Malaysia’s Health Ministry cracks down on online promotion, sales of vapes, smoking products

The operation focuses on the manufacturing, distribution and sale of all types of smoking products.

India’s viral ‘Cockroach’ party founder plans street protest

Abhijeet Dipke has called for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

India's viral 'Cockroach' youth group plans street protest in challenge to Modi

NEW DELHI, June 1 - The founder of an online Indian youth group that has amassed millions of followers in days said on Monday he plans to take his movement on to the streets with a protest against the education minister and in a show of dissent against Prime Minister Narendra

Chinese aircraft carrier held drills in east of Philippines, Japan says

TOKYO, June 1 - The Chinese navy was spotted conducting aircraft carrier drills in the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines last week, Japan's defence ministry said in a bulletin on Monday.

Ship operators urge clear rules to return Hormuz to normal

ATHENS, June 1 - Shipping executives meeting in Athens on Monday said that any peace deal worked out between the United States and Iran would need to offer clear rules allowing vessels to resume normal business via the Strait of Hormuz.

Rescuers seek new route to two missing in Laos cave

Markets are misreading Nvidia’s latest move

Investors have spent the last three years asking who will build artificial intelligence (AI). Nvidia built the chips, Microsoft built the platforms, Amazon, Google and Meta built the infrastructure. Investors rewarded them accordingly, creating trillions of dollars in market

Indonesia’s ‘grey-area’ corruption cases divide the public

Perception grows that cases are less about graft, and more on policy or business decisions.

Johor state assembly dissolved, paving way for 16th state polls

Johor last went to the polls in March 2022.

Johor state assembly dissolved, paving way for snap polls within 60 days

The 16th Johor state elections must be held by Jul 31, and it will be scheduled at the discretion of the Election Commission.

Philippine senator arrested in flood control scandal

Senator Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada is the first sitting lawmaker to be arrested over the corruption scandal.

300, including 12 leaders of deviant group, arrested in Sabah

The operation followed public complaints about activities believed to deviate from Islamic teachings.

Iran says contradictory US positions, Israeli attacks on Lebanon delaying diplomacy

DUBAI, June 1 - Iran on Monday blamed the slow pace of efforts to end the U.S.-Iran conflict on a lack of trust, contradictory positions from Washington and continued Israeli attacks in the region.

Philippine senator Jinggoy Estrada surrenders over graft case

He is accused of receiving illicit payouts as part of an infrastructure scandal.

Philippine senator Estrada surrenders over graft case

MANILA, June 1 - A Philippine senator who is the son of a former president surrendered to police on Monday after a court ordered his arrest over a charge that he received illicit payouts as part of an infrastructure scandal that sparked public protests last year.

America’s big chance to roll China out of the Solomons

Admiral Samuel Paparo commands USINDOPACOM, home to over 300,000 sailors, soldiers, airmen and marines in an area of operations extending from the US west coast to India. Paparo also has the clearest sense of the Chinese threat of any USINDOPACOM commander since Admiral Robert

China issues new rules to bust ‘ghost’ takeout deliveries

'Ghost' merchants often operate out of residential buildings and are accused of unsanitary conditions.

Australia economy minister says ‘legitimate’ fears driving rise of far right

A recent poll showed that the One Nation party is more popular than the ruling Labor Party.

China opposes ‘political suppression’ of Xinhua reporter in US

China said the US is using the pretext of reciprocity to “politically suppress” the Xinhua reporter.

China opposes 'political suppression' of Xinhua reporter in U.S

BEIJING, June 1 - China firmly opposes the \"suppression\" of a reporter for the official Xinhua news agency who is based in the United States, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

Singaporean motorcyclist dies after being hit by a lorry along Malaysia’s North-South Expressway

He is believed to have stopped in the emergency lane due to mechanical problems.

Taiwan opposition leader hopes to ‘gain deeper trust’ from US

Cheng Li-wun said she hopes her party can play a key role in regional peace efforts.

Some workers at SK Hynix chip plant in South Korea exposed to gas leak, Yonhap says

SEOUL, June 1 - A semiconductor factory operated by SK Hynix suffered a fluorine gas leak on Monday, affecting some workers at the facility in South Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a fire official.

When AI speaks in the name of God

I (Adam) am chatting with the “Apostle Stephen”, an online chatbot created by the Redeemed Christian Church of God, a church founded in Nigeria in the 1950s with a growing global following. He is, to be honest, a bit pushy for an apostle. In my conversation with Apostle

Taiwan opposition leader would be 'very willing' to meet Trump on US trip

TAIPEI, June 1 - Taiwan opposition leader Cheng Li-wun said on Monday that she would be \"very willing\" to meet U.S. President Donald Trump when she visits the U.S. this month.

Hong Kong debuts Comic Con as city bets on pop culture tourism

The convention attracted a diverse crowd of enthusiasts, many arriving in elaborate costumes inspired by their favourite characters.

India’s Hindu right has a new hero: A 17th century warrior king

Beyond statues, Indians are buying the warrior king's merchandise, from T-shirts to wristwatches.

Israel's Netanyahu ordered military to attack targets in Beirut's southern suburbs

JEURSALEM, June 1 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ordered the military to attack targets in the Lebanese capital Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh.

Litterbugs now face on-the-spot fines in Tokyo's tourist hotspot

Dozens of officials will patrol world-famous Shibuya as Japan responds to the impacts of overtourism.

The Quad’s new agenda: ports, cables and minerals

The most consequential Indo-Pacific development last week may not have been the speeches delivered at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. More significant were the decisions announced days earlier at the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, where India, Japan,

Witnesses tell of devastation from Myanmar village explosion that killed dozens

June 1 - The unexplained detonation of explosives stored by one of Myanmar's rebel armies has left at least 55 dead as the search for survivors continued amid widespread devastation at the site, witnesses said on Monday.

Nvidia announces new AI chip for personal computers

The technology giant's boss Jensen Huang called the move the "reinvention of the computer".

Japan stations, facilities use AI system to prevent suicide by jumping

About 40 stations and commercial buildings in Japan have used the system to prevent suicide.

Suspected World War II ordnance explodes in Indonesia, five dead

Five dead, two injured after blast at Hanwha Aerospace plant in South Korea

SEOUL, June 1 - Five people have died and two others were injured on Monday after an explosion and fire on a South Korean production line for rocket propellant at a factory operated by Hanwha Aerospace in the city of Daejeon, officials said.

Nvidia enters Windows laptop and PC markets, taking on Intel and AMD

The AI giant’s new RTX Spark Superchip will be in laptops and desktop computers by September.

Death toll from collapsed Philippine building rises to 13

The building collapsed before dawn on May 24, trapping workers and damaging nearby establishments.

Zia’s ghost still haunts Bangladesh’s fragile power pact

For a country born out of a bloody partition from Pakistan in 1971, political transition in Bangladesh has rarely been a peaceful affair. The assassination of President Ziaur Rahman on May 30, 1981, at a government circuit house in the port city of Chattogram, followed a

Explosion kills 5 at South Korean aerospace plant

Somali piracy making a comeback on waves of Iran war

On the evening of April 26, the Egyptian merchant vessel Sward was hijacked by armed men a few miles off the Somali coast. It was steered towards an anchorage near the port of Garacad in Puntland, a semi-autonomous state in north-eastern Somalia. Over the following days,

A bachelor’s in rare earths? In China, there are schools for that

China has created an ecosystem of more than 40 specialist labs that produce cutting-edge research.

A bachelor's in rare earths? In China, there are schools for that

June 1 - Every year, several hundred young adults head to the steppes of northern China to learn about rare earths at schools like the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology.

Indian PM Modi hosts sanctioned Myanmar leader to build relations

It marks the former junta chief's first foreign trip since becoming president after a widely criticised election.

Trump’s Abraham Accords push bedevils Iran peace try

President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to end the war with Iran has taken an unexpected turn. Instead of focusing only on a ceasefire, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program, Trump now appears to be linking any broader peace settlement to Arab and

Australia’s far-right party leads in national poll for first time

Primary support for One Nation rose 4 percentage points to 31 per cent from a month earlier.

Australia's far-right party leads in national poll for first time

SYDNEY, June 1 - Australia's far-right populist party One Nation overtook the ruling Labor party in a national opinion poll for the first time, buoyed by voter discontent over the centre-left government's recent budget measures.

China patrols waters east of Taiwan in response to Japan, Philippine maritime border talks

BEIJING, June 1 - China's Coast Guard on Monday said it had conducted \"law enforcement\" patrols in Taiwan's eastern waters in response to Japan and the Philippines' plans to launch maritime border delimitation talks, which overlap with areas China claims.