Taiwan parliament to tackle defence spending review after Chinese New Year holiday

The special defence budget will be "treated as a top legislative priority" after the Chinese New Year holiday, says a spokesperson for Taiwan's parliament.

Imran Khan's sons fear for his health, seek visas to visit him in Pakistan

LONDON, Feb 16 - Imran Khan's sons say they fear for their father's deteriorating health in a Pakistani jail and are seeking permission to visit the former prime minister, urging authorities to grant access after more than two years apart.

Taiwan's cycling 'missionary', Giant founder King Liu, dies at 91

Canada's Carney to visit India in early March, Ontario minister says

NEW DELHI, Feb 16 - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit New Delhi in early March to work with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the framework for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, Canadian official Victor Fedeli said on Monday.

India seizes Iran-linked US-sanctioned tankers, steps up surveillance

The seizures and heightened surveillance follow an improvement in US-India relations.

Taiwan’s cycling ‘missionary’, Giant founder King Liu, dies at 91

Giant is now one of the biggest bicycle makers in the world, selling millions of bikes annually.

India hosts AI summit as safety concerns grow

Indonesia expects first aircraft carrier this year

Decommissioned Italian aircraft carrier ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi is expected to arrive in Indonesia.

Cyclone Gezani leaves 59 dead in Madagascar, displaces more than 16,000

ANTANANARIVO, Feb 16 - At least 59 people died when Cyclone Gezani struck Madagascar last week, the disaster management office said on Monday, as it assesses the impact of the second tropical storm to hit the Indian Ocean island nation this year.

Taiwan to tackle defence spending review after Chinese New Year holiday

The opposition is pushing its own, less expensive proposals.

Senior ‘Luffy’ crime group member gets life sentence over Japan robberies

A 90-year-old woman died in one of the group’s robberies in 2023.

Thirty-four Australians released from Syrian camp holding ISIS-affiliated families

They will be flown to Australia from Damascus.

Malaysia’s opposition fractures as sacked leader races to PAS, threatens Muhyiddin’s grip

Perikatan Nasional can no longer house the warring factions in Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

Looks like AI is an existential threat after all

So the other day I wrote a post about how humanity is inevitably going to be disempowered by the existence of AI. A bunch of people wrote to me and asked me: “What made you change your mind?”. Three years ago, shortly after the release of the original ChatGPT, I wrote a post

Asian markets sluggish as Chinese New Year holiday looms

India doubling down on Rafales despite combat loss

India’s move to expand its Rafale fleet comes as it weighs recent combat lessons, urgent force-structure shortfalls, and longer-term strategic ties with France in a rapidly shifting regional security environment. This month, the Indian Ministry of Defense and multiple media

Move over, Dubai-style chewy cookies: ‘Frozen jelly’ set to be South Korea’s next dessert craze

Texture, sound and viral appeal of the dessert have caused an increase in demand for sour gummies.

Can Europe reassert itself after Ukraine?

Washington’s 2025 strike on Iran, the raid to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early 2026 and its renewed interest in acquiring Greenland have clarified the country’s international priorities. Meanwhile, securing Ukraine’s independence, once a defining rallying cry

‘No one is above the law’: Malaysian King warns graft offenders in government agencies

He stressed that graft will not be tolerated in the country’s administration.

Bondi Beach shooting accused faces court for the first time

The 24-year-old faces 59 charges, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist attack.

Indonesia readies 1,000 troops for potential peacekeeping force in Gaza in early April

JAKARTA, Feb 16 - Indonesia is readying 1,000 troops for potential deployment in Gaza by early April as part of a proposed multinational peacekeeping force, its army spokesperson said on Monday.

US paving way for India’s shift from Russia to Venezuela oil

Russian state media outlet RT posted on X about the US Treasury Department’s new “Venezuela General License 48,” which allows US companies to provide “goods, technology, software, or services for the exploration, development, or production of oil or gas in Venezuela,” with two

Australian museum recovers Egyptian artefacts after break-in

All the stolen goods, except for a wooden cat sculpture, were found with only minor damage.

Myanmar expels East Timor envoy after rights group complaint against junta

Feb 16 - Myanmar has ordered the head of East Timor's diplomatic mission to leave the country within seven days, state media quoted the foreign ministry as saying on Monday, in an escalating row over a criminal complaint filed by a rights group against Myanmar's armed forces.

Indonesian military’s deployment to Gaza strictly for humanitarian purposes, not combat operations: Foreign Affairs Ministry

Indonesia has been preparing up to 8,000 troops for possible deployment as part of the Gaza International Stabilisation Force, a UN-authorised multinational peacekeeping force outlined in the Gaza peace plan.

The credibility gamble behind Takaichi’s fiscal populism

Japan has once again taken a familiar and inherently risky route: underwriting economic and political ambition through large-scale sovereign borrowing. In its latest supplementary budget, Tokyo authorized the issuance of roughly 18 trillion yen (US$117.5 billion) in new

Singapore investors lead return of Asian capital to Australian real estate

The surge marks a shift in Asian property investment flows, with institutions increasingly attracted to Australia.

Nihilistic violence adds to South-east Asia’s youth radicalisation concerns

Attacks in South-east Asia linked to nihilistic extremism are on the rise, say experts.

Macron’s upcoming visit to India: Defence, AI and Indo-Pacific cooperation in focus

New Delhi and Paris are seeking to advance their Horizon 2047 roadmap, a long-term framework to expand collaboration in areas ranging from fighter jet production and nuclear energy to critical minerals and high-tech manufacturing.

Sydney police plead for return of man, 85, kidnapped by mistake

Police say they're 'a million percent confident' Chris Baghsarian was not the intended target.

Indonesia to repatriate nearly 3,600 citizens from Cambodia after online scam crackdown

The Indonesian government also plans to lease several planes to speed up the repatriation process of its citizens rather than rely on commercial flights.

Seedance 2.0 sparking China’s AI youth boom

By the mid-2020s, breakthroughs in artificial intelligence have become so frequent that few releases genuinely surprise. Yet ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 has managed to do just that — not because it wins another benchmark race, but because it reveals something deeper about how a

Nepal launches campaigns for first post-uprising polls

The vote is being held unusually early, due to an accelerated schedule after the September unrest.

Japan’s toilet vehicles provide comfort to evacuees during disasters

Each vehicle is equipped with five toilets.

China’s green push colliding with America’s fossil fixation

The world’s two largest economies are making opposite bets on how to power the future — and both bets carry enormous risks. China is racing to dominate clean-energy industries while still leaning heavily on coal. United States is rhetorically doubling down on fossil fuels even

ByteDance to curb AI video app after Disney legal threat

Videos featuring Spider-Man and other characters which are Disney's intellectual property have gone viral since Seedance's update.

Australian granddad kidnapped in case of mistaken identity

The 85-year-old had been taken from his home by three intruders.

What to watch at North Korea’s Ninth Party Congress

SEOUL, Feb 13 - North Korea is expected to convene the Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers' Party this month, the country's biggest political gathering that reviews performance, sets new policy goals and can bring leadership change.

East China fireworks store explosion kills 8

A warning notice has been sent to fireworks enterprises nationwide.

Japan protests China comments on reviving 'militarism'

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed China's claims, saying they are "factually incorrect and ungrounded".

Japan PM Takaichi vows to crack down on illegal foreign fishing

This comes after the Japanese authorities seized a Chinese boat and arrested its skipper.

Japan says China’s warning over militarism not based on facts

Japan Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi denied that Tokyo had any militaristic intentions.

When Trump’s bluff meets reality on Iran

Another US-Iran crisis, another round of carrier deployments and ultimatums, another set of predictions about imminent warfare. Yet here we are again, watching Washington and Tehran engage in their familiar dance of brinkmanship—a choreography that has become depressingly

A Nepali joined Russia’s army. He cleared his debt but didn’t return from Ukraine front line alive

Dozens of Nepali men, many with money woes, have travelled to Russia before being recruited into the military.

Alleged Bondi Beach gunman makes first court appearance

SYDNEY, Feb 16 - A man accused of opening fire on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach in an attack that killed 15 people appeared in court for the first time on Monday, Australian media reported.

North Korea’s new Congress to reset arms goals as gaps seen in 2021 plan

Pyongyang has checked off only part of a sweeping list of capabilities that leader Kim Jong Un targeted at its 2021 Congress.

North Korea's new Congress to reset arms goals as gaps seen in 2021 plan

SEOUL, Feb 16 - North Korea is set to unveil new weapons development goals at its Ninth Party Congress this month, amid assessments that Pyongyang has checked off only part of a sweeping list of capabilities that leader Kim Jong Un targeted at its 2021 Congress.