3 h. ago Thailand’s next PM Anutin reaffirms promise to hold fresh election

Thailand’s next prime minister on Saturday pledged to make good on his promise to lead the fractured interim government to new polls. Conservative tycoon Anutin Charnvirakul was confirmed by parliament on Friday, ending a week-long power vacuum following the ousting of his predecessor Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The construction magnate cobbled together a coalition of opposition blocs to shut out Pheu Thai, the electoral vehicle of the once-dominant Shinawatra dynasty’s patriarch Thaksin. Anutin...

Politics

6 h. ago Israel’s annexation plans fuel fears of Palestinians’ annihilation

Nearly two years after Hamas militants stormed southern Israel, the war in Gaza has entered a darker, deadlier phase. The territory now faces a reckoning its residents describe as annihilation. Israel’s latest military campaign in Gaza and its West Bank annexation plans have left observers warning that the age-old Palestinian presence across both could soon be erased. On Wednesday, Israel’s government unveiled plans to annex 82 per cent of the occupied West Bank. The escalation comes despite...

Politics

9 h. ago US Trump to host G20 summit at his Florida golf club, claims he won’t make money

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would host the 2026 G20 summit at his own golf resort in Miami despite abandoning a similar move in his first term after accusations of corruption. Billionaire Trump said his Trump National Doral resort and spa was the ideal choice for the gathering in December next year because it was “beautiful” and the Florida weather was nice. “It’s going to be at Doral,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after announcing that Miami would be the venue for...

Politics

11 h. ago China’s party diplomacy in play as communist leaders gather for parade

The past week has been a flurry of not only state-level diplomacy but also party-to-party outreach, with President Xi Jinping receiving a series of leaders from the four remaining communist countries on a single day. Xi held meetings with leaders from Cuba, North Korea, Laos and Vietnam, all of whom attended Wednesday’s military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the war against Japanese aggression. While Beijing has no interest in promoting a communist...

Politics

13 h. ago Venezuela’s Maduro calls for talks after Trump’s threat over military jets

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has called for dialogue with Washington, hours after President Donald Trump threatened to shoot down Venezuelan military jets if they pose a danger to US forces. Tensions between the two countries soared in recent days after the Pentagon accused Venezuela of buzzing its ships in the Caribbean following a deadly US strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat. “None of the differences we have and have had can lead to a military conflict,” Maduro said on Friday in a...

Events

15 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

19 h. ago U.S. Is Increasingly Exposed to Chinese Election Threats, Lawmakers Say

U.S. Is Increasingly Exposed to Chinese Election Threats, Lawmakers Say  The New York Times

Politics

19 h. ago Canada may get cheap Chinese EVs because of cooking oil – here’s why

Canada may get cheap Chinese EVs because of cooking oil – here’s why  Electrek

Politics

21 h. ago Texas law curbing Chinese property rights takes effect, no relief in sight for months

A Texas law restricting property ownership and leasing by Chinese citizens came into effect this week, thrusting affected residents into legal limbo with no path to relief before November. The law, which restricts real estate purchases by companies, individuals and government entities linked to countries that the federal government deems a threat to the US, took effect on September 1 after a legal challenge failed to block it in time. The legislation identifies China, Iran, North Korea and...

Society

23 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

24 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

25 h. ago Seoul expresses ‘concern’ over US immigration raid at Hyundai’s Georgia plant

South Korea on Friday expressed “concern and regret” over a major US immigration raid at a sprawling Georgia site where South Korean auto company Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles. South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jaewoong described the number of detained South Koreans as “large”, though he did not provide an exact figure. His ministry would not confirm or deny South Korean media reports saying that about 300 South Koreans were detained in Georgia on Thursday. The Atlanta...

Politics

26 h. ago Taiwan holds back on penalties for Victory Day parade supporters

Taipei authorities have taken a softer line on Taiwanese individuals attending Beijing’s Victory Day military parade this week, despite repeated warnings in the weeks leading up to the event. Former Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu defied the warnings and appeared on the rostrum overlooking Tiananmen Square on Wednesday, watching the parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The next day, Liang Wen-chieh, deputy minister of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, said...

Politics

28 h. ago Chinese delivery rider and biker face off for 4 hours at narrow crossing

A food delivery rider and a man on an electric bike in southern China blocked each other for at least four hours at a narrow crossing, as neither was willing to budge. Video clips of these two determined individuals went viral on mainland China, delighting millions of internet users, according to Dafeng News. The incident took place on August 24 in the bustling Huicheng District of Huizhou, Guangdong province. It involved a food delivery man and a young man, both perched on their electric bikes,...

Politics

29 h. ago Chinese man detained for ‘inappropriate comments’ about Victory Day parade

A man in the central province of Hubei was detained for allegedly making “inappropriate comments” about China’s Victory Day military parade and spreading rumours. According to cyber police in the city of Xiangyang, the 47-year-old man, surnamed Meng, made slanderous and derogatory remarks on Wednesday while commenting on a social media post about the parade held in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. When others expressed patriotic sentiment, Meng “insulted them and...

Politics

29 h. ago Thai parliament elects Anutin as new PM, ending political stalemate

Anutin Charnvirakul, a prominent construction tycoon and political conservative, has been chosen as Thailand’s next prime minister, capping a week of extraordinary political upheaval that saw the removal of his predecessor and the sudden flight of divisive billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra. Anutin, 58, secured a clear majority in Friday’s parliamentary vote, surpassing the 247-vote threshold required for victory in the lower house. His triumph was bolstered by the unexpected support of the...

Politics

30 h. ago Hong Kong should crack down on illegal medical practices, DAB party urges

Hong Kong authorities should step up efforts against illegal medical practices, the city’s largest political party has urged, after the organisation received about 100 complaints related to non-professionals allegedly offering pain relief services. Lawmaker Chan Wing-kwong of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) said on Friday that some of the services cost tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars – more expensive than the treatments provided by registered...

Events

31 h. ago Hong Kong activist wins appeal against riot conviction after trial judge’s error

A former Hong Kong political activist has won an appeal against his riot conviction due to the trial judge’s error in allowing prosecutors to substantially alter their allegations midway through proceedings. The Court of Appeal on Friday ordered the dismissal of Alvin Cheng Kam-mun’s conviction over his alleged role in the violence at Polytechnic University at the height of the 2019 anti-government protests. Cheng, who now runs a logistics company, was an assistant to former opposition lawmaker...

Events

32 h. ago Rail life story? Cartoon featuring South Korea’s Yoon returns to comics festival

A controversial cartoon featuring South Korea’s disgraced former first couple Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee is set to be displayed in public again this month, three years after its initial showing was cut short under government pressure. Yoonsukyeolcha by Park Se-eun from Chonnam Arts High School will be included in the annual Bucheon International Comics Festival as part of a retrospective show of prize-winning works from 2021 to 2025, the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency announced on Wednesday,...

Politics

34 h. ago Europe power guru Wang Xiongfei brings grid stability expertise home to China

One of the European Union’s top power systems experts, Wang Xiongfei, has come full circle after returning to China to take a leading academic role at Tsinghua University. As the newly appointed Xinghua chair professor and doctoral supervisor, Wang brings years of knowledge and experience in European power electronics and grid stability. He has led more than 40 research projects funded by the EU, Denmark, Sweden and various corporations. He has collaborated with grid companies in Germany, the...

Politics