Miguel J. Melendez-Munoz, MD, an Internist with Compass Counseling Services

India’s top court decreed that only more environmentally friendly fireworks could be set off this weekend, citing air quality concerns. But environmental activists call it a “green wash.”

A crew member of a helicopter battling Indonesian wildfires was killed on Sunday when the aircraft crashed into a river as it scooped up water for an airborne drop, a local disaster agency said. The crash in Borneo Island’s South Kalimantan province was the second in days involving a firefighting aircraft, after a military helicopter plunged into the waters off Borneo on Wednesday, killing three people. Two Australian pilots survived Sunday’s crash and were “safe”, Berton Panjaitan, a spokesman...

The contest to replace António Guterres as U.N. secretary general has been jolted by last-minute entrants and deep divisions among members of the Security Council.

Japanese police arrested a 33-year-old man who admitted to stabbing a bookshop worker in Osaka on Sunday, a spokesman said, adding that the suspect said he “held a grudge against society”. The man, identified as Satoshi Okamoto, allegedly used a kitchen knife to stab the worker – who called police immediately afterwards – at a branch of national chain Maruzen & Junkudo in the heart of Japan’s second largest city. Police did not elaborate on the victim’s condition, but there was no fear for his...

Food was at the heart of Henry Onesemo’s South Pacific island upbringing. Now, he’s bringing flavors of home to his Michelin-starred restaurant in New Zealand.

Artificial intelligence models will soon be powerful enough to master biology, presenting both benefits and serious risks, Tencent Holdings’ chief AI scientist and former OpenAI star researcher Vinces Yao Shunyu said during a rare public appearance on Saturday. The assessment comes as frontier AI systems are increasingly being applied to medicine and biology, which could accelerate discovery of new drugs and other treatments. However, experts also warn that malicious actors could use AI to...

Sony is building an anime empire, betting that global fandom can fuel growth for both the company and the country as foreign rivals and A.I. swarm the scene.

Humanoid robots represent the next frontier for Pudu Robotics, according to founder and CEO Felix Zhang Tao, as the global commercial robotics leader takes on Elon Musk’s Tesla in the growing sector and explores manufacturing in Europe, its largest overseas market. “It’s definitely a competitor, but a long-term one,” Zhang told the South China Morning Post in a recent interview, adding that Tesla was a “very good” rival whose high profile had driven innovation and broadened market awareness in...

Washington’s decision to upgrade Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets has drawn accusations of double standards from critics in India, who question why the United States is strengthening a nuclear-armed ally while waging war against Iran over its nuclear programme. Although the US$686 million military modernisation package does not include nuclear weapons, analysts say that improvements to the fighter jets’ navigation, communications and survivability could boost Pakistan’s existing nuclear strike...

When Japan’s “symbol of affordability” Uniqlo decided to increase the price of its basic socks last month, it sparked a backlash before the clothing titan made an immediate U-turn. That came after Italian-style family restaurant chain Saizeriya issued an almost grovelling apology as it decided to add 20 yen (US$0.13) to the price of its trademark Milanese Doria, lamenting its “lack of effort”. The very public angst, including in one of the world’s most recognisable clothing brands, highlights...

For most of his life, Osman Uki lived in a world dictated by the sun, relying on kerosene and leftover cooking oil to light his home in a remote indigenous village in Malaysia. That changed in April when solar power finally reached Kampung Bertang in the state of Pahang, allowing families to power electric lights, refrigerators and rice cookers. For Osman, one of the biggest changes is what happens after sunset. “We are happy with the light we have at night. The kids can read at night now. We...

Cooking and bathing became difficult when taps ran dry in Batam, an Indonesian island where residents are protesting against data centres springing up to power the global artificial intelligence boom. The area had suffered a “long drought” caused by low rainfall, the local water utility operator said, as a strong El Nino cycle exacerbates dry weather. But, as in other countries, anger has been directed at the data centres, warehouse-like facilities that keep apps and AI tools running, with water...