Asia

The Tokyo metropolitan government has unveiled a plan to use an underground facility near Tokyo Station as a shelter for residents and tourists in the event of a ballistic missile attack. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told a press conference earlier this month that a survey would begin in the current financial year through March in preparation for revamping Yaesu car park, which is located about two to 11 metres (six to 36 feet) underground. The alterations are expected to include setting up...

In the rush to build an AI future, semiconductors are the silicon rock stars that soak up all the applause. Yet behind the curtain, an unglamorous stagehand is doing much of the heavy lifting. Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are the copper-laced panels inside every mobile phone, car key fob, digital camera and data-centre server rack on Earth. Without them, even the most advanced AI chip would be useless, unable to process even a single line of code. This year alone, more than 1 million square...

Artificial intelligence (AI) poses risks that do not respect national borders, from cyberattacks and misinformation to system malfunction and potentially dangerous misuse. In a geopolitically charged world, does greater incompatibility between countries make AI safer? UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres offered a clear answer at the inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance: “When countries align on how to test systems, measure risk and assign responsibility, safety travels with the...

Rescuers pulled out survivors caked in dark brown mud and helicopters lifted stranded people to safety, as Nepal and China raced to respond to catastrophic flash floods that killed nearly 600 people and left almost 2,500 missing. The rescue efforts included a team that rappelled into a severely damaged checkpoint area on the Chinese side of the border between the two countries. Rescuers were on high alert for more flooding from a new lake that formed high up in the Himalayan mountains after the...

Malaysia sees an opening in the Gulf travel disruption caused by the Iran war, pitching itself as a Muslim-friendly destination for travellers seeking halal food, prayer facilities and family-focused holidays. But such gains could be limited because the conflict has not only weakened tourism within the Middle East, but also affected long-haul flight routes that Malaysia depends on to draw Muslim tourists, according to analysts. The push comes as the six-month-old war continues to disrupt travel...

For more than a month, Aaron* thought he and his wife were learning how to trade stocks. Only later would they realise the lessons were part of the trap. The Singaporean business owner had found a group of self-styled investment experts on Facebook, claiming to offer foolproof tips and guaranteed returns. Soon, he and his wife, who were dabbling in stocks for the first time, were spending about two hours every other day in a WhatsApp group chat with dozens of other participants, taking lessons...

Roblox has become a flashpoint in Southeast Asia’s debate over child safety online, as officials scrutinise whether young users are being exposed to harmful subcultures on the gaming platform. But analysts warn that it might just be a convenient scapegoat for wider failures in how children are protected online and offline. Most recently, Roblox has been linked to the August 18 school shooting in the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga, where a Grade 9 student brought two firearms to a private...

A 48-year-old Malaysian man is believed to have killed his wife and their two young children before taking his life at a Kuala Lumpur flat, in a case police said might have been linked to losses from an alleged online love scam purportedly involving the woman. Initial police investigations found a note left by the man, blaming his actions on the scam, which had left the family with US$61,000 in losses and debt, police said on Friday. The 48-year-old father wrote that he was distraught over his...

Japanese police will expand use of body-worn cameras nationwide from next financial year after trials showed they were effective in providing evidence and verifying that investigative procedures were followed appropriately, the National Police Agency said on Friday. The agency has requested about 170 million yen (US$1 million) for the year starting April 2027 to cover related costs for around 2,000 cameras. Trials began in September last year in 13 prefectural police departments, covering...

Helicopter rescue teams were working on Friday to rescue around 100 people trapped inside a tunnel at a hydropower project in Nepal swamped by a devastating flood two days earlier. “Our focus is in search and rescue of people … some people are trapped in the tunnel of Trishuli 3A hydropower project,” Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said. “Two helicopters have been dispatched but it is challenging because it is tough to even locate the entry points of the tunnel. Relief efforts are also...

Security guard Ni-arfan Doloh was taking a routine photograph for his nightly report on Saturday when five masked men carrying rifles emerged from inside a government office in Thailand’s southern Narathiwat province. “I was shocked,” said Ni-arfan, 25, recalling how they led him and another guard behind the Chang Phueak subdistrict office, instructed them to sit with their hands behind their backs, and promised no harm would come to them. The masked men then set fire to the building, one of at...

South Korea supports US President Donald Trump’s efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, ‌but aims to ensure its security posture is not weakened and that Seoul is not sidelined, according to South Korea’s national security adviser. Seoul believed the resumption of talks between the US and North Korea should focus on progress on the North Korean nuclear weapons issue and must not undermine the country’s security readiness, Wi Sung-lac told reporters on Friday. “One point to keep in mind is...

South Korea said on Friday it would hold joint military exercises with the United States and Japan in September, after Washington scaled back annual drills with Seoul in an apparent bid to encourage dialogue with North Korea. The three countries would conduct the North Korea-focused Freedom Edge exercise from September 7 to 11 in international waters east and south of South Korea’s Jeju Island, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. “This exercise is a defensive drill conducted annually by...

Choking haze has forced Malaysia to move its leader’s annual National Day speech to an indoor venue from a public square, the communications ministry has said, underscoring the severity of cross-border pollution from severe wildfires in the region. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, due to address the country on August 30 on the eve of Independence Day celebrations, will speak from a convention centre in the administrative capital Putrajaya instead of at Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka Square, a historic open...

Japan plans to provide defence equipment and other supplies to the armed forces of at least 12 like-minded countries under its Official Security Assistance programme in the current financial year, up from eight countries the previous year, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The military of Kenya, which sits on the western Indian Ocean, is expected to be a first-time recipient under the programme, with the Japanese government seeking to strengthen maritime security cooperation,...

When Japan’s embassy in the Philippines extended applications for healthcare jobs on April 15, the pitch was straightforward: 50 positions for nurses and 300 for care workers in Japan, a three- to four-year placement, free Japanese-language lessons in both countries and a daily allowance during training. On social media, the post’s attractive terms drew widespread interest from Filipinos – a reminder that Japan is still urgently recruiting foreign labour even as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s...

Okinawa’s governor election next month is set to be a major test of whether Japan’s ruling party can win over voters from a prefecture that has long opposed its security agenda and the heavy US military presence on its islands. A victory by Genta Koja, the Liberal Democratic Party-backed candidate, would likely help smooth ties between Okinawa and Tokyo and weaken resistance against the planned relocation of the US Marine Corps’ Futenma base within the prefecture, according to analysts. Such an...

In arguably his most important foreign trip, Elbridge Colby, US undersecretary for defence policy, visited key Southeast Asian capitals this month. In a speech in Manila, the Pentagon policy chief extolled America’s “flexible realism”, which he said serves “the practical, concrete interests of regular Americans” and echoes Southeast Asian nations’ commitment to “pragmatism, an openness to dialogue, respect for counterparts, proud nationalism, and a focus on economic prosperity”. Amid the United...

India is turning to its private industry to help produce missiles, hoping a wider manufacturing base can cut its import dependence while boosting its defence export capacity and deterrence against Pakistan and China. But India’s push towards self-reliance in defence manufacturing is still a distant goal, according to analysts, citing its missile supply chain’s heavy reliance on imported components, while private firms have yet to prove that they can soon build complex weapons. On Tuesday, Indian...

South Korea’s central bank has raised interest rates for a second straight month, with analysts saying its semiconductor boom has given policymakers room to confront inflation, a weak won and rising home prices, but at the cost of a deeper squeeze on indebted households and small businesses. The Bank of Korea (BOK) lifted its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage point to 3.0 per cent on Thursday, a month after an identical increase took it to 2.75 per cent in July. The latest move brought the rate...

A Singapore opposition lawmaker has urged that state investor Temasek’s money not be used to shore up Air India, after the Indian carrier had asked owners Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, which Temasek majority-owns, for US$1.5 billion. Kenneth Tiong, a member of parliament for the opposition Workers’ Party, said ‌in a social media post on Wednesday that because Singapore Airlines owns about 25 per cent of Air India and Temasek in turn owns most of the Singapore carrier, the request was “not...

Japan plans to look into popular animal cafes, where visitors can interact with anything from cats to capybaras, following concerns about hygiene and the creatures’ welfare, authorities said on Thursday. Japan has hundreds of the cafes where campaigners say animals are sometimes kept in cramped spaces, and that their popularity encourages the capture and illegal trade of rare wildlife. A fact-finding survey will begin as early as next month, starting with obtaining basic information such as the...

The Philippines’ push for military modernisation is being squeezed by a ballooning pension bill for its troops as fears mount over its ability to finance newer ships, aircraft and other defence assets. The Department of National Defence has proposed spending 142.95 billion pesos (US$2.3 billion) on military and uniformed personnel (MUP) pensions in 2027, out of a total proposed defence budget of 324.6 billion pesos. The planned pension budget is 7 per cent higher than the 133.91 billion pesos...

The body of an unidentified person was found inside the wheel well of an aircraft at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 (KLIA2) on Thursday (Aug 27). The body, whose gender has yet to be determined, was discovered at about 6.55am in the wheel well of a flight from Tokyo, Japan, which landed at about 6.30am. It is learnt that the body, clad in jeans and a white shirt, was found by engineering personnel who were tasked with opening the aircraft’s wheel well. The personnel...

North Korea’s foreign ministry on Thursday denounced a US decision to approve the sale of missiles and related equipment to South Korea, vowing to respond “strongly and immediately” to hostile acts in various areas, state media Korean Central News Agency reported. The remarks come as US President Donald Trump renewed overtures to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, expressing interest ⁠in another meeting and saying this month that Kim had responded to his outreach. Analysts say Pyongyang ‌had shown...

Malaysia’s former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob pleaded not guilty in a Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Thursday to failing to declare millions of ringgit in local and foreign currencies and gold bars. The 66-year-old is the second ex-leader to face criminal charges since Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim took office in 2022, pledging to root out entrenched corruption. Ismail Sabri’s charge under Section 36(2) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act comes more than a year after he...

The lonely journey of a bull elephant trying to return to its jungle home has captured the hearts of Malaysians over the past week, putting a spotlight on the plight of wildlife struggling against deforestation and rapidly expanding human activity. The elephant – dubbed “Sulong” by Malaysians keenly following social media updates on his weeks-long journey – was first spotted by motorists on August 17, walking slowly along the busy East-West Highway in an apparent attempt to reach the...

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is looking to push back national elections until the second half of next year, people familiar with the matter said, as state poll defeats and soured partnerships reveal his political vulnerability. That time frame would mark a significant delay. Just months ago, the 79-year-old leader was said to be mulling a snap election as soon as this October, perceiving his greatest risk at the time to be rising fuel prices. But two humbling state election losses...

South Korea’s police said on Thursday they were seeking indictments of seven transport ministry officials over the 2024 Jeju Air crash that killed all but two of the 181 people on board. The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air skidded off the runway at Muan International Airport in southern South Korea after its landing gear failed to deploy, slamming into a concrete structure and bursting into flames. Authorities have found traces of bird strike in the plane’s engines and the plane’s two black...

Singapore’s new rules for messaging platforms mark a significant shift in the country’s fight against scams, placing greater responsibility on digital services to help stop fraudsters before they reach potential victims, as the government seeks stronger penalties for non-compliance. Analysts said the requirements could reduce the number of people exposed to scams and offer a potential model for other Southeast Asian countries, while cautioning that sophisticated fraudsters could adapt and seek...