Japan hikes foreign residency fees, tightens rules: 5 things to know

One of the Malaysians unaccounted for following the devastating floods in Nepal has been confirmed safe and has returned to Malaysia, according to the group representing Malaysians missing in Nepal. Malaysia Solidarity: Families in Hope (Masfih) spokesman Manivannan Rethinam said the person had reported themselves to the Malaysian embassy in Kathmandu. “For Masfih and the other families, the finding of a safe Malaysian 37 days later is an extremely relieving and meaningful development,”...

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s reshuffling of his cabinet signals an urgent need to address criticism and dipping ratings by banking on experienced technocrats and trusted figures in key positions, observers say. But although the appointment of a new foreign minister raises hope of some restraint on Prabowo’s more “impulsive” foreign policy decisions, the president’s self-imposed role as “chief diplomat” is likely to remain unchanged. In his second senior cabinet change in under three...

US artificial intelligence company Anthropic appears to have stepped up enforcement of geographical restrictions on its Claude models in Hong Kong, with local users reporting abrupt account suspensions after accessing the service through virtual private networks (VPNs). A wave of complaints surfaced on social media platforms X and Reddit on Thursday, as users who had operated accounts for months using VPNs found them suddenly disabled. One Hong Kong-based user posted on the “r/claude” subreddit...

The first apartment came up for auction and nobody moved. More than 60 people crowded into a room in Singapore to watch seven properties seized in one of the world’s biggest money-laundering cases go under the hammer. Their opening prices totalled more than S$43 million (US$33.6 million). But when bidding began for a luxury unit at Gramercy Park, an upscale condominium near the city state’s Orchard Road shopping district, not a single hand went up. Next came a 2,658 sq ft (247 square metres)...

Capt. Smit Machchhar suffered stab wounds while fending off an attack from his co-pilot, saving the lives of around 170 people on board, officials said.

A sell-off in technology stocks pushed mainland Chinese equities to their lowest level in more than a year, even as Beijing stepped up support for the economy with a key interest rate cut. At the same time, Chinese government bonds attracted fresh interest as US Treasury yields climbed to a new high. Here are some figures that have captured market attention this week. China’s CSI 300 Index hits 13-month low Mainland China’s CSI 300 Index dropped 2.2 per cent on Monday to its lowest level since...

South ‌Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday threatened unspecified measures against Ukraine unless Kyiv acknowledged what Seoul says was a confidentiality agreement covering the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers and apologised. “If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology continues, we will take additional measures,” Lee said in a social media post. Lee also expressed “grave regret” over what he described as Ukrainian remarks about an imminent ⁠military...

As citizens embrace the technology for entertainment, babysitting and even farming advice, the government is stepping up efforts to set limits.

Thitu Island and its residents have come under the spotlight after the Philippines, in a bid to reinforce its claims in the South China Sea, announced plans to file an updated maritime chart with the United Nations. Observers say the filing would not establish Philippine sovereignty but could help Manila identify and challenge competing claims in more precise legal terms. More than just a technical document, the updated map is a means for the government to formally document its presence and...

China’s quantitative investing sector has produced 18 funds managing more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) in assets each so far this year, underlining the industry’s ability to generate competitive returns despite a tight regulatory environment. The firms are among 159 Chinese hedge funds overseeing more than 10 billion yuan in assets each, riding the technology-driven momentum in the world’s second-largest stock market. Among the new entrants to the club were AXQ Capital, Hopeseek Fund...

Two new islands have appeared off Anak Krakatoa, potentially the first in nearly a century to emerge within the caldera left by Krakatoa’s catastrophic 1883 eruption. The formations, discovered following a 25-hour eruption in early September, sit hundreds of metres off opposite sides of Anak Krakatoa – one to the northwest and the other to the southeast – almost on a straight line through the volcano’s crater, according to Indonesia’s Geological Agency. The agency places one about 760 metres...

Singapore’s biggest crackdown so far on fake online reviews has exposed how businesses exploit the appeal of five-star ratings to game the system, with experts warning generative AI will make fake reviews more rampant and consumers need to be more discerning of what they read online. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) has taken action against 45 companies – including a funeral parlour, law firm and an aesthetics clinic – after finding they bought reviews from a provider...