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South China Morning Post
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
This week in PostMag: Girls with Guns, a trip to Wanfenglin and the peak of Japanese luxury
Before she was an Oscar winner, Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng was flying through glass panels and landing kicks in cult Hong Kong action films, shot without doubles, rewrites or much in the way of safety precautions. Somehow I missed that part of her career until now. In our cover feature, Sean Tierney dives into the wild, improvisational heyday of late 1980s and early 90s Hong Kong action, when the industry's 'get it done' ethos collided with an era of boundless energy, in a genre aptly named Girls with Guns. The under-appreciated category is many things: kitsch, camp and groundbreaking. Sometimes grim, always unapologetic. The plot is loose, the dialogue questionable, but the thrill is real – women defying gravity, expectations and (probably) every rule in the insurance handbook. Needless to say, I know what I'm planning for our next family movie night. Elsewhere in the issue, we ask what luxury looks like when the shine is swapped for soul. In Tokyo, Gavin Yeung checks into the Palace Hotel's Jaxury suite, where a hinoki-wood tissue box – assembled without a single nail – feels more extravagant than a bottle of Dom Pérignon. It's all part of a government-backed initiative called Jaxury that tries, rather valiantly, to define what Japanese luxury really means. The result is a philosophy that favours intimacy over ostentation and the handmade over the high-gloss. It may be a tourism push dressed up in academic language, but even so, I find the premise compelling. Jaxury isn't just about aesthetics, it's a kind of manifesto for living: deliberate, detailed, quiet in all the right places. From Japan's lacquered restraint we ride to Guizhou's Wanfenglin, where Marco Ferrarese revs up his e-scooter through karst peaks and rice paddies. No roaring engine, no Instagram scrum, just the hum of an electric motor and the luxury of getting a little lost. It reminded me of a trip through Yunnan province in the summer of 2020, riding a rented scooter through provincial back roads with a feeling of freedom strangely out of step with China's closed borders at the time.
Time of India
26-06-2025
- Time of India
32 Held as illegal casino busted at Roorkee hotel; owner on the run
Roorkee: Thirty-two people, including eight women, were arrested on Thursday for allegedly operating an illegal casino from a hotel in Roorkee. Police also seized Rs 2.7 lakh in cash during the raid, while the hotel owner remains absconding. Police said the raid was conducted at Rajmahal Hotel on the Roorkee–Dehradun road. On the sixth floor, officers found multiple tables set up for gambling, with playing cards and casino coins in use. The hotel owner, Meharban Ali, allegedly escaped through the back exit. Those arrested were booked under Sections 3 and 4 of the Public Gambling Act and Sections 60 and 68 of the Uttar Pradesh Excise Act. They have been sent to judicial custody. This was the second such crackdown in recent days. On June 23, Ganganhar police raided Satyam Palace Hotel following a tip-off about immoral trafficking. Six people, including three women and the hotel manager, were arrested under Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. "We will continue to carry out strict and sustained raids against such unlawful practices," said Haridwar SSP Pramendra Singh Dobal.
Time Out
24-06-2025
- Time Out
This underground cave in NSW is one of Australia's top 20 hidden natural wonders worth the road trip
Broken Hill – Australia's longest-operating mining town – is anything but shy. The 17,000-person outback town was the key filming location for the iconic 1994 Australian movie Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and that colourful, flamboyant energy lives on in the wide, sun-soaked streets. As well as the famous Palace Hotel, the vibrant town is home to Australia's largest regional art gallery, a magical outdoor sculpture park, an incredible fine dining restaurant dedicated to celebrating native ingredients and a thriving pub scene. And it turns out, Broken Hill is also home to one of the best under-the-radar natural wonders worth the road-trip in the whole of Australia. You can check out our full guide to Broken Hill here, and find out why one Time Out writer thinks every NSW resident should add it to their bucket list. While everyone has their own idea of a ' hidden gem ', the crew at Mitsubishi Motors crunched the numbers to find the real deal. They sorted through more than 50,000 Aussie attractions on TripAdvisor, filtering out the big-ticket spots, before landing on a top 20 list of secret natural hotspots – all with high ratings, but barely any online searches. It's no secret Aussies love chasing waterfalls, so we're not surprised that a hidden waterfall, Gunlom Falls (a stunning waterfall in Kakadu National Park), claims the title of Australia's top hidden gem. But Broken Hill's Daydream Mine Mine – a historic silver mine on the outskirts of the NSW town – is a more surprising addition to the list. Here, visitors can explore subterranean tunnels where the silver miners of the 1880s (mainly hailing from Cornwall in the south of England) worked. Although the tunnels themselves were man-made, the mine has been counted as a natural wonder in this study due to the natural rock formations, and we're not here to argue. Although we're of the belief that NSW is home to many of the country's most spectacular natural wonders, Broken Hill's Daydream Mine was the only NSW spot to make the list, ranking at number 12 on the list of 20. You can explore the full list of Australia's best little-known natural wonders worth the road trip here or check out the summary below. These are the 20 best secret natural wonders in Australia worth road tripping for Gunlom Falls, NT Mount Coot-tha Summit Lookout, QLD Seventy-Five Mile Beach, QLD St Columba Falls, TAS Grassy Hill, QLD Kelly's Knob Lookout, WA Guide Falls, TAS Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve, WA Fraser Avenue Lookout, WA The Nut State Reserve, TAS Chillagoe-Mungana Caves, QLD Day Dream Mine, NSW Thunder Point Coastal Reserve, VIC Undara Lava Tubes, QLD Woolshed Waterfalls, VIC Coombabah Lakelands, QLD Crystal Cave Yanchep, WA Cutta Cutta Caves, NT Coral Bay Beach, WA Mount Charlotte Lookout, WA Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. . . This is why Broken Hill was ranked as the second best tourist town in Australia in 2024.
Mint
17-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Activist Investors Flood Japanese Firms With Record Proposals
Activist investors are inundating Japanese companies with an unprecedented number of proposals that will keep executives on their toes at annual general meetings. Firms have received a record 137 requests from activists, according to data compiled by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp. The shareholders are delving deeper into management decisions and demanding changes to board structures and privatizations. The country's jammed AGM season matters more than ever this year as investors seek signs that Japanese stocks - which have underperformed most major markets this year - can get out of a rut. The proposals are putting added pressure on management to deliver tangible growth strategies, rather than simply turning to the quick fix of more buybacks or dividends. 'With new activist holdings being revealed each day, companies are paying extra attention to governance and capital efficiency,' said Rieko Otsuka, a strategist at MCP Asset Management Japan Inc. 'There's a sense of impending crisis among management about when they might be targeted,' she said. The season peaks next week with more than 40% of listed companies - that's over 1,700 firms - set to hold AGMs. They will be at venues including the luxury Palace Hotel near the Emperor's residence, and the Ariake Arena which was built as a venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Some executives are readying for drawn-out meetings as overall proposals from activists and other shareholders have increased to almost 400, according to Mitsubishi UFJ Trust. That's well over double the number a decade ago. In contrast in the US, total proposals this year fell 14% through May 13 compared with the January-June period last year, as investor demand declined for environmental and social issue-related changes, according to a report from ISS-Corporate based on Russell 3000 index companies. Read: Activist Investors Set Record With $6.6 Billion Spree in Japan Activist investors typically acquire a significant stake and then exert pressure on a firm to influence how it's run, suggesting the increasing presence of these shareholders in Japan may be key to driving pro-growth strategies. Here's a look at some AGM proposals: The scrutiny in Japan is important right now because it may help carve out a path for corporate growth amid a worsening business climate as tariffs upended key sectors of the economy. Gains in Japanese stocks have been limited this year, raising the risk that the Topix Index's two-year rally is over. Read: Dalton Allies With Murakami-Linked Fund to Shake Up Fuji Media 'We get to vote once a year, so it's important and I think probably more than other cultures, voting against the president or the chairman sends a pretty clear message,' said Carl Vine, co-head of Asia-Pacific equities at M&G Investments, whose holdings include Toyota Motor Co. and Seven & i Holdings Co. Even so, proposals aimed to improving shareholder returns still make up a large chunk of activists' requests, and that may provide a short-term boost to the market as deep-pocketed companies pour more cash into buybacks. Read: Japan Calls On Companies to Find Value Beyond Share Buybacks In addition, activist proposals rarely get passed because of opposition from domestic investors, who tend to be quite conservative. Still, the increase in proposals comes at an unfortunate time for executives who can no longer rely as much as on cross-shareholders. The waning influence of this cohort, also known as stable or policy shareholders, may increase the clout of institutional investors at proxy fights. This puts the focus more on companies with low approval ratings and 'opens up the possibility that maybe a new shareholder would come in and try and put additional pressure on management,' said Bruce Kirk, chief Japan equity strategist at Goldman Sachs Japan Co. All this means that AGMs are now a far cry from how they were conducted before Japan's corporate reforms kicked in and the market caught the attention of overseas investors. 'There was a time when decisions were made at AGMs in a planned, harmonious, and ritualistic manner, just for the sake of it,' said Hidenori Yoshikawa, chief consultant at Daiwa Institute of Research, a Tokyo-based think tank. 'Now, until the meeting ends, we don't know how it will turn out.' This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Indian Express
04-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Maharashtra emerging as key destination of global investors: CM
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that Maharashtra is not only cementing its position as India's leading industrial state but is also emerging as a key destination for global investors. The chief minister was speaking at the event '2025 India Conference: Accelerating Growth, Maharashtra @ One Trillion' hosted by Bank of America at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai. Highlighting the state's growing role in defence manufacturing, data infrastructure, and startup innovation, Fadnavis said Maharashtra is now prepared for the industries and innovations of the future. The CM said that the Make in India initiative has significantly benefited Maharashtra. Citing the recent success of 'Operation Sindoor', he said it showcases India's evolving defence production capabilities, with Maharashtra emerging as the true epicentre of the country's defence manufacturing sector, despite the presence of industry clusters in states like Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. He pointed out that Maharashtra currently houses nearly 60 per cent of India's total data centre capacity, and Mumbai has become the fintech capital of the country. The state is also becoming a magnet for startups, offering fertile ground for tech and innovation-driven enterprises. 'Global investors are seeking stable and secure environments to invest in, especially within global supply chains—and India is best placed to offer that,' Fadnavis said, adding that Maharashtra is fully geared to seize this opportunity. The CM said that Maharashtra attracted over Rs 16 lakh crore in investments during the recent World Economic Forum at Davos. Over half of this is directed towards manufacturing, he said, reflecting the tangible impact of the Make in India policy on the ground. Given the geographic limitations of coastal Mumbai, Fadnavis outlined the development of a 'Fourth Mumbai' around the Vadhavan Port region. The proposed city will be three times the size of existing urban zones, featuring themed developments such as edu-city (with 10 international universities),sports city, medicine city, knowledge city and innovation city. He said that going beyond Mumbai, Thane, and Pune, the government is accelerating industrialisation in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. 'Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is being positioned as an EV manufacturing hub. Gadchiroli is set to become a new 'steel city' with over Rs 1 lakh crore in investments. Cities like Nagpur, Nashik and Dhule are witnessing large-scale investments in IT, manufacturing, and infrastructure,' he said Fadnavis also introduced a three-stage administrative vision: immediate action plan – Maharashtra 2029; mid-term strategy – Maharashtra 2035; and long-term vision – Maharashtra 2047. These plans will integrate emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) into governance and economic planning. A new advanced cybersecurity centre is also in the pipeline to address growing cybercrime threats in a unified manner. Concluding his address, Fadnavis reiterated that Maharashtra is not only chasing rapid industrial and infrastructure growth but is building a resilient, future-ready economy capable of supporting India's rise on the global stage.
