Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is up against it in next month’s Melaka state poll, as his ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition risks yet another electoral wipeout at the hands of its federal partner Umno. The two are competing head-to-head in nearly all of the 28 state assembly seats up for grabs on November 14, in a contest widely seen as favouring an incumbent state administration led by the United Malays National Organisation’s Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. Whether BN holds onto...

Malaysia will still lose tens of billions of ringgit to the 1MDB scandal even after further overseas asset recoveries, its second finance minister said on Wednesday, as disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak prepares to move to house arrest. Najib has been imprisoned since 2022 following his conviction for corruption and money laundering tied to SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The sovereign wealth fund was co-founded by Najib in 2009 during his...

Hong Kong’s government-owned postal service reported a record operating deficit of HK$905 million (US$115 million) in 2025-26, its ninth straight annual loss. In its annual report published on Wednesday, Hongkong Post said the past year showed its “resilience and adaptability” despite a volatile economic environment and an escalating geopolitical situation. “The emergence of protectionism, tightening customs policies in various places, increasing terminal dues and rising operating costs posed...

With the “exceptionally cheap” sale of a vacant Hong Kong shopping mall, developer CK Asset Holdings is freeing up capital for other projects, while the buyer will have to be patient because the location will struggle to attract tenants in the short term, according to analysts. The developer completed the mall in its residential project Seaside Sonata on Hai Tan Street in Sham Shui Po five years ago but never leased it out. It recently changed hands along with a batch of parking spaces for...

Swimmers brandishing short, curved sticks held their breath as they somersaulted and dove towards a weighted puck at the bottom of a Hong Kong swimming pool, vying for first place in a sport likened to voluntary drowning. The annual underwater hockey tournament, ominously advertised as “physical hell”, nevertheless drew a roster of hardcore enthusiasts from countries across Asia to the Chinese city earlier this month. “You have to choose when to use your breath and when not to… Anyone that’s got the puck, you know that they’ve got some level of suffering,” Leo Lines, a Japanese-New Zealander competitor from Hokkaido, told AFP. “I love that.” Suited up in snorkel masks and fins, players only resurface for air when they absolutely have to, and their heads remain constantly underwater so they can monitor the game. There are six players on each team and no goalkeepers, while referees watch for fouls and send players to a penalty box for serious rule-breaching. Hong Kong’s annual underwater hockey tournament. Photo: AFPTV screenshot. “You’re so into trying to succeed, trying to score the goal, that you forget about breath hold and how tough it is,” competitor Rita Frieske, a Hong Kong-based Polish academic, told AFP. Games last 30 minutes and are split into two halves with a three-minute break in between. The gruelling sport has created a tight-knit community. “It’s like that sadistic study that forces everybody to survive together and then you stick together for a long time,” Malaysian player Hui Chin Teoh said. Underwater hockey, previously known as “octopush”, was invented in England in 1954 as a way to keep divers fit during the off-season winter months. While not yet an Olympic sport, it is recognised by the International Olympic Committee, and made its debut at the Southeast Asian Games in 2019. Competition organisers hope that as underwater camera technology improves, the spectator experience will too. “The future of underwater hockey, thanks to social media, is more active now than before,” said head coach and tournament director Nowie Ignacio. “When I was playing, it was just word of mouth. Now there are a lot of avenues to see it… (competitions) are actually televised live now,” he said. Many players at the Hong Kong tournament have their sights set on the Elite world championship in France next April, which organisers expect will draw around 20 nations. “People are starting to understand what underwater hockey is,” Ignacio said. “The dream is the Olympics.”

A proposed twin-tower project to be built along the Hung Hom harbourfront will not block the view of the city’s Lion Rock ridgeline, a senior official has said. An architectural rendering of the proposed development along the Hung Hom harbourfront. Photo: GovHK. Permanent Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands) said on an RTHK radio programme on Wednesday morning that the iconic ridgeline will not be blocked by the proposed buildings as the mountain can be viewed from multiple angles. Ho said the development project that the high rises are part of, which will also include new facilities for yachts, will boost urban renewal and bring vitality to the community. According to a Legislative Council (LegCo) paper submitted to the Panel on Development on Tuesday, the two towers will be 236 metres high and 184 metres high respectively. They will be designated for residential and commercial uses. A viewing platform will connect the two towers and serve “as an uncovered leisure/event space providing a spectacular, breath-taking view of the Victoria Harbour with the skyline as the backdrop,” according to the document. An architectural rendering of a viewing platform connecting two proposed twin high-rises along the Hung Hom harbourfront. Photo: GovHK. The towers will also house a yacht club, while a proposed marina will provide a total of around 200 berthing spaces. On Tuesday, Fredo Cheung, an arts lecturer at The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, said on TVB that the proposed twin towers might affect the Lion Rock ridgeline as the buildings may be over 50 floors. “Everyone knows that the Lion Rock is very closely tied to Hong Kong culture. If there is a development in front of it tall enough to block the view, causing us to be unable to see the Lion Rock, that indirectly diminishes the cultural landscape,” he said in Cantonese. Lawmakers’ concerns Several legislators, including tourism lawmaker Perry Yiu, expressed concerns during the LegCo’s Panel on Development meeting on Tuesday that the new development will cause the harbourfront too crowded to host the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Festival. Ho said in response that the government believes the dragon boat event can “co-exist” with the new development and will review if there are any problems. Yiu also asked if the proposed viewing platform will be freely open to the public or run “commercially.” The official said that this was under consideration. An architectural rendering of the proposed development along the Hung Hom harbourfront. Photo: GovHK. Lawmaker Andrew Lam, chair of the Panel on Development, said that the construction of the viewing platform will be a significant cost for developers. Lam asked if the viewing platform is just a conceptual idea or if it will be incorporated into the tender terms. Ho said that authorities will decide later how to incorporate specific requests into tender terms. The government’s latest proposal is a revision of its previous planned project, with a higher percentage of land earmarked for residential purposes and public space rather than commercial use. Around 33 per cent of land is now slated for commercial purposes, down from the initially proposed 57 per cent. Meanwhile, a previous plan to build four waterfront residential towers was scrapped in favour of building a public open space, reducing the overall number of buildings in the development from 10 to six.

The Villa Vie Odyssey suspends its voyage and is working with passengers on "temporary living arrangements".

The latest figures mark a major milestone as Beijing grapples with an ageing population.

The metal is generating billions, but mining communities say basic services have failed to keep pace.

El-Sisi’s announcement that he will not run for a fourth term may signal a new leadership arrangement.