Shunned in the West, Ye hands Indonesia a rare mega-tour coup

Coconut farmer Sombat Chuekrod travelled more than 200km (120 miles) to join hundreds on the streets of Bangkok on Friday demanding that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank change how they deal with the developing world. Finance ministers, central bank governors and other top policymakers gathered this week in the Thai capital for the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, as decision makers tackle an inflation crisis fuelled by the Iran war and other economic shocks. The message from...

When police cracked down, Neha Bora helped rally Gen Z protesters with a mix of boundless energy, street theatrics and satirical humor.

A roof collapse that killed 32 children and a teacher in northwest Pakistan has prompted safety inspections of schools across the region.

Stranded in a port waterway for weeks, the 10-foot fish has attracted more than a million spectators, while officials try to guide her back to open sea.

Airline employees in Japan are experiencing a surge in abuse incidents from customers linked to delays or cancellations of flights or from being refused boarding due to late check-in, according to a survey. Some 30 per cent of ground staff or cabin crew reported bearing the brunt of passengers’ anger over such matters in the past year, according to the survey by the Japan Federation of Aviation Industry Unions released last month, rising from 7 per cent in its previous survey in 2023. In...

China and the Philippines recently traded accusations over the medical evacuation of a Philippine serviceman from a grounded naval vessel in the hotly disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. The incident has sparked renewed worries about potential armed skirmishes in a global artery of trade. But Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr was also quick to emphasise the economic dimensions of a major conflict. After a decade of rapid economic growth, the Philippines is facing...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Saturday sent a ritual offering to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, regarded by Japan’s neighbours as a symbol of the country’s past militarism, at the start of its three-day autumn festival. Takaichi, known as a conservative who routinely visited the Shinto shrine before becoming prime minister a year ago, was unlikely to visit the shrine during the festival, a source close to her said, amid strained relations with China and relatively stable ties with South Korea. The...

In hindsight, it was only a matter of time before Esha Yusof joined the growing ranks of Malaysian shoppers being drawn to Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo. Esha is a relative newcomer. She signed up in July, more than half a year after the platform launched in Malaysia – and has been smitten with it ever since. Rock-bottom prices, a vast range of products and seamless payments through a popular local e-wallet make it easy for the 32-year-old to spend an average of 500 ringgit (US$122) a month...

⁠North Korea conducted an underwater ⁠test of a new torpedo weapon system on Thursday to verify technological upgrades, state news agency KCNA reported on Saturday, describing the test as a success and a significant step in ‌the country’s naval development. The test verified propulsion technology developed through more than 180 tests over the past five years, KCNA said, adding that artificial intelligence was used for target detection and guidance in the new high-speed precision-guided...

The potential downgrade by MSCI, an influential index provider, adds to a deepening crisis of investor confidence in the economic policies of President Prabowo Subianto.

Alibaba Group Holding’s two major domestic online marketplaces, Taobao and Tmall, plan to greatly expand the use of artificial intelligence across merchants’ operations next year, a senior executive said, as the e-commerce giant doubles down on the technology to drive growth amid a challenging consumer landscape. “Starting next year, AI will comprehensively enter the internal enterprise workflows of merchants,” Liu Bo, president of Tmall, said at the company’s Singles’ Day media briefing on...