Category: Asia

Business

Globe, Chinabank Savings Take Banking Services Straight to Public Schools as Teacher Loans Go Digital

Public school teachers who once had to travel to a bank branch during working hours may increasingly find the bank coming directly to them. Globe Business and Chinabank Savings (CBS) have rolled out a mobile field-banking initiative designed to let CBS officers process selected financial services at school sites, potentially making loan applications, account concerns and other transactions easier for educators—particularly those working far from commercial centers. Under the partnership, CBS f

September 4, 2026

Sport

Cole Houshmand Stuns Gabriel Medina as Erin Brooks Completes Back-to-Back Fiji Pro Triumphs

CLOUDBREAK, Fiji — Cole Houshmand produced one of the biggest turnarounds of his 2026 season at Cloudbreak, overcoming a perfect 10 from three-time world champion Gabriel Medina to win the Fiji Pro, while Canadian teenager Erin Brooks completed a remarkable run of back-to-back Championship Tour victories. The American defeated Medina 16.87–15.17 in a dramatic men's final in powerful six-to-eight-foot surf, securing his third Championship Tour victory. For Brooks, the celebration came with a bi

September 4, 2026

Sport

US Open Influencer Boom Sparks Tennis Etiquette Debate as Ring Lights and Cameras Disrupt Matches

NEW YORK — The U.S. Open is becoming more than a Grand Slam tennis tournament. It is increasingly a social-media spectacle — and that transformation is triggering a growing debate over where content creation ends and basic tennis etiquette begins. Influencers and content creators armed with smartphones, cameras and ring lights have become a highly visible presence at this year's tournament in New York. But several incidents involving filming and photography during matches have raised concerns a

September 4, 2026

Business

GCash’s P92.32-B IPO Gets SEC Green Light — But One Number Could Decide Whether Investors Buy In

MANILA, Philippines — GCash is one major step closer to making Philippine stock-market history. The Securities and Exchange Commission has cleared the registration of GCash operator Mynt Inc. for an initial public offering that could reach as much as P92.32 billion, potentially smashing the Philippine record for the biggest IPO ever completed on the local stock exchange. But behind the blockbuster headline is a detail investors may want to examine closely: most of the shares being sold are not

September 4, 2026

Sport

500 Wrestlers Disqualified: India’s Sports Age-Fraud Crisis Is Getting Impossible to Ignore

India is facing a growing integrity problem in youth sports after more than 500 wrestlers were disqualified from an Under-17 national tournament over age-related discrepancies, exposing what experts describe as a deeply entrenched problem across multiple sporting disciplines.  The mass exclusions came during the U-17 National Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, in June, where roughly 1,200 wrestlers had registered across men's freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's events. The Wrestli

September 4, 2026

Philippines

Strongest: MMDA GM Torre Apologizes Over EDSA Busway SUV — But the Mismatched Government Plate May Be the Bigger Problem

MANILA, Philippines — Metropolitan Manila Development Authority General Manager Nicolas Torre III will remain in his post for now as the Land Transportation Office investigates a vehicle linked to him that was caught using the EDSA Busway — a case that has expanded beyond a possible lane violation into questions over the SUV’s license plate, registration and ownership. MMDA Chairman Romando “Don” Artes said Torre acknowledged that the vehicle captured on video traveling along the EDSA Busway on

September 4, 2026

Philippines

PATA Wants East Asia’s ‘Super 10’ to Stop Fighting for Tourists — But One Major Barrier Could Decide Whether It Works

CEBU, Philippines — Ten major tourism regions across East and Southeast Asia are being challenged to stop fighting over the same travelers and start selling themselves as a connected tourism powerhouse — a proposed “Super 10” that could reshape how destinations compete for Asia’s rapidly growing travel market. But turning that vision into reality may depend on something far less glamorous than beaches, temples and marketing campaigns: whether tourists can actually move easily between the destin

September 4, 2026

Sport

Asia’s Top Young Baseball Talents Head to Taipei – U18 Championship Final Set for Taipei Dome

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A new chapter in Asian youth baseball is about to unfold under the roof of the Taipei Dome, where the continent’s best U18 teams will battle for the Asian title — and a coveted place at next year’s U18 Baseball World Cup. The 14th BFA U18 Baseball Championship is scheduled for September 7–13, 2026, bringing together eight national teams for a week-long tournament in Taipei. The championship game will be played at the approximately 40,000-seat Taipei Dome, marking the venue's fi

September 4, 2026

Entertainment

Gilas Takes 11-Man PBA Core to Asian Games — But One Open Roster Spot Could Change Everything

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas is heading into its Asian Games title defense with an almost entirely rebuilt cast, an 11-man PBA core and one potentially game-changing question still hanging over the roster: Will Justin Brownlee be healthy enough to join them in Japan? Head coach Tim Cone has brought Robert Bolick, RJ Abarrientos, Sedrick Barefield, Adrian Nocum, Jerrick Ahanmisi, Don Trollano, Zavier Lucero, Justin Arana, Justine Baltazar, Brandon Bates and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser into

September 4, 2026

Lifestyle

Taiwan’s HIV Cases Rose 5% After Hitting a 22-Year Low — But the Bigger Warning May Be Who Still Doesn’t Know

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan health authorities have launched a two-week buy-one-get-one-free HIV self-testing campaign after newly reported infections among Taiwanese nationals increased during the first seven months of 2026, interrupting — at least for now — a years-long downward trend. Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control said 537 HIV infections were newly reported through the end of July, compared with 512 during the same period in 2025, an increase of about 5%. Around 80% of the cases involved

September 4, 2026