A ballad inspired by the emotions of Ukrainian Women and Mothers presented by Ukrainian Singer NIzhNA

The United Nations is also searching for a replacement for António Guterres, who has served two terms as the secretary general and is stepping down.

Soybeans are the notable exception, revealing Beijing’s selective approach to fulfilling trade commitments ahead of the summit between President Trump and Xi Jinping.

The poet and lyricist Gulzar has profoundly shaped the idea of tender romance in India through his verse and songs in more than 150 musicals.

The fishing town of Nemuro depends on Russia for trade. But it’s also leading a fight to win back islands seized by Moscow in World War II.

Neither Beijing nor Washington can win the race for artificial intelligence dominance without relying on other countries, a Bank of America analyst said ahead of this week’s high-stakes bilateral summit, citing deeply entangled global tech supply chains. While China’s advantages had emerged in areas like power grids and manufacturing equipment, the country remained reliant on overseas suppliers for advanced chips, memory and some high-end materials, said Matty Zhao, co-head of China equity at...

The Philippines has suffered three deadly school shootings since June. In each case, at least one weapon belonged to a relative working in government or law enforcement, whether as an official service issue or a privately licensed firearm. On Friday, a student at Banga National High School in South Cotabato province shot dead two classmates, wounded several others and then killed himself. He reportedly used the licensed firearm of his father, who works in the Education Department’s risk...

Singapore’s retrenchment rate in the second quarter of 2026 hit its highest level since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in late 2020, driven by business reorganisation and restructuring, the manpower ministry said on Monday. There were 4,620 retrenchments in the second quarter of this year, up from the 3,830 retrenchments posted in the first quarter of the year, the ministry said in its labour market report for the period. It is the highest since the 5,640 retrenchments recorded in the...

A Japanese woman was left unable to breathe on her own after a veteran surgeon mistakenly removed healthy tissue instead of a benign tumour from her brain. Kyoto University Hospital apologised for the medical error and vowed to take measures to prevent similar incidents, local news outlet TV Asahi reported. The woman, in her fifties, was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour after consulting doctors for dizziness and unsteadiness. Although she was able to carry out her daily activities, she...

A record number of New Zealanders turned out at the polls this month, not for national elections but to vote for their Bird of the Year – the critically endangered black robin. The diminutive native lives on the remote Chatham Islands, 800km (500 miles) off the South Island’s east coast. In 1980, only five of the birds remained, including a single breeding female. Now there are about 350. The black robin topped the pecking order ahead of the famed flightless parrot, the kakapo, and the native...

As Beijing presses President Trump to freeze a proposed $14 billion weapons sale to the island, Taiwan is trying to show that its security is in U.S. interests.

Three South Korean military officers were injured in an explosion during an operation near the heavily mined border with North Korea, Seoul’s military said Monday. The incident occurred south of the military demarcation line inside the demilitarised zone (DMZ), one of the world’s most heavily fortified and mined frontiers. Two of the injured officers were evacuated by helicopter, while a third was due to be transported by road before being airlifted, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. It was...

A fierce 30-minute bidding war for a rare Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama pumpkin bag – seized in Singapore’s S$3 billion (US$2.35 billion) money laundering case – sent its final price soaring on Sunday night. The limited-edition yellow monogram leather piece, which was a collaboration between the luxury fashion house and the Japanese artist who recently died at 97, eventually went under the hammer for an eye-watering S$87,000. A flurry of 42 last-minute bids pushed the closing price to more than...