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The Philippines’ military modernisation drive could offer South Korea an opportunity to transform its role as a major arms supplier into a deeper defence partnership, analysts say. This prospect gained fresh momentum after Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr and his South Korean counterpart, Kang Shin-chul, agreed to deepen cooperation in military modernisation, defence technology and joint training on the sidelines of an Asean security summit in Cebu last week. Teodoro reaffirmed...

It’s not just rare earths. China is making it harder for other countries to shed their dependence on its solar, drone and drugmaking technology.

Malaysian police have launched an investigation into a fight at a shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur after a viral video showed a man slapping a woman who allegedly assaulted his two young children. While police have not officially identified the venue, social media users claim the incident took place at the Ombak KLCC shopping centre. The 35-second clip circulating on social media shows a heated argument between the pair after the man confronted the woman over her actions. The altercation turns...

A new police unit ⁠armed with military ⁠assault rifles has ⁠begun patrolling the streets of Sydney, in an Australian-first measure set up in response to the Bondi Beach attack last December. The Armed Response ‌Command (ARC) would deploy at major events, crowded public spaces, sporting venues and places of worship to conduct “high visibility” patrols, New South Wales state police said. The move comes after two men opened fire on ⁠a Jewish celebration at the famous beach, killing 15 people ‌in an...

In a sprawling palace in western India, the “queen” or Maharani of Baroda welcomes guests with fragrant rose petals, presenting torchlit dances of Hindu myths. Dressed in glittering finery, Radhikaraje Gaekwad is a queen in name only, a modern businesswoman presiding over a world her ancestors once ruled. “The key has been that we have adapted,” the 48-year-old said in her vast Lakshmi Vilas Palace, describing how India’s former royals have found new roles, from cultural ambassadors to...

President Lee Jae Myung’s overseas trips have again drawn attention to South Korea’s shifting political standards, adding to a familiar cycle of disputes over presidential golf and the presidential plane whenever power passes between conservative and liberal administrations. The controversies centre on taxpayer money and the public’s attitudes towards presidential privilege, with governing parties defending certain activities as necessary for diplomacy or official duties and the opposition...

An analysis by Japan’s GMO Internet Group found that a North Korea-linked hacking group was likely behind the cyberattack on the company last month, sources close to the matter said, citing characteristics of the malware used and other traces left by the perpetrators. The company appears to have already reported the matter to the government and will now focus on determining the full circumstances. Kyodo News, working with security experts, also found that five IP addresses used to access a...

Bangkok’s firefighters do more snake catching than firefighting, and Pinyo Pukpinyo trains them. But he refuses to kill the snakes, and he’s running out of containers.

Video game companies have long been at the vanguard of artificial intelligence, using it in its more nascent form to dictate non-player character behaviour, simulate crowds and adjust game difficulty on the fly years before the advent of chatbots like ChatGPT. Today, the technology is increasingly being deployed to write code, create visual assets and even synthesise real-time voice-overs, supplanting humans who would have otherwise done the work. Yet studios do still pay people to animate their...

When Chinese leader Mao Zedong and then US president Richard Nixon ended more than two decades of hostility in the early 1970s and began restoring ties, one powerful force pulling them together was a shared adversary in the form of the Soviet Union. Fast forward to today. The United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, have spent eight years locked in competition and confrontation, from trade and investment to technology, amid mounting fears that they are on a path to inevitable...

Tens of thousands gathered in India’s capital in a clamor of banging drums, chants and billowing flags, with participants from across the country.

Pinyo Pukpinyo, Thailand’s most famous snake catcher, has found the critters slithering in nooks and crannies all over Bangkok. He refuses to kill them.