From lowering marriage age to 16, to more subsidies, China weighs new fixes for falling births
Delegates at the ongoing Chinese parliamentary meetings have offered suggestions to help raise the fertility rate.
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As employment pressures grow, China turns to AI to create new jobs and upgrade traditional roles
A record 12.7 million university graduates are expected to enter the country's workforce in 2026.
Pope Leo names former envoy to Duterte's Philippines as ambassador to US
VATICAN CITY, March 7 - Pope Leo on Saturday named a senior Church diplomat who represented the Vatican in the Philippines during former President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs as the Vatican's U.S. ambassador and envoy to the Trump administration.
Balendra Shah: Nepal’s rapper politician who took on the old guard and won
His music, which has drawn millions of views online, helped him cultivate a devoted following on social media.
Lebanon's Hezbollah warns residents in Israel's north to evacuate
TEL AVIV, March 7 - Lebanese Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah on Saturday warned residents of a northern Israeli city near the border with Lebanon to evacuate and head south.
China’s Xi says the military must be politically loyal, root out corruption
Mr Xi's remarks come amid the annual meetings of the nation’s top political bodies.
China's Xi says the military must be politically loyal, root out corruption
SHANGHAI, March 7 - Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday the military must be loyal to the Communist Party and root out corruption, according to a report by the official Xinhua news agency.
Days after Iran strikes, Trump hosts Latin American leaders with China in focus
March 7 - President Donald Trump will host Latin American leaders in Florida on Saturday as his administration seeks to counter China's growing influence in the region, a diplomatic show just days after U.S. strikes on Iran opened a new front in the Middle East.
Iranian hardline clerics seek swift naming of new supreme leader
DUBAI, March 7 - Two influential and hardline Iranian clerics have called for the swift selection of a new supreme leader to help guide the nation amid a new wave of U.S. and Israeli strikes, Iranian media reported on Saturday.
India let Iran warship dock the day US sank another off Sri Lanka, officials say
India received the docking request for the Lavan on Feb 28, the day the Iran war started
Longer, bigger, louder: Malaysia’s Ramadan bazaars morph from food stops into full-scale experiences
The scale has become part of the attraction, and the walk itself as much a draw as the food.
Inside the Nepal campaign that could vault Balendra Shah to power
Mr Shah’s party followed a carefully calibrated media strategy, with a major speech delivered every eight days.
China vows to safeguard jobs and boost hiring as AI reshapes labour market
With a record 12.7 million graduates entering the workforce this year amid slowing growth and AI disruption, youth employment took centre stage at a Two Sessions press conference.
‘I’ll do my job or someone else will take it’: Why many Asians are staying put in the Gulf amid war
At least 10 Asian migrant workers have been killed and dozens of others injured in the strikes so far.
Japan asked US not to disadvantage Tokyo under new tariff rules
Tokyo wants Washington to spare it from a planned tariff increase from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
Azerbaijan says it foiled Iranian plots including plan to attack major pipeline
It said it prevented several acts of "terrorist" sabotage planned by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Malaysia detains 6 locals aged 16 to 21 in Islamic State-linked extremism probe; warns of more arrests
Arrested in February across several states, the youths were part of messaging groups that discussed plans to target police stations, government installations and places of worship in Malaysia, said the police chief in revealing the arrests on Friday (Mar 6).
Iran drives $104B surge in sanctions-busting crypto flows
Sanctions evasion has traditionally been viewed as a game of financial shell companies and hidden bank accounts. While those opaque traditional structures remain the bedrock of illicit finance, the mechanism has expanded to the blockchain at scale. Nation-states have upgraded
Claims Russia helping Iran target US assets are credible
The Washington Post, AP and others have reported that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence to target US forces, including the locations of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East. This is plausible even if the disclosure is part of a broader gambit to rally
Indonesia says Pakistan, UAE back Prabowo as Iran mediator
The President wants to meet Iran, an official said.
China quietly eclipsing a weakened Russia in Central Asia
For much of the post–Cold War period, Central Asia operated as a “managed condominium”—a geopolitical arrangement where Russia supplied the hard-security umbrella and China functioned as the dominant economic partner. The war in Ukraine has not broken this Sino-Russian
China’s missile reach forces Japan back to Iwo Jima
Japan is considering a significant expansion of its military presence on remote Iwo Jima as growing Chinese naval activity beyond the First Island Chain raises concerns about the vulnerability of Pacific bases such as Okinawa. Japan’s Defense Ministry plans to study upgrades to
Rapper-turned-politician Shah unseats former Nepal PM in own constituency
His party was also seemingly headed for a landslide victory nationally.
Prabowo’s proposed trip to Iran hinges on acceptance of mediation offer by all parties: Foreign ministry
A minister in Prabowo Subianto’s Cabinet said separately that the president has received the backing from several Middle Eastern and other Islamic countries for the undertaking.
Queues, price hikes and shortages as Asia battles fuel crunch amid Mid-East crisis
Stocks for power distributors and refineries have begun to falter.
Pakistani convicted of plotting to kill Trump over death of Iran commander
WASHINGTON, March 6 - A Pakistani man was convicted on Friday of planning to kill President Donald Trump and other prominent U.S. politicians two years ago at the behest of Iran, the Department of Justice said.
16 arrested in Indonesia’s Riau over alleged killings of critically endangered Sumatran elephants
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, only 2,400 to 2,800 Sumatran elephants remain in the wild.
China spent years building ties in Latin America. Can Trump make room for the US?
US President Donald Trump will meet with ideologically-aligned Latin American leaders to try and counter China's influence in the region.
China rebuts Australia’s claim of ‘unsafe’ army chopper incident
China described the actions of its aircraft as “legitimate, reasonable and professional”.
Malaysia PM Anwar, police chief sued over calling out alleged plot to topple government
The family of Daim Zainuddin, an influential two-time finance minister who died in November 2024, said in a statement it was "public knowledge" that the investigation targeted Daim's widow Na'imah Abdul Khalid and their sons.
The final voyage of the Iranian warship sunk by the US
The sinking of an Iranian ship by the US near Sri Lanka brings the conflict uncomfortably close to India.
Taiwan ramps up space-defense drive amid Beijing threats
To develop surveillance and defense systems that could be deployed in the Taiwan Strait, the Taiwanese government is working with dozens of international space‑technology startups while nurturing local firms. Supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Small and Medium
Muted Iran war stance fits concerned onlooker China’s priorities
China has perfected the role of concerned onlooker as the Middle East conflict spreads across the region. Situated some 4,200 miles (6,800 kilometers) away from the action and with no direct role in the conflict, Beijing has a little more breathing room to work out the calculus
Preacher talent show enlivens the wee hours in Indonesia
From sermons on AI to elimination rounds before dawn, sahur in Indonesia now includes must-watch TV.
Escapees from Syrian camp raise fears of ISIS-linked returnees to South-east Asia
The breakout followed the withdrawal of Kurdish forces overseeing the facility in January.
China to import more to balance trade as surplus causes friction with partners
Its push for domestic spending will exceed efforts in 2025.
A technocrat wants to uplift China’s slowest-growing province. Can he succeed?
Corruption, red tape and entrenched officialdom has Liaoning one of the country’s toughest places to do business.
That torpedo that sank Iran ship: old tech, hard to defend against
A US submarine sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off the southern coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday, killing 87 people. The submarine struck the ship with a torpedo, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, resulting in “quiet death”. The event marks the first time a US submarine
Is Nepal's ex-rapper mayor on track to be new PM?
Votes counted so far show Balendra Shah and his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) are on track to win the general election.
Fatbikes are wreaking havoc in Sydney's wealthy beach suburbs
Teens are infuriating locals by riding over golf courses and doing wheelies on the Harbour Bridge.
White House says US well on way toward controlling Iran airspace
WASHINGTON, March 6 - The United States is well on its way toward controlling Iranian airspace, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Friday, adding that Washington expects the achievable U.S. objectives to be completed in four to six weeks.
US pressing Sri Lanka not to repatriate Iranian crew and survivors from sunken ship, memo says
WASHINGTON, March 6 - The United States is pressing Sri Lanka's government not to repatriate the survivors from the Iranian warship it sank this week, as well as the crew of a second Iranian ship that is in Sri Lankan custody, according to an internal State Department cable
Fast-fashion garments pile up in South Asia as Middle East conflict grounds planes
Fast-fashion brands around the world rely on South Asia for a steady stream of new T-shirts, dresses and jeans.