1 hour ago ‘Uncertainty has costs’: the Asian students rethinking US education plans

As a teenager in military-ruled Myanmar, Muang* viewed a US college degree as the ultimate escape – a passport to freedom, stability and a future unbound by the limits of a junta-run state. At 19, he made it. A full scholarship to one of America’s most prestigious universities marked the culmination of years of perseverance. But today, that hard-won dream feels precarious. “You grow up in a country where it’s a dictatorship and you don’t have any opportunities to build your own life,” Muang...

Politics

1 hour ago Fans of Malaysia’s Rafizi face police probes as internal party feud intensifies

A feud within Malaysia’s ruling party has intensified after supporters of former People’s Justice Party (PKR) deputy president Rafizi Ramli alleged they were targeted by the police over social media posts about last month’s party elections. Rafizi, who served as deputy to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim within the party, lost his post in the May 23 internal election to Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah. Her elevation fuelled accusations of growing nepotism in the party, which is helmed by her...

Events

4 h. ago Man in Japan arrested over suspected attempt to repeat 1987 attack on reporters

Police in Japan have arrested a man over a parcel containing threats sent to a news outlet in a suspected copycat attempt of the most serious attack on the media in the country’s modern history. Kazuhiro Muto, 38, was arrested at his home in the city of Fuji, Shizuoka prefecture, on June 3, a month after a parcel allegedly from him was delivered to an office of the Asahi Shimbun in Nishinomiya, the newspaper reported. The parcel arrived just after the anniversary of the May 3, 1987 attack in the...

Events

5 h. ago English lessons in Hong Kong primary schools to cover national security

Hong Kong primary schools will need to strengthen patriotic and national security education under a revised curriculum guide for the English-language subject. The previous edition of the guide suggested English teachers let pupils explore value-laden matters including human rights and equal opportunities but they have been replaced by issues such as respect for others, animal rights and environmental protection. The Education Bureau on Tuesday released the “English Language Education Key...

Events

6 h. ago Japanese debate over US immigration raid protests and influx of foreigners

US President Donald Trump’s deployment of thousands of military personnel to Los Angeles in response to protesters rallying against his administration’s immigration raids has split public opinion in Japan, where debates have escalated in recent years over an influx of foreigners into the country. The protests in Los Angeles – now in their third day – have prompted Trump to order around 4,000 National Guard personnel and 700 Marines to the city. Clashes between both sides have led to rubber...

Events

6 h. ago In Japan, LA protests are dividing people as much as in the US. Here’s why

US President Donald Trump’s deployment of thousands of military personnel to Los Angeles in response to protesters rallying against his administration’s immigration raids has split public opinion in Japan, where debates have escalated in recent years over an influx of foreigners into the country. The protests in Los Angeles – now in their third day – have prompted Trump to order around 4,000 National Guard personnel and 700 Marines to the city. Clashes between both sides have led to rubber...

Events

7 h. ago Hong Kong must ‘seize opportunities’ to attract talent amid US student visa woes

Hong Kong should capitalise on the opportunities arising from US-China tensions to attract more talent to its academic and tech sectors, heads of the city’s top medical schools have said, ahead of a visit to the world’s largest biotechnology event in Boston. Representatives from the medical faculties of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) will join the delegation of the government-funded Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP)...

Politics

16 h. ago Chinese academy launches automated system to speed up chip design

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the nation’s premier science institution, has unveiled a chip design system driven by artificial intelligence (AI) that has the potential to significantly accelerate semiconductor development and replace human programmers. Developed by the State Key Laboratory of Processor and the Intelligent Software Research Centre, both under CAS, and the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the fully automated integrated circuit design system is called QiMeng,...

Politics

17 h. ago Eye on the prize: bags of rice, daily essentials up for grabs at Japanese arcade

An amusement centre in Japan is drawing crowds by offering bags of rice as claw machine prizes – a quirky marketing move that has struck a chord with consumers grappling with rising food costs. Since late May, the arcade in Kawagoe city, Saitama prefecture, has stocked its machines with 900-gram bags of rice to entice players with a shot at winning an increasingly expensive daily staple. The rice bags are the latest additions to the prizes customers can win at the machines. Over the past six...

Politics

17 h. ago As U.S. Scientists Look Abroad, China Aims to Lure Top Talent

As U.S. Scientists Look Abroad, China Aims to Lure Top Talent  Yale e360

Politics

18 h. ago ‘Chaotic era’: Chinese state media say LA protests are proof of a broken America

Chinese state media have sought to portray the escalating Los Angeles protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies as proof of a broken government and the lack of social cohesion in the United States. Such a framing, alongside a mix of gloating and schadenfreude on Chinese social media, comes amid sustained US-China tariff tensions and ongoing high-level trade talks in London. The state-backed Beijing Youth Daily, in a commentary published on its social media page on Tuesday,...

Events

18 h. ago India expected to maintain robust growth despite Pakistan tensions, trade woes

India is poised to remain the world’s fastest-growing major economy this year, analysts have said, with a recent jumbo rate cut by its central bank expected to boost consumption and investment, even as the country contends with fresh military tensions with Pakistan and an uncertain global trade environment. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week delivered a larger-than-expected interest rate cut of 50 basis points and reduced the cash reserve ratio – the minimum amount of capital banks must...

Events

20 h. ago Thailand’s Pattaya deploys AI drones as cries grow to tackle rising crime

A city in Thailand plans to deploy AI-powered police drones to hunt down criminals and visa overstayers amid growing concerns over public safety. Authorities in Pattaya want to link the drones to a centralised AI database so they can scan faces in crowds and pick out individuals with outstanding arrest warrants or expired visas, according to local media outlet The Thaiger. The drones will be used during large-scale local events and in tourist hotspots to monitor activities and respond to...

Events

21 h. ago Did China’s first emperor launch westwards mission to find ‘elixir of life’?

History records the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang as sending the alchemist Xu Fu eastwards towards Japan on a quest for the elixir of immortality. However, the ancient texts make no mention of any similar expedition heading west. But according to a state media report, findings by Chinese archaeologists suggest that a western expedition for the “elixir of life” may indeed have been launched during the reign of Qin Shi Huang. Qin Shi Huang, or the “first emperor of China”, was so named because he...

Events

21 h. ago Malaysia’s Anwar given second chance to prove immunity from sexual assault suit

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will be allowed to argue that he has legal immunity from a sexual harassment civil suit after the Court of Appeal ruled in his favour on Tuesday, just days before proceedings were due to start. The suit, brought by Anwar’s former research assistant Muhammed Yusoff Rawther, alleges that Anwar sexually assaulted him in 2018 at the then-opposition leader's private residence. Anwar has denied the allegations. The case risks resurfacing controversies that have...

Events

21 h. ago Stanford a case study in how Beijing infiltrates U.S. universities

Stanford a case study in how Beijing infiltrates U.S. universities  Longview News-Journal

Politics

21 h. ago US crackdowns on academia will only send global talent elsewhere

Where would the United States be without immigrant talent? Some of the country’s leading tech companies, including Alphabet and Nvidia, were founded or co-founded by immigrants. Two-thirds of the tech workers in Silicon Valley are foreign-born. According to research by the Institute for Progress, 60 per cent of the US’ top artificial intelligence (AI) companies have immigrant founders, including former international students. The role of Cambridge, Massachusetts as a magnet for global talent is...

Politics

21 h. ago ‘Unacceptable’: Japan group under fire for holding combat drills for students

An organisation in Japan’s Saitama prefecture is under fire for holding combat drills featuring toy guns for schoolchildren amid public anxiety about growing militarisation in the country. At the “junior survival school” run by a general incorporated association, primary and secondary schoolchildren took part in training similar to Japan Self-Defence Force (JSDF) drills and were taught how to handle toy guns, The Mainichi newspaper reported on Saturday, without naming the organisation. According...

Events

23 h. ago Pressured by US tariffs, Chinese exports expand in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia

Chinese exports to major industrial centres in Southeast Asia rose by double-digit percentages in the first five months of the year to satisfy growing consumer markets, feed offshore factory investments and offset losses from high US tariffs. Shipments to factory-magnet Vietnam increased by 18.8 per cent from January to May, compared with the same period in 2024, according to official data released on Monday. Meanwhile, exports to Thailand grew by 20.9 per cent, and Indonesia took 16.8 per cent...

Events

23 h. ago Former residence of South Korea’s Yoon under scrutiny over ‘pet pool’

A shallow pool inside South Korea’s presidential residence has sparked a debate among lawmakers over whether it was used by former president Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife for their pets. There has been increasing speculation that the pool was used for pets and not humans, said Representative Kim Byoung-joo at a meeting held on Monday by the Democratic Party, which became the country’s ruling party following President Lee Jae-myung’s election win last week. “I’ve looked around the space inside the...

Politics