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Focus

Tokyo hardens for a hotter future

INSTEAD of revising from textbooks, a group of Tokyo teenagers are ankle-deep in tidal mud, hauling plastic waste from the shallows of the city's waterfront.

Focus

Struggling to keep the lights on

IT is pre-dawn in the historic Podil district of the Ukraine capital, Kyiv, and warm light from the Spelta bakery-bistro's window pierces the darkness outside.

Metro News

Klang Valley traders keep price hike palatable

AMID financial pressures and tighter budgets among customers, petty traders in the Klang Valley are keeping their price increase to a minimum this Ramadan.

Focus

A 500,000-year headstart on ingenuity

EARLY hominins in Europe were creating tools from raw materials hundreds of thousands of years before Homo sapiens arrived there, two new studies indicate, pushing back the established time for such activity.

Nation

Brain damage risk soars among teen users

PETALING JAYA: Synthetic drugs are carving a trail of destruction through youths in the country, threatening to leave hundreds of thousands of them with lasting brain damage and severe mental disorders, says an anti-drug advocate.

Why Not?

Of road signs and roads that sing

With so many vehicles around, we could do with some signs of harmony on the roads.

Pakistan

Pakistan, US sign pact to redevelop Roosevelt Hotel

The nation has agreed with the US government to jointly redeve­lop New York's Roosevelt Hotel, the government in Islamabad said, allowing Islamabad to unlock value from its major overseas investment.

Japan

Takaichi vows growth push, defence reset

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to make Japan "strong and prosperous", while pledging to keep "hitting the growth button" following her party's landslide election win.

Insight

Towards work-life mastery

Dear captains, In recent years, few workplace ideas have been discussed as frequently and as loosely as work–life balance. It is often raised with good intentions, defended passionately, and yet applied inconsistently.

Indonesia

Prabowo clinches US trade deal, slashing tariffs to 19%

The White House announced a reciprocal trade agreement with Indonesia while President Prabowo Subianto was in Washington to attend the first meeting of President Donald Trump's Board of Peace.

Insight

Hire for the mission

Senior recruitment fails more often than most boards admit. Not because candidates aren't talented, but because hiring starts from the wrong place.

India

Fresh faces campaign on anti-corruption platform

Kishori Karki, 25, has been seeking blessings from elders in her community as the young candidate prepares to fight for change ahead of the country's landmark election next month.

South Korea

Yoon remains defiant after life term

Ousted president Yoon Suk-yeol remained defiant in his first reaction to a life sentence for rebellion handed down by a Seoul court the previous day.

Thailand

Thai police go undercover as lion dancers to nab burglar

When Thai police were having trouble catching a serial burglar who repeatedly slipped through their fingers, they came up with a creative plan: going undercover in a traditional lion costume to get close to their elusive quarry.

North Korea

Kim opens rare party congress

The ruling party has opened a landmark congress, state media said, launching a political spectacle expected to unveil the next phase in the nation's nuclear weapons programme.

Insight

AI in the layman’s eye

The subject of artificial intelligence (AI) has become so dominant that the World Economic Forum in Davos recently reputedly devoted 200 sessions for corporate leaders to discuss AI from multiple angles.

Philippines

Former leader Duterte faces pre-trial ICC hearing

Former president Rodrigo Duterte (pic) faces a pre-trial hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over crimes against humanity allegedly committed as part of a brutal crackdown on drugs.

Star Biz7

Singapore’s financial sector a big winner

Liquidity will lead the charge in Singapore's equity market.

Metro News

Breaking fast without breaking the bank

EVERY year, Mohd Shahrin Abdullah, 31, eagerly braves the elements and crowds at Ramadan bazaars, stopping by after work to buy dishes for iftar before heading hom

Sports Box

Empathy and care for athletes is para-mount

For most, that would be the death knell for any sporting ambition. Not Cheah Liek Hou.