NewJeans end show in tears as they go on hiatus after legal setback

Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein, members of K-Pop powerhouse girl group NewJeans, likely believed until three days ago that their Hong Kong performance on Sunday would be one that signified their victory against their record label Ador.

But a Seoul court dashed their hopes on Friday after it ruled against the quintet, granting Ador’s request for an injunction to establish themselves as NewJeans’ management agency and forbidding the group to pursue any kind of independent activity – making music, performing, or signing advertising deals.

NewJeans and Ador have been embroiled in a feud since last year’s ouster of Min Hee Jin, the band’s former creative director and Ador’s former CEO, by Ador’s parent company Hybe.

Matters came to a head after the group held a press conference, unilaterally declared their exclusive contract with Ador invalid, and accused the agency of having “neither the ability nor the will to protect” NewJeans.

Ador denied the band’s allegations of mistreatment and bullying, maintained that they had “not violated the terms of the agreement”, and argued that a “unilateral claim of a breach of trust does not constitute valid grounds for terminating the contract”.

NewJeans were scheduled to perform on Sunday at ComplexCon Hong Kong where they had previously announced they would release a new song under the new name they debuted last month: NJZ.

As fans were to discover, however, the performance that should have felt like a triumph ended up a little more somber.

The mood on the ground resembled a regular festival or concert atmosphere; “Bunnies”, the official name of NewJeans’ fandom, showed up with light sticks and dressed in band merchandise, rushing to buy more from the booth, and writing messages of support on the walls.

A key detail to note: the name on the group’s booth and merchandise said NJZ, not NewJeans.

After the court’s order on Friday, a statement from Ador said the company was “fully committed” to the group and would be “fully present” in Hong Kong to “guarantee the performance is presented under the NewJeans name”.

When the performance began, none of the members performed NewJeans songs or even performed together. Danielle sang TLC’s “No Scrubs”, followed by Minji’s rendition of Upsahl’s “Smile for the Camera” and Haerin’s “Dontcha” by the Internet.

Hyein and Hanni rounded out the covers with their takes on SWV’s “Use Your Heart” and Ghost Town DJs’ “My Boo”.

Finally, they came together in synchronised costumes, with Minji’s tights reading Chapter NJZ. They performed a new song, “Pitstop”, complete with their signature, fluid style of choreography that set the group apart from their K-Pop peers.

And then, the band read out prepared speeches, in Korean and English, to the 11,000-odd sold-out audience. They would be going on hiatus, they said.

“It’s really hard for us to say this but this might be our last performance for a little while. Out of respect for the court’s decision, we’ve decided to pause all our activities for now. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we believe this is something we need to do at this moment,” they told the crowd.

“Honestly, we’ve known from the start that this journey wasn’t going to be easy and even though we accept the court’s ruling and this whole process, we had to speak up to protect the values that we believe in, and that was a choice that we don’t regret at all.

“We surely believe that standing up for our dignity, our rights and everything we deeply care about is something we had to do, and that belief will not change.”

The group added that the decision might be “disappointing or upsetting but it was not an easy decision for us to make either”.

“But right now, though, it feels too hard to keep going at this pace, and as strong as we are trying to stay, it has honestly taken a bit of mental and emotional toll on us. However, this doesn’t mean that we are going to give up. We will keep pushing forward no matter what.”

South Korean media reported that Ador staff went to ComplexCon, but were unable to meet the group. Responding to the hiatus announcement, Ador said it “deeply regrets that, despite the court’s decision, a performance was carried out under a name other than NewJeans, and that an abrupt suspension of activities was announced unilaterally”.

“Ador remains committed to doing its utmost for NewJeans under a valid exclusive contract. We hope to meet the artistes soon to discuss their future.”

As things stand now, it appears NewJeans intends to do nothing until the resolution of the main lawsuit with Ador over the legitimacy of their unilateral contract termination. The first hearing is set for 3 April.

After Friday’s ruling, the group’s statement implied the same. The band said while they respected the court’s decision, they believed it didn’t “fully take into account the complete breakdown of trust” between the group and the agency.

“It is important to note that an injunction is a provisional measure. A separate main lawsuit regarding the validity of the exclusive contract termination is currently underway, with a court hearing scheduled for April 3. Unlike injunction proceedings, the main lawsuit allows us to freely utilise civil procedure tools to collect necessary evidence,” they said.

“As we have stated before, regardless of any financial matters, we can no longer remain with a management that has disrespected our identities and undermined our achievements.”

While fans stand by the group, as their messages on social media show, experts don’t share their optimism.

“Under the Korean judicial system, in cases like this where an agency files an injunction to suspend an artist’s activities, the proceedings are generally very favourable to the artist,” Sangrock Kho, a lawyer at the South Korean Law Firm Pil, told CNN, adding that Friday’s decision suggested NewJeans’ legal case was “either extremely weak or virtually nonexistent”.

“This is because courts are usually extremely reluctant to issue injunctions that could cause irreparable harm to an artist’s career by restricting their freedom of occupation,” the lawyer said.

“Given that, the fact that the court has nevertheless issued this type of injunction suggests that, after reviewing all the claims, evidence, and extensive presentation materials … the court concluded that NewJeans’ argument – that the breakdown in trust was entirely caused by Hybe and Ador – lacks sufficient legal basis.”

Hundreds evacuate in Japan after new wildfires break out

At least two people were injured and thousands were asked to evacuate as several wildfires burned across western Japan.

Firefighters continued to fight flames on Tuesday after fires started in the western towns of Okayama, Imabari and Aso on Sunday.

The fires, which quickly burned hundreds of hectares, erupted just days after massive wildfires in northern Japan burnt almost 3,000 hectares, nearly a tenth of the land in the area.

Six homes were damaged in the city of Okayama, where the fire burned over 250 hectares of land, Mainichi newspaper reported.

By Tuesday, however, the Okayama fire had subsided and evacuation orders had been lifted.

A smaller fire detected in the mountainous village of Aso in Kumamoto prefecture on the southern main island of Kyushu was extinguished early on Monday.

However, another wildfire in Imabari in Ehime prefecture continued to burn and was estimated to have destroyed at least 214 hectares of land, according to national broadcaster NHK.

On the main island of Shikoku, the fire left a firefighter injured.

At least 14 helicopters were reportedly deployed to spray water over the blazes and provide disaster relief to victims in Okayama and Ehime.

Evacuation orders remained in place for 553 people across 1,079 households in Imabari while 792 people across 1,506 households were under the same order in the neighbouring city of Saijo, according to Japan Times.

Local governments at one point ordered more than 3,000 residents to evacuate.

Experts blamed dry weather and dried fallen leaves on the forest floor as likely causes of the wildfires in Okayama and Imabari.

Some reports also blamed residents burning trash.

A wildfire also broke out in South Korea on Friday, burning through about 15,000 hectares. At least four people were reported to have died and 3,300 were displaced from their homes, state news agency Yonhap reported.

Japan disbands Unification Church after investigation into Abe killing

A Japanese court has ordered the dissolution of the controversial Unification Church linked to the 2022 assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

The church, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, has long been accused by Japan’s government of coercive fundraising tactics and cult-like behaviour, including manipulative recruitment and unlawful adoption practices.

The church said it was considering an immediate appeal of the order to revoke its legal status. It denounced the verdict as “unfair” and said the decision marked a major shakeup for religions across Japan.

“Since the assassination of former prime minister Abe, there has been a lot of misinformation circulating in the media and social media about our organisation,” it said in a statement.

“We sincerely ask that the general public does not discriminate against our congregation.”

The Tokyo District Court’s order to revoke its status will end the Unification Church’s tax-exempt privilege in Japan and force it to liquidate its assets.

The church, popularly known as “Moonies”, came under renewed scrutiny after an investigation into Abe’s assassination.

The man who shot Abe at a campaign rally on 8 July 2022 allegedly told police his actions were motivated by the former prime minister’s links to the church. He claimed that the church had bankrupted his family due to his mother’s excessive donations.

The assassination shocked Japan, a country with some of the world’s strictest gun control laws and low rates of political violence.

Subsequent investigations found longstanding ties between the church and Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party, which Abe led for years, triggering public outrage.

Abe appeared at events organised by church affiliates. In a video shown on a big screen at the meeting of Universal Peace Federation, a church affiliate, Abe praised its work towards peace on the Korean peninsula and focus on family values. An emphasis on traditional, paternalistic family systems was one of Abe’s key positions.

In 2023, the Japanese education ministry asked the Tokyo court to dissolve the church, accusing it of trying to steer its followers using manipulative tactics, making them buy expensive goods and donating beyond their financial ability, and causing fear and harm to them and their families.

After a year and a half of hearings behind closed doors, presiding judge Kenya Suzuki said “the order was necessary and inevitable” even if the court considered the right to freedom of religion.

“There were damages on an unprecedentedly large scale,” Mr Suzuki said.

The ministry submitted nearly 5,000 documents and pieces of evidence to the court based on interviews with over 170 people.

The Unification Church was founded in South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon. Moon claimed to have had a vision of Jesus as a teenager, instructing him to complete his “unfinished work”.

The church’s core text, the Divine Principle, outlines its beliefs in God, human history and salvation.

Moon, who declared himself the Messiah in 1992, was convicted of tax evasion in the US in 1982 and served 13 months in prison.

However, over the years, he built relationships with conservative world leaders, including US president Donald Trump and former presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush.

Moon also had ties to North Korea’s founder Kim Il Sung, the late grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un.

The Unification Church is the first religious group in Japan to face a revocation order under civil law. Two other groups have lost their status previously but due to criminal cases – Aum Shinrikyo, which carried out the Tokyo subway sarin attack, and Myokakuji, whose leaders were convicted of fraud.

Additional reporting by agencies.

China accused of ‘two-faced diplomacy’ after entering Japanese waters

China has been accused of “two-faced diplomacy” after pledging greater cooperation with Japan and South Korea in a high-level meeting, only for Chinese coast guard vessels to enter Japanese-controlled waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands the next day.

This move has sparked criticism in Japan, with some accusing their government of being overly trusting of China.

Four Chinese coast guard ships entered Japanese waters near the Senkaku Islands early Friday morning and stayed for 92 hours and 8 minutes, marking the longest intrusion since Japan nationalised the islands in 2012, according to the Japan’s coast guard.

The previous record was 80 hours and 36 minutes in 2023. The Senkaku Islands (known as Diaoyu Islands in China) are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. They are administered by Japan but claimed by China – and have been a longstanding flashpoint between the two countries.

The ships attempted to approach Japanese fishing boats before all four vessels left around 10.04pm on Monday, according to Japan coast guard officials in Okinawa.

Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya expressed concern over the “clearly escalating” presence of Chinese vessels near the disputed Senkaku Islands.

Two Chinese coast guard vessels entered Japan’s territorial waters near Minamikojima in the Senkaku Islands between 1.56am and 1.59am on Friday, according to the Japan’s coast guard. They reportedly made repeated attempts to approach nearby Japanese fishing boats and were later joined by two more ships. China’s coast guard is yet to comment on the accusations of intrusion.

According to the Kyodo News, an opposition lawmaker criticised the timing of the Chinese ships’ intrusion, calling it “extremely inappropriate” as it coincided with the bilateral foreign ministerial talks.

In response, Mr Iwaya said the meeting had occurred in “a conciliatory and friendly atmosphere”, but added, “it is truly regrettable that things like this happened, so we will deal with this issue in a resolute and calm manner”.

Earlier, following a trilateral meeting with China and South Korea on Saturday, Mr Iwaya expressed optimism about the high-level talks and said that there was “a frank exchange of views” and mentioned that the three countries had “confirmed that we will promote future-orientated cooperation”.

China’s Wang Yi had echoed this, advocating better communication to address shared challenges. However, tensions quickly resurfaced as Chinese coast guard vessels allegedly entered the waters near the Senkaku Islands less than 24 hours later.

A reader on the Okinawa-based Yaeyama Daily News website criticised Beijing’s approach, calling it “two-faced diplomacy”, the South China Morning Post reported.

Online comments expressed frustration over China’s actions, with one saying: “We must not tolerate China’s tyrannical violations of international law.”

Others called for tougher measures from Tokyo, including changes to the law to “sink ships, arrest trespassers and punish them in court”.

Myanmar junta airstrike on remote village clinic kills 11

Myanmar’s military allegedly struck a village medical clinic in the central Magway region, killing at least 11 people, including a doctor, in one of the deadliest attacks in recent days as the four-year-old civil war continues to rage.

The attack targeted Hnan Khar village in Gangaw township at around 8.40am on Saturday, Myanmar Now reported. The head doctor of the clinic, his pregnant wife and child were killed, as were several members of the staff and villagers living nearby.

The doctor was identified as Mya Soe Aung, 40, and his wife as Khaing Hnin Wai, 39.

“The entire home housing the clinic was obliterated in the explosion. There were body parts scattered all over the place. A neighbouring house was also reduced to ashes,” a witness to the attack told the outlet.

Pictures of the aftermath of the attack showed the wooden part of the makeshift hospital blown up and smoke rising from the debris.

Magway, on the banks of the Irrawaddy, was partly captured by forces opposed to the military junta after intense fighting nearly a month ago.

Myanmar has been engulfed in a civil war since the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party in a February 2021 coup.

The military has used lethal force to crack down on ethnic groups as well as peaceful demonstrations opposing junta rule, sparking armed conflict and violence in many parts of the country. But the military-ruled government has consistently denied carrying out attacks on civilians.

Myanmar’s border regions are home to numerous ethnic armed groups which have fought the military for autonomy and control over natural resources since independence in 1948. In recent years, they have seized wide swathes of territory in Chin, Rakhine and Shan states. Major cities such as Yangon and the capital Naypyidaw remain under junta control, though resistance activities have intensified even there.

According to the UN, at least 50,000 people have been killed and over two million displaced since the coup. The actual death toll is believed to be far higher as several regions remain cut off from major cities.

In January, at least 40 people, including children, were killed in a junta airstrike at the Kyauk Ni Maw village on Ramree Island, a township in Rakhine state currently held by the rebel Arakan Army. The bombing sparked a fire in the densely populated village that reportedly burned down at least 500 houses.

China frees staff of US consulting firm after two years in prison

Chinese authorities have released five employees of a US due diligence firm from detention two years after China cracked down on consultancies working with foreign multinationals.

“We understand that the Mintz Group Beijing employees who were detained, all Chinese nationals, have now all been released,” Mintz Group said in a statement.

“We are grateful to the Chinese authorities that our former colleagues can now be home with their families.”

In 2023, Beijing’s public security bureau raided the Mintz Group office in the capital and detained the five employees – alarming foreign investors in the country.

This marked the start of a series of raids by Chinese authorities on foreign consultancy and due diligence firms, including Bain & Company and Capvision Partners.

Later that year, China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced that New York-headquartered Mintz Group had been fined $1.5m for undertaking “foreign-related statistical investigations” without seeking and obtaining necessary approvals.

In another notice on its website, the bureau claimed that Mintz Group conducted 37 such investigations from March 2019 to July 2022. As a penalty, the bureau seized 5.34 million yuan of the firm’s “illegal proceeds” and imposed an additional administrative fine of the same amount, bringing the total to roughly $1.5m.

The US firm previously maintained that it was licensed to conduct legitimate business in China and has always operated within the law.

After the detentions in 2023, Mintz shut down its offices in both China and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the employees’ release on Tuesday came shortly after the China Development Forum, a key platform for Beijing to appeal to foreign investors.

Top business leaders like Apple’s Tim Cook and Pfizer’s Albert Bourla attended the event. Chinese premier Li Qiang assured increased market access for foreign investors and called for resisting protectionism, emphasising the need for global cooperation amid rising instability. It coincides with China’s efforts to attract investment amid slowing growth in the country’s economy and escalating tariffs from the US under president Donald Trump.

Warnings issued after New Zealand rocked by 6.8-magnitude earthquake

People in New Zealand were advised to stay away from the shore after an earthquake measuring magnitude 6.8 struck off the coast of South Island on Tuesday.

The quake struck at a depth of 33km off the southwest coast of the island’s Fiordland national park, and about 160km northwest of Snares Islands, at 2.43pm local time. Though officials issued a “tsunami advisory”, it said no evacuation orders were necessary unless directed by local authorities.

The notice issued by the National Emergency Management Agency warned people to move off boats and keep out of the water, while adding that “coastal inundation (flooding of land areas near the shore) is not expected as a result of this event”.

It said remote parts of Fiordland’s coast were the most likely to be affected. “Strong currents and surges can injure and drown people. There is a danger to swimmers, surfers, people fishing, and anyone in or near the water close to shore,” the agency warned.

“People in or near the sea in the following areas should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries.

“People on boats, live-aboards and at marinas should leave their boats/vessels and move onto shore. Do not return to boats unless instructed by officials.”

The areas under threat cover the west coast of South Island, from Milford Sound to Puysegur Point.

There was no threat of a tsunami to Southland’s coast, said Emergency Management Southland civil defence controller Aly Curd.

Australia’s national weather bureau also confirmed that there was no tsunami threat to the mainland, islands or territories.

Thousands of people in New Zealand reported feeling the earthquake. “We had things fall off shelf. The outdoor wooden table dancing,” a user posted on Facebook, according to the New Zealand Herald.

“Students were evacuated to a field and clearing area and we were required to walk to the old hospital where buses would come in due course,” a Te Waewae Bay local teaching in Riverton told the outlet. “A few of us are at the pub sharing stories.”

Tuatapere Four Square owner Mark Hewton said the earthquake hit suddenly. “It was a very soft rolling earthquake. It wasn’t aggressive. It wasn’t enough to cause any damage that I’m aware of,” he told RNZ News.

“All the staff felt it and it was definitely enough to make you stop what you were doing and make you think about getting under a door or something.

“We haven’t felt one like that for quite a wee while.”

New Zealand lies on the seismically active “Ring of Fire”, a 40,000-km arc of volcanoes and ocean trenches girdling much of the Pacific Ocean.

Experts said the earthquake struck a region where we only have limited scientific understanding but which carries a significant tsunami risk. It occurred near the Puysegur Trench, a tectonic plate boundary where the Australian plate descends beneath the Pacific plate.

This boundary extends over 800km southward from South Island into the remote Southern Ocean, about 400km west of the Auckland Islands.

“There is still much we don’t know about this area,” seismologist Dr Finn Illsley-Kemp told the New Zealand Herald. Researchers from Victoria University, including his colleagues, have been studying the region. “Compared to other areas, it has received far less scientific attention, leaving uncertainties about its tectonic behaviour – yet it has produced some of our most powerful earthquakes.”

Chinese EV maker BYD beats rival Tesla’s 2024 revenue

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD surpassed the $100bn revenue mark in 2024, beating rival Tesla’s earnings for the year, a new stock filing revealed.

Shenzhen-based BYD emerged as Tesla’s biggest competitor in recent years as the Elon Musk-owned company faced a continued drop in sales revenue.

BYD has been actively seeking growth globally, spreading to markets in Europe and Asia with the roll-out of new compact models at lower prices and super-fast charging capabilities.

A new statement filed on Monday revealed that BYD recorded 777.1 bn yuan ($107.2 bn) in revenue for 2024, eclipsing the $97.7 bn revenue announced by Tesla for the year.

The filing suggested that BYD grew by nearly 30 per cent compared to its sales revenue in the previous year. Meanwhile, the Chinese EV maker’s profits for 2024 also seemed to have grown by over a third compared to 2023, the filings showed.

In the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, BYD’s profits surged by 73 per cent, records revealed.

BYD’s growth is in line with a surge in demand for EVs in China with over 20 million battery-powered cars estimated to be on road.

It has overtaken giants like Volkswagen selling a record 4.25 million vehicles in 2024, Reuters reported.

The company’s shares skyrocketed to record highs this month after it unveiled a commercial battery for EVs capable of charging in almost the same time as it takes to fill up a fuel tank.

BYD announced last week that its new Super E-Platform battery pack offers 1,000kW charge speeds – about four times quicker than the 250kW charging rate offered by Tesla’s superchargers.

It has also promised to roll out its “God’s Eye” smart driving system on most of its line up with no extra charge – a feature at odds with Tesla’s full self-driving mode, or FSD, for which the American EV maker charges over $8,000.

This means the Chinese automaker’s new set of batteries could provide a range of up to 400km (249miles) from charging for just about five minutes.

The company said its new lithium-iron-phosphate battery technology would “completely solve users’ range anxiety when travelling”, adding that it plans to introduce the latest battery system in its Han L and Tang L models as early as next month in China.

Meanwhile, Tesla has been facing a continuous slump with its share prices dropping for nine consecutive weeks, and its valuation dropping by over half since December.

Tesla sales have plummeted in Europe as well. Tesla sold fewer than 10,000 vehicles across Europe in January, which marks a fall of a massive 45 per cent compared to a year ago when they sold over 18,000, reports the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).