling of cyber scams around Thailand’s borders, the rise and demise of political dynasties and another period of musical chairs in the prime minister’s office. There was also national mourning with the death of Queen Mother Sirikit, a towering figure over recent Thai history, and the omnipresence of Lalisa Manobal – or Lisa of South Korean girl group Blackpink – who rapped, acted, gyrated and produced content that seized the...

Alaa Abdel Fattah flew to the UK on Friday after a travel ban imposed by Cairo was lifted.