81 m. ago 618 dead in Sri Lanka landslides as rains batter South, Southeast Asia

Sri Lankan authorities issued fresh landslide warnings on Sunday, with rains lashing areas already devastated by a powerful cyclone as the death toll rose to 618. A chain of tropical storms and monsoonal rains has battered Southeast and South Asia, setting off landslides, flooding vast tracts and cutting off communities, from the rainforests of Sumatra to Sri Lanka’s highland plantations. At least 1,812 people have been killed in the natural disasters rolling across Sri Lanka, Indonesia,...

Events

8 h. ago Katy Perry, Justin Trudeau make fireworks official with Japan trip photos

The fireworks between Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau are now Instagram official, following months of speculation and steamy sightings. The 41-year-old pop star, who recently ended her engagement to Orlando Bloom, shared a selfie on Saturday with the former Canadian prime minister, showing them cuddled up beneath the fall foliage in Japan. “Tokyo times on tour and more,” wrote Perry, who performed just outside the country’s capital on Wednesday as part of the Asian leg of her Lifetimes Tour. The...

Politics

9 h. ago Japan’s Takaichi resurrects frozen dispute over islands lost to Russia

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s pledge to revive visits by former residents to the Russia-controlled islands off Japan’s far north has reignited debate over whether humanitarian exchanges can survive the deep freeze in Tokyo–Moscow relations. Analysts say the political climate has turned far more hostile since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leaving “no chance” of such visits resuming while Japan supports Kyiv and Moscow deepens its strategic alignment with Beijing. Takaichi made the...

Politics

9 h. ago China’s Pudu Robotics rolls out overseas charm offensive with robot dog

A pale-grey, nearly one-metre-tall, four-legged robot drew crowds at Tokyo’s International Robot Exhibition, lowering itself down some steps before lifting its right foreleg as if to greet onlookers. It rolled around one of the exhibition halls on wheels, avoiding obstacles in its path. The quadruped, dubbed the D5, is the latest model unveiled on Wednesday by Chinese robot maker Pudu Robotics at IREX – a biennial industry showcase at Tokyo Big Sight from December 3 to 6. It is Pudu’s second...

Politics

12 h. ago Fashion industry must tailor climate plans to Asian suppliers’ reality

Cop30 concluded with confident declarations from global fashion brands: upgraded net-zero road maps, new partnerships under the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and bold promises to “accelerate supply-chain decarbonisation”. However, the summit revealed something the industry continues to avoid. Fashion’s climate ambition is still being shaped in the West, while the responsibility for delivering it falls almost entirely on Asia. This imbalance has not shifted. Instead, the UN...

Politics

15 h. ago Egypt and Cuba share spoils; People’s Republic of China win Asian clash

Egypt and Cuba share spoils; People’s Republic of China win Asian clash  IHF

Politics

17 h. ago Ukraine’s Zelensky holds ‘very substantive’ call with Trump envoys

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that he and his negotiators who are discussing a US-led plan for Ukraine had a “very substantive and constructive” call with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. “Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelensky said on Telegram as the third day of the talks were to be held in Florida. “We agreed on the next steps and the format of the talks with America,” he added. Zelensky, who...

Politics

20 h. ago Philippines says China fired flares toward its patrol plane in the disputed South China Sea

Philippines says China fired flares toward its patrol plane in the disputed South China Sea  Newsday

Events

21 h. ago Gaza truce incomplete without ‘full withdrawal’ by Israel: Qatar PM

The nearly two-month-old ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will not be complete until Israeli troops withdraw from the Palestinian territory under a peace plan backed by Washington and the United Nations, mediator Qatar’s prime minister has said. “Now we are at the critical moment ... A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of the Israeli forces, [and] there is stability back in Gaza,” Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Saturday. Sheikh...

Politics

24 h. ago India caps airfares as IndiGo crisis hits 5th day, stranding hundreds

India capped airfares on Saturday as hundreds of passengers gathered outside Bengaluru and Mumbai airports after IndiGo cancelled 385 flights on the fifth day of a crisis at the country’s biggest airline that has crippled air travel. IndiGo has cancelled thousands of flights this week due to a shortage of pilots after it failed to plan adequately for new rules limiting pilots’ work hours. The government responded on Friday, announcing special relief for the carrier and the operation of...

Events

26 h. ago Hong Kong contractors race to remove scaffolding nets after Tai Po fire

Contractors in Hong Kong are racing to tear down scaffolding nets used for estate renovation works to meet the government’s end-Saturday deadline, but some admit they will need more time. An industry representative on Saturday estimated that work at all sites across the city would only be completed by early next week, given the lengthy processes and a limited number of trained workers in the city. The development authority announced the removal order for all construction sites in Hong Kong on...

Events

26 h. ago 55 blocks in Hong Kong can’t meet deadline to take down scaffolding nets

Contractors in Hong Kong were racing to tear down scaffolding nets used for renovations at estates and meet the government’s Saturday deadline, but 55 blocks admitted they would need more time. An industry representative estimated that work at all sites across the city would only be completed by early next week, given the lengthy processes and a limited number of trained workers in the city. The development authority announced the removal order for all construction sites in Hong Kong on...

Events

26 h. ago How China’s solopreneurs are using AI to crack a tough job market

China’s artificial intelligence boom is giving rise to a new cohort of “solopreneurs”, who are turning their business dreams into reality with the help of technology, offering a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak job market. While there is no government data tracking this group, the proliferation of affordable AI models suggests that the number of AI-powered solopreneurs in China is on the rise. Recent data from the US Census Bureau showed that the US had about 30 million solopreneurs, who...

Politics

26 h. ago Jakarta vs the internet: Indonesia’s gamble with digital freedom

What happens when a democracy begins to fear its own internet? In Indonesia, that question is no longer hypothetical, as the government threatens to pull the plug on major online platforms many of its people rely upon. When Jakarta warned last month that it could block major platforms like Cloudflare and Wikipedia, the move was justified as a crackdown on online gambling – a vice officially outlawed in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. But for tech industry players and free-speech...

Politics

29 h. ago Fire risks persist on construction sites despite deadly Hong Kong blaze: watchdog

Fire safety risks still persist on construction sites across Hong Kong following the deadly blaze in Tai Po, the industry watchdog has warned, after a scaffolding worker in a major subsidised estate was sacked for smoking. Thomas Ho On-sing, chairman of the Construction Industry Council, on Saturday criticised the industry for failing to “learn a lesson” from the Tai Po tragedy. “I have been inspecting construction sites recently and found that many still have styrofoam boards and volatile...

Events

29 h. ago Lessons not learned, Hong Kong construction council says after site checks

Fire safety risks persist at building sites across Hong Kong following the deadly blaze in Tai Po last week, the Construction Industry Council has warned, after a scaffolding worker at a major subsidised estate was sacked for smoking. Council chairman Thomas Ho On-sing on Saturday criticised companies for failing to have “learned a lesson” from the tragedy. “I have been inspecting construction sites recently and found that many still have styrofoam boards and volatile paint. They also continue...

Politics

29 h. ago Chinese industry bodies issue RWA tokenisation warning amid Beijing’s crackdown

Mainland Chinese industry associations have issued a joint warning to real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation providers after Beijing turned on the screws, dashing hopes that Beijing might ease restrictions on digital-asset activities amid competition with the US. Tokenising real-world assets involves multiple risks such as fake assets, business failure and speculative trading, and Chinese authorities had not approved any such activities, seven industry bodies, including the National Internet...

Events

29 h. ago 7 Chinese industry bodies issue RWA tokenisation warning amid Beijing’s crackdown

7 Chinese industry bodies issue RWA tokenisation warning amid Beijing’s crackdown  South China Morning Post

Events

31 h. ago Chernobyl safety shield damaged, UN confirms. Ukraine blames Russian drones

A protective shield at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in war-torn Ukraine, built to contain radioactive material from the 1986 disaster, can no longer perform its main safety function due to drone damage, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday, a strike Ukraine has attributed to Russia. The International Atomic Energy Agency said an inspection last week of the steel confinement structure completed in 2019 found the drone impact in February, three years into Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, had...

Events

35 h. ago Chinese EV maker Li Auto unveils industry’s cheapest AI glasses at US$282

Chinese electric vehicle maker Li Auto has launched its first wearable product, the Livis artificial intelligence glasses, marking a bold foray into the rapidly expanding market already crowded by tech giants like Alibaba Group Holding, Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi. The device is priced at 1,999 yuan (US$282), but buyers who place an order before December 31 qualify for a 15 per cent rebate via the government-backed subsidy programme, bringing down the price to 1,699 yuan. That effectively...

Politics