Latest headlines

Taiwan Banks Race Past Full-Year SME Lending Target as AI Boom Fuels Business Financing Demand
Simon Cowell Pulls Out of Britain’s Got Talent Filming While Recovering From Back Surgery — What Happens Next?
13 Korean BBQ Buffets in Singapore From S$18 — Where to Get Your All-You-Can-Eat Fix
Najib Razak Remains in Prison as House Arrest Hangs on RM50 Million Fine — What Happens Next?
Taiwan Cabinet Receives 2027 Budget as NT$200 Billion in Spending Items Remain Under Review
Gan Ching Hwee Makes Singapore History With Asian Games Silver — And Breaks Another National Record
North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles Toward East Sea as Kim Tests New Weapon — What Happens Next?
Korean Universities Face a New Test: Attracting International Students Is No Longer Enough

Top story

Indonesia Ferry Disaster: More Victims Recovered From Sunken Virgo Transport 8 as Search Continues

Indonesia’s search and rescue teams have recovered more victims from the wreck of the Virgo Transport 8 as divers continue a difficult…

APAC Weather

Manila Philippines

27° Light drizzle
Singapore Singapore

28° Light drizzle
Tokyo Japan

27° Mainly clear
Seoul South Korea

26° Clear
Bangkok Thailand

29° Heavy drizzle
Jakarta Indonesia

32° Drizzle
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

30° Overcast
Hong Kong Hong Kong

28° Mainly clear

Open-Meteo · auto-refresh

APAC Markets

Nikkei 225 Japan

65,018.95 +882.70 (+1.38%)
Hang Seng Hong Kong

25,087.75 +45.04 (+0.18%)
SSE Composite China

3,952.13 +2.22 (+0.06%)
KOSPI South Korea

7,017.91 +10.19 (+0.15%)
TAIEX Taiwan

47,800.17 +81.33 (+0.17%)
STI Singapore

5,728.54 +53.31 (+0.94%)
PSEi Philippines

5,814.56 -29.23 (-0.50%)
IDX Composite Indonesia

6,276.26 -108.46 (-1.70%)
KLCI Malaysia

1,683.38 +16.44 (+0.99%)
S&P/ASX 200 Australia

8,757.80 +25.90 (+0.30%)

vs previous close · live refresh

Asia

See all

Asia

Indonesia Ferry Disaster: More Victims Recovered From Sunken Virgo Transport 8 as Search Continues

Asia

13 Korean BBQ Buffets in Singapore From S$18 — Where to Get Your All-You-Can-Eat Fix

Asia

Gan Ching Hwee Makes Singapore History With Asian Games Silver — And Breaks Another National Record

Asia

North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles Toward East Sea as Kim Tests New Weapon — What Happens Next?

Asia

Najib Razak ‘Touched’ by Support as Solidarity Fund Raises RM1 Million for His Fine

Politics

See all

Politics

Merz Under Pressure After German State Elections as AfD Scores Another Major Victory — What Happens Next?

Politics

North Korea Doubles Down on Nuclear Weapons, Says U.S.-Led Military Buildup Justifies Expansion

Politics

Ukraine Fires More Than 1,000 Drones at Russia in Largest Attack on Moscow — What Happens Next?

Politics

Najib Razak Remains in Prison as House Arrest Hangs on RM50 Million Fine — What Happens Next?

Politics

Taiwan Cabinet Receives 2027 Budget as NT$200 Billion in Spending Items Remain Under Review

Lifestyle

See all

Lifestyle

Former K-Pop Idol Hyunmin Goes Viral After ARrC Disbands, Juggling Four Jobs While Starting Over at 22

Lifestyle

Weekend Guide: ‘Annie Batungbakal’ Musical, LEGO Fan Fest, Creative Expos and More Events to Check Out This Weekend

Lifestyle

From Bread Bags to K-Art: Choi Sung-im Weaves Thousands of Wire Ties Into a Stunning “Golden Blanket”

Lifestyle

Elderly Tampines Couple Battles Cockroaches After Faulty HDB Refuse Chute Lets Pests Into Flat

Lifestyle

Afghan Cyclist Fariba Hashimi Once Disguised Herself as a Boy — Now She Is Racing Asia’s Best

Entertainment

See all

Entertainment

Wayne Rooney in Advanced Talks for I’m a Celebrity — Could He Follow Coleen Into the Jungle?

Entertainment

Simon Cowell Pulls Out of Britain’s Got Talent Filming While Recovering From Back Surgery — What Happens Next?

Entertainment

Korean Broadcasters and Streaming Platforms Team Up as Content Wars Enter a New Era

Entertainment

Singapore Bank Promotions in September 2026: DBS Offers 50% Travel Discounts While UOB Turns Saving Into a Game

Entertainment

Vivian Balakrishnan Heads to UN General Assembly as Singapore Prepares for High-Level Diplomatic Talks

Business

See all

Business

Taiwan Banks Race Past Full-Year SME Lending Target as AI Boom Fuels Business Financing Demand

Business

Man Arrested Within 12 Hours After Hotel Room Break-In on Singapore’s Beach Road

Business

How Trump and Xi Went From Tariff War to a Fragile Trade Truce

Business

Pakistan Airstrikes in Afghanistan Kill at Least Three Civilians as Border Tensions Escalate

Business

Resorts World Sentosa Expands Halloween 2026 Beyond Horror Nights — Here’s What’s Coming

Sport

See all

Sport

Myanmar Makes Asian Games History With Teqball’s First Gold — And a Barcelona Legend Was Watching

Sport

Zeanne Law Delivers Singapore’s First Asian Games Medal — And the Bronze Came Down to a Stunning Tie

Sport

Agnes Ngetich Breaks Women-Only Half-Marathon World Record in Copenhagen — And She Did It by Just One Second

Sport

Pedro Acosta Crashed Out of the Sprint — Then Came Back to Claim His First MotoGP Win in Austria

Sport

IOC Chief Kirsty Coventry Gives Asian Games Housing a Surprise Thumbs-Up — Despite Athlete Complaints About Tiny Beds

Across Asia & Beyond

Philippines

See all

Philippines

Traditional Family Planning Use Falls to 14.1% in Philippines as Modern Methods Continue to Rise

Philippines

DPWH, San Miguel Corp. Launch Year-Long Flood-Control Drive to Fight Flooding in Apayao

Philippines

Taiwan Brings 50 Award-Winning Technologies to the Philippines — But the Bigger Opportunity Goes Beyond AI and Gadgets

Philippines

Philippines’ Michelin Key Hotels Nearly Double in 2026: Nine Luxury Stays Earn Global Recognition, With Two Reaching a New Milestone

Philippines

Quirino Governor Dax Cua Dies at 48: A 25-Year Legacy of Public Service and Stronger Local Governments

Singapore

See all

Singapore

Motorcyclist Gets Unexpected Help From Police After Fuel Cap Gets Stuck at Singapore Petrol Station

Singapore

21-Year-Old Sentenced to 14 Years’ Jail and Caning After Sexual Assaults on Multiple Girls

Singapore

Singapore Weather Turns Stormy as Heavy Thundery Showers Sweep Across Island

Singapore

Singapore Retrenchments Jump to Highest Level Since 2020 as Firms Restructure — What Happens Next?

Singapore

Family of Singaporean Diver Robert Tan Soon Liang Finds Peace After Palau Tragedy — ‘Let Dad Rest in the Ocean He Loved’

Taiwan

See all

Taiwan

Taiwan Doctors Push Back on COVID-19 Vaccine Rumors as Online Misinformation Surges

Taiwan

TAIEX Reclaims 47,000 — But Can Taipei Keep the Volume?

Taiwan

Taiwan’s Highest ATM Now in Service at 2,240 Meters — And It Comes With an Apple-Shaped Sign

Taiwan

Taiwan Steps Up North America Tourism Push as Taipei Targets More Long-Haul Visitors

Taiwan

Cathay Financial Turns to AI to Transform Taiwan’s Wealth Management Market

Thailand

See all

Thailand

Thailand Accelerates Preparations for Queen Sirikit’s Royal Cremation Ceremony as December Rites Approach

Thailand

Thai Woman Found Dead in Office Freezer After Alleged Strangulation in Taiwan

Thailand

Thailand’s PM Says Foreign Lawbreakers Have “Gone Too Far” — And New Deportation Rules Are Already Taking Effect

Thailand

EU FTA Could Push Thai Growth Above 3% — So Why Is Sept 28 Still Make-or-Break?

Thailand

Thailand Doubles Household Solar Target to 10GW — And the Next Move Could Change How Millions Get Their Power

Malaysia

See all

Malaysia

Malaysia Haze Worsens as 19 Areas Record Unhealthy Air Quality — Sarawak Bears the Brunt

Malaysia

Najib Says He Can’t Access Enough Money to Pay RM50 Million Fine — And His House-Arrest Deal Hits a New Roadblock

Malaysia

Anthony Loke Quits Over Najib’s House Arrest — But DAP’s Next Move Could Change Malaysia’s Political Equation

Malaysia

TMK Is Paying RM939.9Mil for CCM — So Why Is 1Q2027 Still the Real Gate?

Malaysia

AirAsia Faces a Financial Storm as Fuel Costs Soar — Then Tony Fernandes Reveals What Comes Next

Indonesia

See all

Indonesia

Indonesia Extends Search for 125 Missing After Ferry Capsizes in Java Sea — What Rescuers Find Next Could Change Everything

Indonesia

Indonesia’s Haze Crisis Is Crushing Livelihoods in Sumatra — And Workers Can’t Afford to Stay Home

Indonesia

Another Body Found Inside Indonesia’s Sunken Ferry — 126 People Still Missing as Divers Enter the Wreck

Indonesia

Indonesia Extends Search for 126 Missing After Ferry Disaster — Then Divers Found Something Inside the Wreck

Indonesia

Indonesia’s Haze Is Back After a Decade — And the Real Problem May Be What Happens Before the Fires Start

Japan

See all

Japan

Typhoon Dujuan Batters Eastern Japan as Floods and Landslides Leave Deaths and Disruption

Japan

Teqball Makes Asian Games History With Its First Medals — And Its Olympic Dream Is Suddenly Getting Much Harder to Ignore

Japan

Japan Raises Rates to 31-Year High, but Yen Falls as Stocks Rally

Japan

Gilas Women Crush Hong Kong, Storm Into Asian Games Quarterfinals—But Japan Now Awaits

Japan

Timelesz Member Shuto Inomata Sent to Prosecutors After Tokyo Assault Arrest — What Happens Next?

Hong Kong

See all

Hong Kong

HSBC Cuts $38,000 School-Fee Perk for New Hong Kong Bankers as Cost-Cutting Drive Deepens

Hong Kong

Hang Seng Climbed — So Why Did Hang Seng Tech Still Sell Off?

Hong Kong

From Cheng Pei-pei to Michelle Yeoh, Hong Kong’s Action Heroines Leave a Lasting Legacy

Hong Kong

Revamped Huanggang Port Could Open on October 12 Under New Joint Clearance System

Hong Kong

YDC 2026 Showcases Hong Kong’s Emerging Fashion Designers

Vietnam

See all

Vietnam

Vanguard Eyes $2.5B in Vietnam — So Why Is FTSE Still the Real Catalyst?

Vietnam

Why Vietnam’s VN-Index Is Surging — And Why FTSE’s Upgrade Is the Real Story

Vietnam

UK Eyes Role in Vietnam’s Infrastructure Boom as Metro Expansion Accelerates

Vietnam

Vietnam Is Lining Up 29 U.S. Deals With SpaceX, Chevron and More — But Many May Not Be Binding

Vietnam

Vietnam Hasn’t Sold a Sovereign Dollar Bond Since 2014 — Now It May Borrow US$1 Billion, but the Price Could Hit 7%

South Korea

See all

South Korea

Byeon Woo-seok Gets Up Close With Singapore Fans as Secret Library Fan Meet Takes an Unexpected Turn

South Korea

Korean Man Jailed After Secretly Recording Ex-Girlfriend During Intimate Video Calls

South Korea

South Korea Opens Royal Palaces and Royal Tombs for Free During 2026 Chuseok Holiday

South Korea

South Korea Supreme Court Upholds 4-Year Sentence for Soldier Who Leaked Military Secrets to China

South Korea

Park Shin-hye Welcomes Second Child, a Baby Girl — Family Grows to Four

United States

See all

United States

World Leaders Gather at UN as Wars, AI and Climate Crisis Put Global Cooperation to the Test

United States

Xi Heads Into Trump Summit as China’s Trade Engine Keeps Roaring

United States

Chinese Biopharma Stocks Surge as US Moves to Keep Drug Deals With China Open — But a Major Restriction Could Still Change the Rules

United States

ILO And Canada Launch Major Philippine Drive Against Forced Labor — And Exporters Could Face New Pressure

United States

StubHub Stock Jumps After Citi Upgrade — But Wall Street Just Cut Its Price Target

China

See all

China

China Slows Humanoid Robot IPO Rush as Reality Starts Catching Up With the Hype

China

Bai Lu Gifts iPhone 18 to More Than 10 Staff Members on After the Bloom Set — Fans Are Taking Notice

China

AI Actress Tilly Norwood Suddenly Switches to Cantonese During Interview — Then Calls It a “Little Hiccup”

China

China Expels Two Top Generals Over Alleged Disloyalty and Corruption as Military Shake-Up Deepens

China

Latest headlines

Asia

Politics

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Business

Sport

Across Asia & Beyond

Philippines

Singapore

Taiwan

Thailand

Malaysia

Indonesia

Japan

Hong Kong

Vietnam

South Korea

United States

China

APAC briefing every morning