India to resume Bangladeshi tourist visas

The resumption of visas comes nearly two years after New Delhi ally Sheikh Hasina was overthrown.

Business risk versus criminal conduct: Indonesia court case linked to failed start-up stirs debate

Experts and industry insiders say Indonesia’s venture capital firms will be more risk-averse after former executives of two government-backed investment firms were sentenced to jail for their decision to invest in a now-defunct agritech pioneer.

Man mistakenly nabbed in Tokyo by police officers who were unaware of new ID card

The man possessed a type of residence card issued since June 14.

Wealthy nations reap huge benefits from immigration, study finds

FRANKFURT, June 25 - Wealthy nations with the highest rate of immigration over the past 35 years reaped a large economic benefit and many could still absorb more workers, according to research to be presented at a top European Central Bank conference next week.

Taiwan simulates countering a Chinese maritime blockade in tabletop drill

TAIPEI, June 25 - Taiwanese officials on Thursday simulated countering a Chinese maritime blockade with a tabletop exercise, using a scenario in which China demands any shipping to the island first gets Beijing's approval and also boards or even seizes ships.

Race to record China’s vanishing Dong minority heritage

The Dong people in China are an Indigenous ethnic group who are known to have lived in the mountainous regions of southwestern China for about 600 years. They don’t have a written language – instead, their cultural knowledge is shared by word of mouth. This means that the

Singapore sends condolences to Timor-Leste after former president Guterres’ death

Mr Francisco Guterres, who served as Timor-Leste’s sixth president, died on Sunday in a Malaysian hospital at the age of 71.

Indonesia weighs $2.59 billion cut to Prabowo’s signature free meals programme

Recipients will be cut by tightening the social and economic criteria.

AI frenzy makes Asia ripe for a ‘chip wreck’

TOKYO – No one complains about holding a winning lottery ticket. By that logic, South Korea has nothing to apologize for — it’s landed, almost by accident, at the center of the AI windfall now being minted in real time. Six months ago, SK Hynix, Samsung and the rest of Korea

Beaten and starved: Shock in India as police rescue men from bonded labour

Bonded labour was outlawed in India in 1975, but it still continues in villages and small towns.

China uses US warship replica as target for missile tests, images show

Previous targets at the site include an aircraft carrier and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

Iraq warns it might leave OPEC if oil quota not raised, sources say

BAGHDAD, June 25 - Iraq has considered leaving OPEC if the oil producer group does not allow Baghdad to significantly increase oil production, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

East Asia’s biotech autonomy push is already stunting innovation

The US-China technology rivalry is expanding into biotechnology, with export controls and investment restrictions opening a new front in strategic competition. East Asia’s push for biotech autonomy is gaining momentum — but it risks slowing innovation. A turning point came in

Cambodian reporters lose appeal against treason sentences

They were convicted of “supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defence".

Cambodia Supreme Court upholds jail sentences for two journalists accused of revealing military secrets

June 25 - Cambodia's Supreme Court has upheld the sentences of two journalists jailed last year on charges of revealing military secrets during the country's border clashes with Thailand, their lawyer's office said on Thursday.

H5N1 bird flu has reached every continent. How worried should you be?

Symptoms range from conjunctivitis and mild respiratory illness to severe pneumonia and respiratory failure.

Breaking the algorithm: why AI will never master diplomacy

Today, foreign ministries across the world are drowning in information — news reports, intelligence assessments, social media posts, satellite imagery, economic data, speeches and diplomatic cables. AI can summarize thousands of documents in minutes, track political sentiment

Canadian defence minister says he discussed GCAP fighter with Japanese counterpart

TOKYO, June 25 - Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty said on Thursday he had discussed the advanced fighter jet programme being pursued by Japan, Britain and Italy with his Japanese counterpart to learn more about what he described as a \"promising initiative\".

Bangkok heat index reaches 51.9 deg C, heightening heatstroke risk

The authorities have advised the public to reduce outdoor activities between 11am and 3pm.

Thailand seeks to arrest fugitive Chinese businessman over illegal crypto mining

BANGKOK, June 25 - Thailand has issued an arrest warrant for a Chinese businessman featured in a Reuters investigation into transnational crypto-investment fraud, alleging he was part of a network that laundered money from scams and online gambling through illegal

Heavy rains from nearby typhoon pound Taiwan, 200 to be evacuated on east coast

TAIPEI, June 25 - Heavy rains from a passing typhoon caused localised flooding in Taipei and parts of southern Taiwan on Thursday, while more than 200 people on the east coast will be evacuated ahead of a possible breach of a barrier lake in the mountains.

Hong Kong turns to AI to tackle persistent rat infestations, but challenges remain

Experts say the city’s rat problem remains an environmental management challenge that artificial intelligence can help monitor, but not solve on its own.

The political painting that is still on trial in South Korea

In a Seoul courtroom in March this year, a prosecutor read out charges against Jeon Seung-il, a former art student, from an indictment first written in 1989. The language had not changed, nor had the charges. Thirty-seven years later, only the young defendant had grown old. In

U.S. defence firm Anduril in talks for Nissan plant to build drones in Japan, sources say

TOKYO, June 25 - U.S. defence firm Anduril Industries is in talks to acquire Nissan Motor's Oppama assembly plant near Tokyo as the maker of autonomous weapons looks to build military drones in Japan, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Coach Hong takes blame as South Korea's World Cup hopes fade

Korean coach Hong Myung-bo took responsibility for the result, saying, "I guess I made the wrong decisions, and that was the reason why we had a bad result. Nothing more, nothing less."

Rubio visits Bahrain seeking Gulf backing for Iran deal

MANAMA, June 25 - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Bahrain officials on Thursday on the final leg of a trip to the Middle East where he has sought to sell the Trump administration's preliminary Iran accord to skeptical Gulf Arab allies.

Malaysia’s foreign minister says new Myanmar leadership ‘more open’ to suggestions

Countries in South-east Asia continue to engage with the war-torn nation’s military-backed administration.

Afghanistan’s economy is broken. Blame it on the Taliban

Afghanistan finds itself in a complex and dire economic predicament. Nearly five years after the Taliban returned to power, the South Asian nation continues to struggle with deep-rooted domestic structural challenges that coincide with persistent regional geopolitical

Johor election: Chief minister denies allegations of royal interference in state assembly dissolution

He described the claim as a distortion of the constitutional process.

Taiwan starts Washington flights in milestone for uncertain ties

The direct flight carries political significance as China ramps up pressure on Taiwan.

Vietnam urges consumers to save power as heatwave drives record demand

HANOI, June 25 - Vietnam's state utility EVN called on firms and households to conserve energy on Thursday to ease the strains on the country's power grid, with intense heat driving electricity consumption to record highs.

Talent, not technology, is reshaping the US-China AI race

Beyond chips, data and computing power, the battle between Beijing and Washington is increasingly being fought over the researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs shaping the technology's future.

China targets face of international space cooperation in corruption crackdown

Senior Chinese defence industry official Bian Zhigang was also deputy director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Hong Kong arrests two for allegedly selling ‘seditious’ material

The pair were suspected of displaying in a bookshop The Troublemaker, a biography of the jailed tycoon Jimmy Lai.

Hong Kong arrests booksellers suspected of selling 'seditious' publications

BEIJING, June 25 - Hong Kong police have arrested two owners of a bookshop suspected of displaying and selling publications with \"seditious\" content, according to a Hong Kong government statement released on Thursday.

America’s ironclad bond with Israel is starting to crack

There is a ritual quality to the reassurances that flow from Washington to Jerusalem after every crisis, every ceasefire, every awkward telephone call between an American president and an Israeli prime minister. “The bond is unshakeable.” “Our commitment to Israel’s security is

South Korea lose to South Africa, World Cup hopes left in the balance

South Korea can still reach the last 32 as one of the best third-placed teams, but need results elsewhere to go their way.

Jubilation as South Africa beat South Korea to reach World Cup knockout stage for first time

Despite their loss, South Korea can still qualify for the last 32 as one of the best third-placed teams.

Australia's security environment degrading, spy chief warns

SYDNEY, June 25 - Australia faces multi-faceted threats from autocratic regimes, hackers and antisemitic extremists that present a systemic challenge to national security and are degrading the security environment, the country's spy chief said.

US says China trying to discourage states, businesses from engaging with Taiwan

Washington is Taipei’s most important international backer and arms supplier.

Japan opens luxury hotel housed in former prison in tourist hot spot Nara

A one-night stay starts at S$1,180 per suite room and guests can also visit the Nara Prison Museum.

Beloved spiritual utopia under threat in Modi’s India

The Indian government is pushing to develop the city of Auroville as a tourist destination.

EU’s Taliban talks crack the facade of a principled policy

The European Union’s decision to host a Taliban delegation in Brussels on June 23 marked a significant moment in the evolving relationship between Europe and Afghanistan’s de facto rulers. While European officials stressed that the talks were technical and did not imply

Johor BN says it will not form a coalition government with other parties

Chairman Onn Hafiz Ghazi urges voters to judge them based on their work and performance and for the state’s future.

Last ISIS-linked Australian woman to return home

The unnamed woman is the last of over 30 women and children to return to Australia.

Seoul stocks soar in Asia tech rally after Micron blowout forecast

Plastics shortages to keep food prices high after war disruptions

A gauge of global food prices is already near a three-year high.