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Ayumi lives alone in a spacious suburban house originally bought to raise a family, her two cats now her only full-time companions. Her two daughters have grown up and left home, and her husband of more than two decades moved out nearly a year ago as they finalise a divorce. For the 62-year-old Kawasaki resident, who spoke on condition that her surname be withheld, this was not how she envisioned her later years. “He worked very long hours, including on weekends, and I was always busy taking...

The North Korean leader crossed the border on a newly opened bridge for the trip, as the two countries move to deepen ties.

Singapore is turning to major technology firms to strengthen its cyber defences, even as it presses them for greater transparency over security breaches – a balancing act facing regional governments as they seek to harness artificial intelligence while guarding against the risks it introduces. Those risks were highlighted by an AI agent linked to OpenAI that gained unauthorised access to files on an Australian government website earlier this year, raising questions over how quickly companies...

On October 18, Anthropic, the artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory preparing one of the largest listings in history, committed 5 per cent of its shares to a public benefit fund. The next day, Elon Musk promised one SpaceX share, next year, for “every kid in America” – about US$10.6 billion for some 73 million children. The offers differ in who holds the shares. Anthropic’s will sit in an entity the company owns, spent on the public’s behalf; Musk’s would land, by a route he has not explained,...

A Japanese fashion style inspired by historical European clothing is finding a growing following in Europe, where enthusiasts are embracing its elaborate designs and forming communities around their shared passion for lace, frills and intricate outfits. Gothic Lolita, often shortened to “Goth-Loli,” blends elements of European clothing styles with Japanese fashion sensibilities. Japanese brands are now looking to expand their presence in Europe, bringing the style back to the continent that...

Four takeaways from India’s protest movement, at a moment when democracies around the world are under pressure.

Indonesia cut exports of natural gas to Singapore on Saturday to prioritise domestic demand, an official said, with the two countries at loggerheads over regional air pollution emanating from wildfires on the vast archipelago. The head of SKK Migas, a state agency supervising the oil and gas sector, said Indonesia would cut a total of 31 million standard cubic feet per day from its supply to Singapore. Fifteen million standard cubic feet per day was being cut from Natuna in Indonesia’s Riau...

The anxiety gripping Seoul is palpable. Under US pressure, South Korea signed a US$350 billion investment deal last November for a 10-percentage-point tariff reduction, billing it as a strategic alliance. Barely a year on, the facade has crumbled. Last month, US President Donald Trump announced a US$200 billion tranche of the deal with no South Korean official present. Blindsided, Seoul restated its “commercial viability” clause. Trump’s response was blunt. “If they don’t want to do it, that’s...

Two Philippine air force planes collided during a training flight and crashed at an airbase south of Manila, killing all four pilots on board, Philippine officials said on Saturday. The two SF-260 aircraft collided while flying at a low altitude on Friday afternoon then crashed at Fernando Air Base in Lipa city in the coastal province of Batangas south of the capital. There were no injuries on the ground, the officials said. The air force did not provide details of what it called an accidental...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un urged his military to train to become the strongest in the world at a two-day meeting of company commanders in Pyongyang, state media said on Saturday. Kim’s call for what he dubbed a “Korean-style military revolution” came the same week Seoul’s military proposed talks to clarify the border after an explosion inside the heavily fortified demilitarised zone (DMZ) further strained inter-Korean ties. Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean...

At this time of year, Fatima Ramos would normally be preparing her balikbayan boxes. Overseas Filipinos typically fill these boxes with gifts, clothes, food and household items to send to their loved ones back home in the Philippines for Christmas. Ramos has previously sent the tax-exempt parcels to her family and Philippine charity organisations from Abu Dhabi, where she is a domestic worker. Now back in the Philippines, Ramos is seeking answers about the parcels she sent last year, some of...

A revised Imperial House Law took effect on Saturday to address Japan’s shrinking imperial family while retaining the traditional male-only succession system despite public support for female emperors. The legislation, enacted in July in the first major revision of the 1947 law, allows the imperial family to adopt males aged 15 or older from 11 former imperial branch families who are descended from emperors through the male line. The revised law also allows female members to retain their...