Asia stocks skittish as Middle East anxiety offsets AI optimism

From hiking to hotpot, lonely consumers in China fuel a $95 billion companionship economy

The companionship economy includes paid partners for running, sightseeing and even eating hotpot.

Typhoon Jangmi moves north towards Japan’s Kyushu after battering Okinawa

Four people were injured due to falls and other causes in Okinawa amid strong winds on June 1.

New Zealand Prime Minister Luxon vows to keep nuclear-free stance

He said the country's nuclear-free status was non-negotiable.

Nvidia courts South Korea’s tech giants at Taipei dinner as AI push deepens

The dinner was the first time Jensen Huang hosted South Korean partners while in Taipei.

Nvidia’s AI chips sought by Chinese labs with ties to military

Some universities seeking Nvidia's chips are blacklisted by the US for advancing China’s military.

Japan faces shortage of bananas as Middle East impact spreads

Supplies of naphtha-derived ethylene, which it needs to ripen the fruit, are running low.

Australia says its wheat output will be shrunk by Iran war costs, dry weather

Australia's lowered harvest will put an upward pressure on global food prices.

Commentary: The most concerning outbreak right now isn’t Ebola or hantavirus

Despite being the leading cause of vaccine-preventable child deaths worldwide, measles doesn’t garner much attention, says Hsu Li Yang of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.

'Insane scale': A close-up look at scam compounds along Cambodia's border with Vietnam

In the second of a two-part series that looks into scam operations in Cambodia, CNA travels along the country’s eastern border with Vietnam, where new roads, casino zones and guarded compounds have transformed agricultural land into a frontier for online scams.

Trump says troops turned back from Beirut after Netanyahu call

Shortly after reporting emerged Monday that Iran was suspending talks with the United States over Israel’s ramped up assault on Lebanon, President Donald Trump claimed that Israeli forces headed toward Beirut have “turned back” and that Hezbollah has agreed that “all shooting

Israel’s Lebanon campaign: the risks of repeating failed lessons

Going into the war in Iran, the Israeli government seemingly had two intertwined goals: to bring down the Islamic Republic and rid Israel of its Hezbollah problem. The logic went that the Lebanese Shiite group – which has posed a persistent threat to Israel for 44 years – would

When national security becomes market logic

In recent weeks, Japan halted South Korean equity firm MBK Partners’ acquisition of machine-tool manufacturer Makino Milling Machine on national security grounds. Around the same time, the British government reportedly signaled discomfort with Bharti Enterprises’ plan to

Trump says talks with Iran continue

June 1 - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that talks with Iran were ongoing, despite a report that Tehran had suspended indirect negotiations with the United States to end hostilities.

Still too risky to move seafarers out of Gulf, U.N. agency boss says

ATHENS, June 1 - Despite the current ceasefire between the United States and Iran, it remains too risky to move the thousands of sailors stuck in the Gulf, the head of the U.N.'s shipping agency said.

Word nerds spend a weekend chasing Thailand’s Scrabble crown

“It’s all about the probabilities and playing the odds... you don’t need to know what the words mean," says one participant.

Iran eyes limited US deal to relieve economic strain and buy time

DUBAI, June 1 - Iran is pushing for a limited interim agreement with the United States in a bid to ease mounting economic pressure and stabilise the situation at home, while avoiding major concessions on its nuclear programme, according to sources and analysts.

As Trump attacks anew, Iran says Europe’s ‘appeasing aggressors’

Iran’s government on Monday condemned the European Union’s response to Iranian attacks on US military installations in the Middle East as “a masterclass in selective moral outrage” after the Trump administration launched new strikes against Iran over the weekend, with peace

Japan PM urges free passage through Hormuz in Iran President phone talks

Takaichi says they agreed to continue close communication towards a conflict resolution.

China and Brazil should 'jointly fend off' challenges, Beijing says

BEIJING, June 1 - China and Brazil should \"jointly fend off external challenges\", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, during a meeting in Beijing on Monday, according to a statement released by the Chinese ministry.

Iran is stopping message exchanges with U.S., may block Hormuz, Tasnim news agency says

DUBAI, June 1 - Iran's Tasnim news agency said on Monday that Tehran's negotiating team is stopping exchanges of messages with the United States through mediators due to attacks on Lebanon, as diplomatic efforts to end the three-month-old Iran war continue.

Move to dissolve Johor assembly signals BN confidence in retaining supermajority: Analysts

The decision paves the way for the state’s election to be held by July 31.

Johor assembly dissolved at PH lowest point signals BN confidence in retaining supermajority

A state election must now be held by July 31.

Putin orders PM and FSB security service to ensure key services during mobile Internet shutdowns

MOSCOW, June 1 - Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the prime minister and the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) to ensure access to key medical, information and payment services during periods when mobile internet service is limited.

Malaysia’s Health Ministry cracks down on online promotion and 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

Watch: Glass doors break as fans scramble to see Pursuit of Jade star

Huge crowds formed outside a shopping centre in China to see actor Zhang Linghe.

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 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.