Secular News

Hotel bookings in Singapore are surging ahead of K-pop boy band BTS’ highly anticipated concerts in December, with some reporting demand jumping by as much as 50 times. The spike mirrors a broader trend across Asia, where cities on BTS’ tour schedule have recorded significant increases in accommodation searches. Some booking platforms reported search volumes rising by up to 10 times in certain concert destinations like Kaohsiung in Taiwan. All tickets for the Singapore leg of BTS’ Arirang tour...

National Guard members and U.S. Park Police are patrolling the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

A man who recently stood to be a councillor in Stockport has opened up about his traumatic childhood in North Korea where he lived on the streets and witnessed public executions

This article was first published on June 24, 2003. WHO gives the all-clear by Jimmy Cheung, Chow Chung-yan and Benjamin Wong Hong Kong is ready to spend $1 billion to rebuild its battered image and lure back tourists and businesses after it was officially declared free of Sars by the World Health Organization yesterday (June 23, 2003). Officials said the announcement had given the go-ahead for a campaign aimed at promoting Hong Kong as the best place for visitors and business in Asia. The...

Malaysian lawmaker Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has fired back at Tunku Ismail Ibrahim after the Johor crown prince took a swipe at the former sports minister, describing him as the “most Hollywood” among populist politicians. Tunku Ismail told a podcast show over the weekend that he “liked people who carry out their duties and show full care and concern for the people”. “Before making any decisions, make an assessment first because we have many ‘Hollywood’ types among us. The most ‘Hollywood’...

On Monday morning, ⁠Keir Starmer emerged into the sunshine in Downing Street flanked by his staff and ⁠wife, his voice thick with emotion as he said he was no longer the right person to lead Britain. Starmer, who won one of the biggest landslides in British political history, is out after less than two years. The sixth leader to quit in 10 years. The highest rate of political turnover in almost two centuries. Like his predecessors, Starmer failed to stem popular anger over living standards,...

Law enforcement are investigating a shooting at a library in Northern California on Monday that left two people dead

Tu-160 supersonic strategic bombers - the largest and heaviest combat aircraft ever to enter operational service - flew a 16-hour mission to the north of Shetland off the UK coast

The Competition and Markets Authority said StubHub must refund 50,000 customers and pay a fine.

Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s pushback against China signals a calculated bid to fend off accusations of Tokyo’s “new militarism” by Beijing to ensure that the label does not stick and slow Japan’s security reforms. His comments in recent weeks on separate instances are aimed at shaping the perceptions of Tokyo’s state partners, according to analysts. Speaking in his first published interview with foreign media as defence chief on June 17, Koizumi questioned the accuracy of...

As China’s relationship with African countries has deepened, the country’s influence is spreading into more areas. In the latest of a series of articles, Dulue Mbachu investigates the extent of Chinese investments in the continent and Beijing’s growing wariness about their security. Chinese regulators balked at Zijin Mining’s planned US$4 billion acquisition of Canadian company Allied Gold, placing it on hold to scrutinise the potential risks. As a result, the agreement for the deal, already...

A judge has found that a man charged with the murder of actor James Handy is not mentally competent for court proceedings