Category: Asia

Singapore

20-Year-Old SCDF Firefighter Dies Weeks After Joining Marina Bay Station — But What Happened in the Training Yard Is Still Unknown

SINGAPORE — A 20-year-old Singapore Civil Defence Force full-time National Serviceman has died after being found unconscious while on duty at Marina Bay Fire Station, just weeks after completing his firefighter training and being posted to the frontline unit. Lance-Corporal Muhammad Nur Ilham Mohammed Iswadi was found unconscious in the station’s training yard at about 8.10am on Sunday, September 6, according to the SCDF. Personnel immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation before he was

September 6, 2026

Asia

Greek F-4 Phantom Crashes Before Thousands at Athens Airshow — But the Mystery Is What Happened in Its Final Seconds

ATHENS — Thousands of aviation fans had gathered at Tanagra expecting to watch one of Greece’s most recognizable combat aircraft roar through the sky. Minutes later, they were looking at a column of black smoke. A twin-seat Hellenic Air Force F-4E Phantom II crashed during a flying display at Athens Flying Week on Saturday, Sept. 5, killing both members of its crew and bringing one of Greece’s largest aviation events to an abrupt and devastating halt. The fighter went down during a low-altitu

September 6, 2026

Entertainment

Katie Taylor Retires On Top After Croke Park Masterclass — But Her Final Win Was Bigger Than Another Undisputed Title

DUBLIN, Ireland — Katie Taylor did not stumble toward retirement. She walked away with practically everything a boxer could want: an undisputed championship, a near-perfect record, a roaring hometown crowd and one final performance in which there was virtually no argument over who had won. The 40-year-old Irish icon dismantled previously unbeaten French challenger Flora Pili across 10 rounds Saturday at Croke Park, winning by unanimous decision before one of the largest crowds ever assembled f

September 6, 2026

Philippines

Sara Duterte Says She Fears for Her Life — Adiong Calls It ‘Ironic,’ but One Question About Her Security Is Still Unanswered

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s declaration that she fears for her life has opened another volatile front in her escalating legal and political confrontation with the Marcos administration, with a House impeachment prosecutor questioning what he described as the “irony” of her security concerns while she herself faces criminal charges involving alleged threats. Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, spokesperson for the House prosecution panel in Duterte’s ongoing impeachment

September 6, 2026

Philippines

Palace Tells Sara Duterte the PNP Won’t Be Used Against Her — But Her Security Claims Aren’t Going Away

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang is trying to defuse an increasingly combustible dispute between Vice President Sara Duterte and the country's police establishment, assuring her and her allies that the Philippine National Police will not be turned into a political weapon against them. The statement came after Duterte publicly declared that she feared for her life, worried about the safety of her children and did not trust the PNP as she appeared at the Quezon City Hall of Justice on September 5

September 6, 2026

Business

Uber Is Cutting 3,300 Jobs Even as Business Booms — But the Real Shake-Up Is About What Comes After Human Drivers

SAN FRANCISCO — Uber is eliminating thousands of corporate jobs in its largest workforce reduction since the COVID-19 pandemic. Normally, that sentence would suggest a company in trouble. The numbers tell a much stranger story. Uber's revenue rose 12% to $14.2 billion in the second quarter. Gross bookings surged 24% to $58 billion. Trips climbed 18% to nearly 3.9 billion. Operating income reached $1.9 billion. And trailing 12-month free cash flow exceeded $10 billion for the first time in

September 6, 2026

Entertainment

Barbie Forteza Unleashes Her ‘Wildest’ Role Yet in ‘Saving Cherry’ — But the Bigger Test Has Nothing to Do With Her Acting

MANILA, Philippines — Barbie Forteza has spent years proving she can carry comedy, historical drama and emotionally demanding television roles. Now, “Saving Cherry” is asking her to do something slightly different: tear apart the screen image audiences already think they know. In Regal Entertainment’s new comedy-drama, Forteza plays Cherry Valdez, a conservative newlywed who carefully saved herself for marriage—only to discover on her wedding night that her husband, Jude, played by Khalil Ram

September 6, 2026

Business

Philippines Welcomes 4.11 Million Visitors in Eight Months — But the Race to 7 Million Just Got Much Harder

MANILA, Philippines — More international travelers are coming to the Philippines this year, but the country will have to accelerate sharply over the final four months of 2026 if it wants to reach its ambitious 7-million visitor stretch goal. The Philippines recorded 4,112,488 international visitor arrivals from January through August, up roughly 3.7% from 3.97 million during the same period in 2025, according to Department of Tourism data. That is genuine growth. But the numbers also reveal a

September 6, 2026

Business

China Is Producing More Cars, Batteries and Goods Than Ever — But the Numbers Reveal Why the West’s ‘Overcapacity’ Case Isn’t So Simple

BEIJING/WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS — A battle over Chinese factories has rapidly become one of the biggest economic confrontations of 2026. Washington says China is producing too much. Europe says a flood of subsidized Chinese goods threatens its industrial base. Beijing says Western governments are using the language of “overcapacity” to disguise protectionism against increasingly competitive Chinese companies. And the numbers suggest an uncomfortable conclusion: there is evidence supporting parts

September 6, 2026

Business

He Built One of Asia’s Most Famous Bar Groups Without Being a Bartender — Now Indra Kantono Says Cocktails Alone Aren’t the Future

SINGAPORE — Fourteen years ago, Indra Kantono and Guoyi Gan entered Singapore’s emerging cocktail industry with an unusual résumé. Neither was a professional bartender. Kantono came from consulting and private equity. Gan had been a Singapore Airlines cabin crew member. They learned classic cocktails from books, videos and visits to bars overseas before risking their savings on an idea that could easily have failed. Instead, that idea became Jigger & Pony, one of the most internationally reco

September 6, 2026