The Philippines have won the very first Eurovision Song Contest Asia, hosted in Bangkok and with 11 countries vying for the title. Nineteen-year-old singer Carmelle was always a front runner with her women’s empowerment anthem Sobra-Sobra, complete with its catchy rap section. She earned 211 points in total – 93 from the jury and 118…
The world’s biggest and longest-running song contest is coming to Asia, with eleven countries competing in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday. There are many passionate Eurovision fans in the region, but the Asia contest is not widely known. The BBC’s South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head explains everything you need to know about the competition, and…
State-sponsored hackers from North Korea have taken more than $400 million in cryptocurrency by using fake video calls to steal people’s identities, US authorities say. More than 900 victims have fallen prey to the scheme, which the FBI refers to as FaceStealer, in the last 18 months, according to the bureau. “The North Korean regime…
Khawaja’s memoir is also causing rancour among current and former players and coaches. In it, he said he had wanted the team to take collective responsibility for the tampering after batsman Cameron Bancroft was caught with the sandpaper on field. “I said: ‘Take this as a team. We did this as a team. We knew…
The bus was carrying passengers from Bokakhat and was headed towards Nagaon. Bokakhat is best known as the gateway to Kaziranga National Park, famous for its one-horned rhinoceroses. Nagaon is an important agricultural and commercial centre in central Assam, about 120km (74.5 miles) west of Bokakhat by road. Lurinjyoti Gogoi, chief of a regional opposition…
On Saturday, the biggest and longest-running international song contest will make a leap into unknown territory. Eurovision, the pan-European competition famed for zany gimmicks, slick, sometimes over-the-top staging, the drama of its complex voting system and, occasionally, for outstanding music, celebrates its 70th birthday this year. And to mark it, the European Broadcasting Union is…
A major scandal involving Nvidia founder Jensen Huang and a suspected Chinese spy based in Singapore has cast a spotlight on the city-state’s success as a global chip hub – and a location for alleged illicit trade. On Thursday, Huang stepped down from the US chip giant after admitting he had an affair. He was…
“Those who are organising the protests have repeatedly emphasised that this is non-violent,” she argued. “Rights have been whittled down in the name of law and order.” The BJP has rejected suggestions it is suppressing peaceful dissent. Islam told the BBC that demonstrations “cannot override the rights of other citizens just because a handful of…
Why did the 24-hour closure of Finland’s embassy in Australia become so funny online? Online sleuths shared their “grief” when the embassy, based in the capital Canberra, closed its doors for a routine planning day. Users rejoiced when the embassy reopened its doors, with the humour enjoyed by the embassy, the leaders of Australia and…
Questions have also been raised about a book found at another public library in Madurai which names renowned economist Jean Drèze as its author. The book, Democracy and People’s Rights in the Contemporary World, names renowned economist Jean Drèze as its author and was published by Phoenix Publishing House. Drèze did not respond to BBC…
