Category: Asia

Asia

THE SKY IS GETTING CROWDED: Satellite Boom Threatens Telescope Observations — And the Worst May Still Be Ahead

The race to fill low-Earth orbit with satellites is accelerating—and astronomers are warning that humanity could soon pay a scientific price for the increasingly crowded sky. A new study by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) finds that current proposals for more than 1.7 million additional satellites could have severe consequences for ground-based astronomy, particularly if large numbers of satellites are bright enough to reflect sunlight into telescope observations. The warning comes as

August 20, 2026

Business

Ant Group Profit Is Growing Again—But Its US$5.17 Billion AI Gamble Could Decide What Happens Next

BEIJING — Ant Group has returned to year-on-year profit growth, but the modest increase may matter less than the transformation now taking place inside the Chinese fintech giant. Ant Group, the financial technology affiliate in which Alibaba Group holds a 33% stake, generated an estimated RMB4.7 billion, or about US$698 million, in quarterly profit for the three months ended June 30, 2026, according to Reuters calculations based on Alibaba’s latest earnings disclosure. That represents an incre

August 20, 2026

Sport

PSG Chases Sixth Straight Ligue 1 Crown as France’s Title Race Faces a New Test

PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain enter the 2026–27 Ligue 1 season as overwhelming favorites to win a sixth consecutive French league title, but this time the challenge may be more interesting than the odds suggest. PSG have dominated France for years, and their momentum has now extended beyond the domestic competition. The Paris club won its fifth straight Ligue 1 championship in 2025–26 and followed it by securing a second consecutive UEFA Champions League crown, reinforcing its position as the mos

August 20, 2026

Politics

UK’s Climate Reckoning: Extreme Heat, Drought and Wildfires Are Forcing Britain to Rethink How It Lives

Britain is confronting a climate reality that was once considered unusual: hotter summers, prolonged drought, water restrictions and increasingly dangerous wildfires are becoming a serious national challenge. After months of extreme heat and unusually dry weather, the United Kingdom is being forced to reconsider whether its homes, infrastructure, water systems and emergency services are prepared for a warmer climate. The warning is not simply about one unusually hot summer. The latest data fro

August 20, 2026

Politics

North Korea Fires About 10 Ballistic Missiles Toward Sea as U.S.-South Korea Drills Are Cut Back

SEOUL — North Korea launched a barrage of approximately 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward waters off its eastern coast on Thursday, August 20, South Korea's military said, escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula at a particularly sensitive moment for Washington, Seoul and Pyongyang. The launches were detected at around 5 p.m. local time, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. Japan's government and coast guard separately reported detecting what appeared to be a ballistic m

August 20, 2026

Sport

LOH KEAN YEW ELIMINATED AGAIN: Victor Lai Ends Singapore Star’s World Championship Run — But This Time, Something Has Changed

NEW DELHI — Singapore badminton star Loh Kean Yew’s bid for another BWF World Championships medal has ended — and once again, the player standing in his way was Canada’s Victor Lai. Loh, the 2021 world champion, was beaten 20-22, 18-21 by seventh-ranked Lai in the men’s singles round of 16 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday. The match lasted 52 minutes. The defeat is particularly painful because it repeats a result from last year’s World Championships. Loh also lost t

August 20, 2026

Philippines

Ateneo de Zamboanga Shooter Acted Alone, Remulla Says—But Investigators Are Now Looking at a Much Bigger Question

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — The student behind the deadly shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University acted alone, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Thursday, as authorities increasingly focus on how the teenager gained access to firearms and what may have influenced him before the attack. Remulla said investigators found no evidence that another person, organized group, family member or school-related conflict helped plan the August 18 shooting. “Alone in the sense

August 20, 2026

Lifestyle

Filipino Rice Farmers Are Still Fighting for Their Future—But This Government Support Could Change What Happens Next

For many Filipino farmers, every planting season is a gamble. They put seeds into the soil without knowing exactly what the next harvest will bring. Weather can destroy a crop. Production costs can eat into already-thin earnings. And when farmgate prices weaken, months of hard work can translate into little income for the families who depend on the land. That uncertainty is at the heart of the Philippine Information Agency's latest feature, “Kwentong Butil: Sa kinabukasang hindi matanaw, tulon

August 20, 2026

Politics

Rowena Guanzon Blasts Orly Guteza After He Recants Romualdez Testimony—But His New Affidavit Raises an Even Bigger Question

MANILA, Philippines — Former Commission on Elections Commissioner Rowena Guanzon has launched a blistering attack on retired Marine Orly Guteza after he dramatically withdrew his earlier testimony linking former House Speaker Martin Romualdez to alleged cash deliveries connected to the country’s flood-control corruption controversy. But Guteza’s reversal has opened an even bigger question: Which version of his story can investigators—and the public—believe? Guanzon rejected Guteza’s latest cla

August 20, 2026

Philippines

Nine Rare Nicobar Pigeons Spotted Together in Palawan—What Their “Reunion” Could Mean for Conservation

Nine Nicobar pigeons were recently spotted resting together on a single tree at the Ursula Island Game Refuge and Bird Sanctuary in Bataraza, Palawan, in what local wildlife personnel described as an extremely unusual sight. The discovery was made during wet-season biodiversity monitoring by forest rangers and personnel from the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Brooke’s Point. According to GMA News, the team initially noticed what appeared to be a lone dark-colored

August 20, 2026