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The Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is likely preparing to secure a fourth term in power in 2027, has complained that officials cannot be trusted.

A Singaporean woman pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiring with a friend and the friend’s boyfriend to abuse four-year-old Megan Khung, and helping to dispose of the child’s body after she died following months of abuse. Nouvelle Chua Ruoshi, 36, pleaded guilty to three charges, including conspiracy to commit child abuse, intentional disposal of a corpse and methamphetamine consumption, The Straits Times reported. Three further charges for conspiracy to commit child abuse will be considered when...

The Philippines faces the highest climate-driven port damage costs in Southeast Asia, with annual losses projected to hit US$70.2 billion by 2100, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has warned. Analysts say the damage could cripple supply chains, drive up food prices and threaten livelihoods, urging Manila to adopt a more coordinated approach to flood protection rather than simply strengthening port infrastructure. In its latest report titled “Asia-Pacific Climate Report 2026: Coastal Risks on the...

Indonesia has defended its decision to cut natural gas exports to Singapore, citing domestic electricity and industrial needs and arguing that the reduction remains within contractual limits. The cuts came days after Indonesia’s energy minister warned that his country could stop exports to nations that “did not respect” it. On Monday, Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia defended the reduction of 31 million standard cubic feet per day in pipeline gas exports to Singapore, saying it represented about...

South Korea earned US$116.63 billion more from the world than it spent in the second quarter of this year – exceeding the combined current account surpluses of Germany and Japan for the first time on record. The current account measures a country’s trade and income with the world. It counts goods and services sold abroad, money earned on overseas investments and payments flowing the other way. A surplus means more foreign currency is coming in than going out. Surging demand for semiconductors...

For decades, China was one of the world’s largest sources of migrant labour. Its workers staffed factories at home and built infrastructure abroad. But demographic decline may eventually force China to contemplate a striking reversal: importing workers on a meaningful scale. That change is not imminent. China still has a vast labour force and substantial youth unemployment. It is investing heavily in industrial automation, extending working lives through a gradual increase in the retirement age,...

A Malaysian ruler is demanding accountability over the mismanagement of a pilgrimage fund, after a government rescue package, criminal proceedings against former officials and half-hearted reforms have fuelled concerns about political influence in an institution entrusted with the savings of millions of the country’s Muslims. Tabung Haji holds the savings of more than 9.8 million depositors and helps Malaysian Muslims finance and undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca, a religious obligation for...

Chinese biotech firms face fresh headwinds in their global expansion as Washington’s proposed outbound investment restrictions threaten to disrupt deal structures, even though drug licensing agreements remain untouched for now, analysts say. The US Treasury Department’s draft rules released last week would “make it much harder for Chinese biotech firms to attract direct US investment or enter joint ventures”, according to David Zhang, an analyst at policy research firm Trivium China. US Treasury...

Chinese AI video-generation models have surpassed leading US rivals in visual quality, but several fall behind in safety safeguards, according to researchers at the University of Hong Kong. ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 Pro took top spot in a ranking of 12 leading artificial intelligence video-generation models, scoring 3.84 out of 5 for visual quality. It outperformed Google DeepMind’s Veo 3.1, which scored 3.47, and OpenAI’s Sora 2 Pro, on 3.27, in a study led by Zhenhui Jack Jiang, professor of...

Sydney’s new multibillion-dollar airport has already confused some travellers, with passengers mistaking the new facility for the Australian city’s existing airport and even booking flights to the wrong side of the country. Western Sydney International Airport, which opened at the weekend after decades of planning, is about 60km (37 miles) from the city centre, compared with just 8km for the existing Kingsford Smith Airport. The new airport operates around the clock, while most passenger flights...

The villagers who first spotted the five baby orangutans in a casuarina forest in India in early September were puzzled by their reddish hair and unfamiliar faces. The three males and two females, aged six to eight months – were left on a plantation in eastern India’s Odisha, over 2,700km (1,700 miles) from their native rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra, evidence of a growing illicit trade of apes being trafficked into India. They are now at an Indian zoo, where keepers reportedly have been...

China’s expanding semiconductor industry is fuelling mounting anxiety in South Korea, where a new consultancy report has warned local chipmakers to defend profitability as Chinese rivals scale up production and strengthen market share. Samil PwC, the South Korean member firm of the global consultancy, said in a report made public on Monday that Chinese competition would likely heat up first in the areas of conventional memory, mature-node manufacturing, and packaging and testing. To stay ahead,...