Electronic payment providers need to be more diligent in vetting companies that use their platforms to protect people from fraud, the Philippine central bank said. The requirement came after Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas found thousands of illegal businesses on the payment platforms, including many online casinos masquerading as more ordinary companies like ...

The US House of Representatives held billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt of Congress on Wednesday for defying subpoenas issued in its investigation into notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The resolution was adopted by unanimous consent, without a recorded vote, a day after the House Oversight Committee unanimously recommended the action. The ...

When transgender woman Kali Sidharth Medepalli began hormone replacement therapy in India, she expected to complete her medical transition and undergo surgery within a year. But just months after she began treatment earlier this year, Indias parliament amended the countrys transgender law, and the clinic where she was receiving care stopped her medicines. ...

Okinawa has handed a landslide victory to a conservative who accepts Tokyos plans for relocating a controversial US airbase delivering a blow to 12 years of anti-base politics in Japans southernmost prefecture. Genta Kojas victory on Sunday over two-term governor Denny Tamaki raised a question cutting to the heart of Okinawas post-war politics: is it ...

Among the worlds most connected airports, Guangzhous hub has posted the fastest rise through the latest rankings, according to an annual list compiled by aviation data firm OAG. And overall, Chinese hubs stood out as carriers expanded their international networks with added flights. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in southern China jumped to 19th ...

Severe weather disruptions will amplify food security risks in Asia, potentially triggering civil unrest and political instability in vulnerable countries such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines, according to consultancy Verisk Maplecroft. The warning comes as the war in Iran has already disrupted fuel and fertiliser supplies, both of which are key ...

In response to the August 27 case of a young man lifting up and carrying a young woman at a party, City University authorities have established a student discipline panel. The man was reportedly half-naked while the woman was clad in only shorts and a bra. Am I the only person to think that a mountain is being made out of a molehill here? We run the risk of ...

North Koreas decision to send a record delegation to the 2026 Asian Games in Japan could serve as a calculated opening for limited diplomacy with Washington and Tokyo, even as major obstacles to formal talks remain. State media reported on Wednesday that a delegation led by Kim Il-guk, North Koreas sports minister, had left for Japan to attend the Games. ...

A romantic marriage proposal at a concert in northern China attracted significant backlash after the couple blocked the view of other spectators, leading to numerous complaints. On September 12, Chinese folk singer Zhao Lei performed at Beijings National Stadium, known as the Birds Nest. As tens of thousands of fans sang along, a man in the front section of ...

New Delhi and Islamabad summoned each others top diplomats to lodge strong protests after an Indian and a Pakistani naval vessel collided in international waters. Indias foreign ministry said that it had called in Pakistans senior envoy to formally register a strong objection over what it said was unacceptable and unprofessional conduct of Pakistani naval ...

Japans proposed port upgrades in Indonesias Natuna Islands reflect Tokyos push to bolster South China Sea security without building an overt military footprint. However, analysts stress that the move does not mean Jakarta is siding with Japan in its efforts to contain Beijing. Japan, which earlier this year eased its restrictions on lethal weapons exports, ...

Longer-term vision and policies with continuity mapped out in Hong Kongs inaugural five-year plan, along with the latest policy blueprint, offer investment opportunities and more stability for investors, according to experts and commentators. Hong Kong marked a historic milestone on Wednesday when Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unrolled the citys first ...

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said on Thursday that the countrys nuclear-armed status was absolute, calling those hoping for its denuclearisation idiots. North Korea has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear weapons state, with its leadership declaring the countrys nuclear arsenal permanent and irreversible. US President Donald ...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys invitation for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to visit Kyiv has created a diplomatic dilemma for the Japanese leader, who is under pressure to show firmer support for Ukraine without further antagonising Russia. Zelensky extended the invitation through Eisuke Mori, speaker of Japans House of Representatives, during his ...

Struggling to breathe through the acrid haze emanating from wildfires on Indonesias Borneo Island, residents said on Wednesday they feared for their health but had little to do but wait out the foul-smelling hazard. Indonesia, which shares Borneo with Malaysia and Brunei, is grappling with forest fires that have ravaged swathes of the island, partly caused ...

Britains King Charles took the unusual step on Wednesday of responding to criticism by the brother of his late first wife Diana, saying via a spokesman that grief could impact reason, judgment and memory. The assertions, made in a soon-to-be published book, relate to the now-monarchs conduct in the days after Dianas death in 1997. Diana was killed at the ...

As technological developments augur an era of renewed space exploration, China is aiming to become a major player. In the first part of this two-part series, Wency Chen and Mia Nurmamat examine how Hainan province is betting on a growing aerospace cluster to rewrite its economic playbook beyond tourism. On Hainans northeastern coast, launch towers rise ...

The criminal trial of Huawei Technologies on racketeering charges shifted this week into a slower, more laborious pace in what is expected to be a weeks-long trial as the US Government sought to establish on Wednesday that Huawei was intent on learning about a proprietary robot developed by US telecommunications carrier T-Mobile. Matthew Skurnik, assistant ...

American troops need to prepare for combat not only in Earths orbit but around the moon, President Donald Trumps top military adviser said on Wednesday, looking ahead to a new frontier in warfare after the US revealed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told service members and ...

One stormy night last month, a driver surnamed He saw two tall men get out of a car in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and pull a young woman off the street and into the vehicle. During the struggle, her umbrella fell to the ground. She did not appear willing. Suspicious, He followed the vehicle and later reported the incident to local police, ...

Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has turned to regional and Western allies for help as its stand-off with Houthi rebels in Yemen drags on, two regional officials said on Wednesday. The officials said the Saudis have asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air-defence support to the region to help defend against missiles ...

Using fossilised teeth, scientists have finally taken the T. rexs temperature and it wasnt too different from our own. Researchers once thought that dinosaurs were sluggish, cold-blooded creatures. Later findings challenged that, suggesting that older dinosaurs were warm-blooded and could control their body temperature. Most scientists agree that ...

Hong Kong will expand the use of the yuan in areas including gold trading and cross-border payments, as policy blueprints call for the citys biggest push yet to internationalise the Chinese currency. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Wednesday devoted part of the citys first five-year plan and his annual policy address to developing a gold trading ...

Andy Burnham was for years a staunch opponent of Brexit and a vocal supporter of rejoining the European Union. When he became Britains new prime minister in July, this seemed to augur well for UK-EU relations but instead, Brussels is looking past its neighbour and cosying up to Canada. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday ...

Hong Kongs leader has unveiled the citys first five-year blueprint, aligned with Chinas national development strategy, setting targets to nearly double innovation spending and raise the share of manufacturing and new industries to 5.5 per cent of the economy. In a historically significant new approach, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu prefaced his annual ...