Make it rain: Indonesia chases clouds to stem El Nino fires

Cloud seeding is rarely used to tackle wildfires globally, but Indonesia believes it can help tackle a wildfire season that experts say is on track to become one of the worst in years.

Japan defence minister says US, South Korea cooperation 'critical' for security

Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi's comments came after US President Donald Trump downsized military drills with South Korea, praised his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and lashed out at Seoul for not helping Washington fight Iran.

Monsoon rains trigger widespread flooding in Philippines

Heavy rainfall due to the south-west monsoon will likely continue on Aug 19.

At this Beijing restaurant, robots make and cook your noodles, and deliver them to your table

Its operator bills it as Beijing’s first fully commercialised robot noodle restaurant.

Bond yields jump, oil extends gains as US-Iran ceasefire expires

China lowers flags, tightens security for former premier Zhu Rongji's funeral

As vice premier from 1991 to 1998 and premier from 1998 to 2003, Zhu Rongji helped drive China's hard-edged economic overhaul during the 1990s.

Student killed in Philippines Catholic school shooting

The alleged shooter, also a student, later took his own life.

The myth of Chinese tolls in the western Pacific

The 2025 US National Security Strategy (NSS) asserts that America must prevent China from establishing “tolls” in the South China Sea to preserve the freedom of navigation. Half a year later, practically the entire national security establishment is fixated on the issue of

Two students dead in Philippines school shooting including gunman, officials say

MANILA, Aug 18 - Two students were killed in a shooting at a high school in the southern Philippines on Tuesday, one of them the gunman, and the situation was now under control, officials said, the second such incident in the country in less than two months.

Mayor says shooting incident at a school in southern Philippines, reports two casualties

The two casualties are students, one of whom was the gunman, Zamboanga Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso told DZMM radio.

2 dead in school shooting in southern Philippines

A student opened fire on campus before killing himself, with another student among those shot.

Bengaluru surprise restaurant inspections uncover expired food, hygiene lapses

The seizures included 276kg of rotten or mould-affected vegetables, expired dairy and bakery products and used or non-compliant cooking oil.

Two students dead in Philippine school shooting, officials say

There were two casualties, both students, one of whom was the gunman.

South Korea's Lee backs stronger self-defence, says drills not aimed at North Korea

SEOUL, Aug 18 - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Tuesday for stronger independent defence capabilities, while saying annual civil-defence exercises coinciding with joint U.S.-South Korea military drills were defensive and not intended to threaten North Korea.

South Korea President Lee backs stronger self-defence, says drills not aimed at North Korea

Lee said civil defence exercises were aimed at safeguarding South Koreans’ lives and safety.

China lowers flags, tightens security for former premier Zhu Rongji’s funeral

Zhu, the no-nonsense reformer, died last week at the age of 97.

Proposed US-led tech hub in the Philippines will secure supply chains, create jobs

The hub signals Washington’s symbolic return to the site of its largest overseas bases, analysts said.

Trump move to cut drills with South Korea shocks experts, analysts

He cited his “good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and criticised the South.

Erdogan urges Trump to pursue talks with Iran, offers support

ANKARA, Aug 18 - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call to pursue talks with Iran to de-escalate tensions between the two countries, and offered Ankara's support for peace efforts, the Turkish presidency said on Tuesday.

Millions of guns, repeated shootings: Thailand confronts limits of firearm control

Thailand eyes tougher firearms rules after deadly shootings, but a CNA probe finds illegal weapons easy to buy. Experts say gun control is an elusive target.

Indonesia's Lido SEZ and Trump-linked golf clubhouse resume construction after months of uncertainty

Indonesian authorities had earlier halted work citing environmental concerns.

Commentary: A new ‘NATO of the East’? Why the Mecca pact isn’t quite what it seems

The agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan is an experiment in regional self-reliance, says this professor.

Cheap Chinese AI tokens collide with deepening Sino-US bloc split

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) developers are undercutting American rivals on token prices, but according to recent analyst reports, many enterprises end up paying more once the tokens needed to finish a task are counted. The so-called “DeepSeek Moment” in January 2025

Georgia man charged in US with running $165 million crypto Ponzi scheme

Aug 17 - A Georgia man has been deported from Fiji to face charges in his home state accusing him of defrauding more than 6,000 investors and causing more than $165 million of losses in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, the U.S. attorney in Atlanta said on Monday.

North Korea grows stronger as the South ponders fading US support

According to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, North Korea is preparing to send as many as 50,000 fresh troops to support Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine. While the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been unable to verify Zelensky’s claim, it has not

Trump threatens to ‘bomb the shit’ out of Oman in Hormuz dispute

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to bomb a US ally in the Middle East if it gets in the way of a perpetually elusive deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking with Fox News, Trump was asked about talks that Iran and Oman have been conducting about

US deployable aircraft carrier deficit needs fixing

On August 6, 2026, there was a town hall meeting between US Navy officials including Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and more than 200 family members of the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln, at the naval air station on North Island, San Diego. North Island is the home port of the

Trump appeases North Korea as Kim steps up his Ukraine aggression

On August 14, North Korea issued a typical threat ahead of a major US-South Korean military exercise. “It is our consistent principle of ensuring security to respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent,” the statement said. North Korea “will more clearly

At least 500 people hospitalised in Yangon cholera outbreak

At least 500 people have been hospitalised with severe diarrhoea in Yangon, with 149 testing positive for cholera.

Trump says North Korea's Kim has responded to his overtures

WASHINGTON, Aug 17 - President Donald Trump said on Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had responded to his overtures after Trump ordered the United States to scale back military exercises with South Korea.

Mushroom murderer Erin Patterson is appealing - here's what you need to know

The Australian, who notoriously poisoned her family members, is trying to overturn her conviction.

US hypersonic missile drive blurs the nuclear threshold

The US is betting that a new generation of hypersonic cruise missiles can restore a decisive edge in long-range strike, but turning that ambition into a practical wartime capability will require overcoming challenges that extend well beyond speed and range alone. This month,

Battered by war, Iran’s rulers wary of more economic pain and unrest if US tightens pressure

DUBAI, Aug 17 - Even as Iran projects resilience in the war with the United States, its leaders are worried that a threat of more economic punishment by Donald Trump could increase hardships, reignite unrest and further erode the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy.

US military morale in the Middle East is in the overflowing toilet

Rotten food, overflowing toilets into bunking areas, no room in the incoming missile shelters, confiscated cellphones that are the notification devices for incoming missiles, infrequent mail, social media closed down, were some of the issues that military families identified at

Hundreds hospitalised in Yangon cholera outbreak: Minister

Since Aug 9, 500 people have been hospitalised for diarrhoea, the key symptom of cholera.

The delusion of strategic stability in a nuclear world

Suppose for a moment that reliance on nuclear arms by the United States and other nuclear powers will produce “strategic stability” for the rest of this century. That is, that there will be no nuclear war or war on a major scale between the nuclear powers. Is that a world we

India PM Modi’s BJP replaces social media head weeks after youth protests

The reshuffle is the first by new BJP president Nitin Nabin who took charge in January.

RTS Link commuters can clear immigration in seconds, says project director

The RTS Link is designed to handle 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport to expand auto-gate system to 31 more nationalities by end-August

The airport handles up to 190,000 passengers per day during peak tourist seasons.

Inside JB’s RTS Link station: 25-minute target from concourse to train, high-tech scanners planned

CNA goes behind the scenes at Johor Bahru’s Bukit Chagar RTS Link station, where high-tech body scanners, an operations command centre and direct links to nearby malls are taking shape ahead of the rail service’s expected launch in Jan 2027.

JB-Singapore RTS Link: First look at Bukit Chagar station, and Malaysia’s 25-minute target for commuters

CNA goes behind the scenes at Johor Bahru’s Bukit Chagar RTS Link station, where high-tech body scanners, an operations command centre and direct links to nearby malls are taking shape ahead of the rail service’s expected launch in January 2027.

Cambodian opposition figure’s daughter appointed PM’s envoy in rare concession

The role gives Kem Monovithya a rank equivalent to a minister and was granted at the request of Hun Manet.

Cambodian opposition figure's daughter appointed PM's envoy in rare concession

PHNOM PENH, Aug 17 - The daughter of a recently pardoned Cambodian opposition figure who was jailed for alleged treason has been appointed special envoy to Prime Minister Hun Manet, a royal decree showed on Monday, in a rare concession to the political opposition.

Iran says it will escalate if US does not honour deal within weeks

DUBAI, Aug 17 - Iran will escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and beyond, and launch an attack if the U.S. fails to implement an interim peace deal fully in a matter of weeks, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday.

Hotel blaze, stampede kill 15 Hindu devotees in India

Victims were paying homage to Hindu deity Shiva during the holy month of Shravan.

Trump orders US-S. Korea military drills trimmed as he seeks to re-engage Pyongyang

The move is unlikely to succeed given North Korea's closer ties with Moscow, say analysts.

India says it thwarted attacks by Pakistan-backed militants, arrested over 200 operatives

MUMBAI, Aug 17 - Indian security agencies arrested more than 200 \"terror operatives\" linked to Pakistan, thwarting potential \"subversive attacks\" around the country's Independence Day last week, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday, in one of the largest such crackdowns

Landslide in southwest China kills at least one person

BEIJING, Aug 17 - A landslide hit southwestern China's Guangxi region on Monday, killing at least one person while four others remained trapped, local authorities said.

Pakistan detains 258 foreigners in scam centre raid

Those detained include 170 people from Vietnam and 40 Chinese nationals.