4 h. ago Japan survey exposes social media’s role in disaster misinformation

More than a quarter of Japanese citizens were exposed to rumours or falsehoods on social media following natural disasters, according to a new survey, with some admitting they inadvertently hampered emergency responses by sharing the misinformation. The study was conducted by the Japanese Red Cross Society in the run-up to Disaster Prevention Day on Monday. The annual event commemorates the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, a magnitude-8 tremor that struck some 60km southwest of Tokyo and caused...

Events

6 h. ago Chinese gadget maker Baseus launches premium sound line at IFA Berlin

Chinese consumer electronics maker Baseus launched a premium line of audio products at a global trade fair on Thursday, bolstering its international presence at a time when intense competition at home is pushing more domestic gadget firms to look overseas. Shenzhen-based Baseus unveiled its Inspire line at the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin, also known as the IFA Berlin trade fair, which includes three headphones and earbuds developed in partnership with Bose, the US company known for...

Politics

7 h. ago China shows off advanced hypersonic missiles, ICBMs and drones in military parade (photos)

China shows off advanced hypersonic missiles, ICBMs and drones in military parade (photos)  Space

Events

10 h. ago Canada’s Carney unveils billions in relief hit by Trump and China tariffs

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday rolled out a multibillion-dollar relief package for businesses battered by tariffs imposed by both the US and China. Carney said his government will invest C$5 billion (US$3.6 billion) through a new fund to help firms adapt, diversify and grow, as well as boost Business Development Bank of Canada loans for small and medium-sized businesses and expand a loan facility for tariff-hit large enterprises. He also said his government would waive 2026 model...

Politics

10 h. ago Opinion | Don’t renew New START. It only helps our adversaries.

Opinion | Don’t renew New START. It only helps our adversaries.  The Washington Post

Politics

11 h. ago Navy Seals killed North Korean civilians in botched 2019 mission: US report

US Navy Seals shot and killed a number of North Korean civilians during a botched covert mission to plant a listening device in the nuclear-armed country during high-stakes diplomatic negotiations in 2019, The New York Times reported on Friday. Citing unidentified sources, including current and former military officials with knowledge of the still-classified details, the newspaper said US President Donald Trump approved the operation during his first administration, as he was involved in...

Events

13 h. ago DeepSeek and the digital battleground: China’s AI influence abroad

DeepSeek and the digital battleground: China’s AI influence abroad  Global Voices

Events

13 h. ago Google hit with US$3.45 billion EU antitrust fine over adtech practices

Alphabet’s Google was hit with a €2.95 billion (US$3.45 billion) EU antitrust fine on Friday for anticompetitive practices in its lucrative adtech business, marking its fourth penalty in its decade-long fight with EU competition regulators. The move by the European Commission was triggered by a complaint from the European Publishers Council and comes amid a threat by US President Donald Trump to retaliate against the European Union for any push against Big Tech. The EU competition enforcer had...

Economics

13 h. ago EU hits Google with US$3.45 billion fine, drawing tariff threat from Trump

The EU on Friday slapped Google with a massive €2.95 billion (US$3.45 billion) antitrust fine for favouring its own advertising services, drawing a furious rebuke from US President Donald Trump and a threat of fresh tariffs against Europe. Google vowed to appeal the decision by the European Commission, which accused the US firm of distorting competition in the 27-nation bloc. “Google abused its dominant position in adtech, harming publishers, advertisers, and consumers. This behaviour is illegal...

Economics

13 h. ago Europe should stand with China in upholding correct historical perspective on WWII: Global Times editorial

Europe should stand with China in upholding correct historical perspective on WWII: Global Times editorial  Global Times

Events

13 h. ago When Adidas, Crocs and Vans Want to Sell More in China, They Call This Designer

When Adidas, Crocs and Vans Want to Sell More in China, They Call This Designer  The Wall Street Journal

Politics

14 h. ago Singapore must be Asia’s gateway, uphold social mobility at home: president

Singapore must remain a reliable base and a gateway to Asia’s dynamism in an increasingly divided world, while addressing social mobility and cohesion at home, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Friday. Tharman, a former cabinet minister, was speaking at the opening of the 15th parliament in Singapore, during which the city state’s president addresses MPs on key issues in the fresh five-year term. He noted that the new parliament was opening amid a more fragmented world where economic...

Politics

14 h. ago Was Philippine police chief sacked for rejecting ‘overpriced’ gun deal?

A controversy over an alleged overpriced firearms deal has intensified in the Philippines, with insiders claiming that national police chief Nicolas Torre III was removed from his post for rejecting a proposed procurement of 80,000 assault rifles – a transaction some believe was padded by billions of pesos. While officials framed Torre’s dismissal as an administrative matter, multiple sources told This Week in Asia he was sacked for rejecting the “overpriced” 8 billion Philippine peso (US$140...

Economics

15 h. ago Wall Street climbs to new highs on hopes of interest rate cuts

US stocks are rising to more records on expectations that the Federal Reserve will have to cut interest rates soon to help the economy. The S&P 500 climbed 0.4 per cent on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 93 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.7 per cent. The action was much stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields tumbled following the latest weaker-than-expected update on the US job market. That raised expectations for a cut to rates by the Fed later this month....

Politics

15 h. ago Hiring stalls as US firms hold back expansion amid economic uncertainty

US employers added just 22,000 jobs last month as the labour market continued to cool under uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s economic policies. The Labor Department said on Friday that hiring decelerated from 79,000 in July and came in below the roughly 80,000 economists had expected for August. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3 per cent, also worse than expected and the highest level since 2021, the Labor Department reported on Friday. When the department put out a disappointing...

Economics

16 h. ago China, Pakistan pledge stronger tech and trade cooperation amid US charm offensive

China and Pakistan have pledged to expand trade and deepen technological cooperation in areas ranging from agriculture to space exploration, at a time when Islamabad is warming to the United States. During a meeting on Thursday with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Premier Li Qiang said Beijing would advance the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship infrastructure project under the Belt and Road Initiative. “Global instability and uncertainty have grown...

Politics

17 h. ago The Global AI Rules Race: China’s Strategic Response to US Tech Dominance

The Global AI Rules Race: China’s Strategic Response to US Tech Dominance  Geopolitical Monitor

Politics

18 h. ago China’s ‘silent sanction’ on US semiconductors creates a weapons generation gap

In addition to the spectacle of Wednesday’s military parade in Tiananmen Square, with its rows of never-before-seen weapons and equipment, was a less visible but highly consequential shift. At its heart lies China’s growing dominance in gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology, giving it a strategic advantage that is reshaping the global arms race, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Physics. “Behind this technological advancement lies a ‘hidden thread’...

Events

18 h. ago Locals will gain from Hong Kong becoming global university hub: education chief

Local students are “beneficiaries and participants” in the process of turning Hong Kong into an international higher education hub, a government minister has said, amid concerns that they will become “victims” whose interests are being undermined. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin also told lawmakers on Friday that authorities would closely monitor the need to make further adjustments to non-local student quotas. At a meeting of the Legislative Council’s education panel, lawmaker...

Politics

18 h. ago Chinese public is divided over whether to seek global dominance or share leadership

Chinese public is divided over whether to seek global dominance or share leadership  NPR

Politics