Category: Asia

Business

US Dollar Sinks to 3-Month Low After Treasury Steps Into Bond Market—but the Bigger Debt Problem Hasn’t Gone Away

The U.S. dollar has fallen to its weakest level in roughly three months, after an unusual move by the U.S. Treasury helped calm a violent selloff in government bonds that had pushed long-term borrowing costs to levels not seen in nearly two decades. But while the intervention gave financial markets some breathing room, analysts are warning that it does little to solve the much larger problem hanging over the United States: rising government debt, persistent inflation risks and growing investor

August 20, 2026

Business

Australia Forces Big Tech to Pay for News Under New 2.5% Levy Law

SYDNEY — Australia has escalated its long-running battle with the world’s biggest technology companies, passing a landmark law that could force Meta, Google, TikTok and LinkedIn to pay millions of dollars to support Australian journalism — or face a hefty levy on their advertising businesses. The Australian Parliament passed the News Bargaining Incentive on Thursday, August 20, introducing a system designed to push major digital platforms into commercial agreements with local news publishers ra

August 20, 2026

Asia

Rocky’s Death Puts Malaysia’s Stray-Dog Policy Under Fire as Owner and Volunteer Face Animal Cruelty Charges

KLANG, Malaysia — The controversial death of a dog named Rocky during a late-night stray-dog operation in Port Klang has escalated into a court case — but the tragedy is also forcing Malaysia to confront a much larger question: Is catching and removing stray dogs actually solving the problem, or merely postponing the next crisis? On August 20, 2026, Rocky’s owner, S Roghini Devi, 42, and Muhammad Shah Idham Nor Haikal Shaharom, 24, who participated in the Klang municipal dog-catching operation,

August 20, 2026

Business

Singapore and India Are Deepening Their Chip and Food Partnership—But the Biggest Opportunity May Be What Comes Next

SINGAPORE — Singapore and India are moving to deepen cooperation in semiconductors, food security, digital payments, aviation and capital markets, signaling that one of Asia’s increasingly important economic partnerships is entering a more ambitious phase. Senior ministers from both countries met in Singapore on Thursday, August 20, for the fourth India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), where discussions centered on six areas: sustainability, digitalisation, skills development, healthcar

August 20, 2026

Asia

China Charges 17 Over a Myanmar Trafficking Ring Linked to Actor Wang Xing—But His Fake Job Nightmare May Be Only a Small Part of the Story

SHANGHAI — Chinese prosecutors have charged 17 people accused of operating a cross-border trafficking network that allegedly lured Chinese citizens overseas with fake job opportunities before transporting them to Myanmar and selling them into notorious online scam compounds. The case has drawn added attention because one of the alleged victims has been identified by Chinese media as actor Wang Xing, whose disappearance near the Thailand-Myanmar border in January 2025 triggered widespread concer

August 20, 2026

Philippines

Marcos Orders 13 More Pumping Stations for Metro Manila—But Will They Finally Keep the Floodwaters Back?

MANILA, Philippines — The government is moving to strengthen Metro Manila’s flood defenses with 13 additional pumping stations, as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. warned that increasingly intense rainfall is putting greater pressure on the capital’s already strained drainage and flood-control systems. Marcos announced the plan on Thursday, August 20, after inspecting the Tripa de Gallina Pumping Station in Pasay City, the largest of the 73 pumping stations operated by the Metropolitan Manila

August 20, 2026

Philippines

Max Verstappen Just Signed With Red Bull Until 2030—But the Biggest Question Is Why He Chose to Stay Now

Max Verstappen has committed his Formula 1 future to Red Bull Racing until the end of the 2030 season, ending months of speculation that one of the sport’s biggest stars could walk away from the team that turned him into a four-time world champion. Red Bull confirmed the blockbuster contract extension on Thursday, August 20, just before Verstappen's home Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort — a particularly symbolic setting because 2026 will mark the final Formula 1 race at the Dutch circuit under its

August 20, 2026

Politics

Trump Just Cut U.S.–South Korea Military Drills From 11 Days to 5—But the Real Reason May Have More to Do With Kim Jong Un

SEOUL — One of the most important annual military exercises between the United States and South Korea is being dramatically shortened after President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to scale back the drills — a surprise move that comes as Washington explores another diplomatic opening with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The 2026 Ulchi Freedom Shield, originally scheduled to run for 11 days from August 17 to August 27, will instead conclude on August 21, reducing the main exercise to just fi

August 20, 2026

Business

Skanska Just Landed a $1.2-Billion Deal for Four U.S. Data Centers—But the Biggest Name in the Project Is Being Kept Secret

Swedish construction giant Skanska has landed a massive $1.2-billion contract to build four new data centers in the southeastern United States, putting the company squarely in the path of one of America's fastest-growing infrastructure booms. The deal, valued at roughly SEK 11.2 billion, was signed with an existing Skanska client and will be recorded in the company's U.S. order bookings for the third quarter of 2026, according to Skanska's August 20 announcement. But there is one major piece o

August 20, 2026

Entertainment

Vanness Wu Says His Wife Is 31, Not 35—But One Detail in Emi Aramaki’s Old Profile Changes the Story

F4 star Vanness Wu has stepped forward to defend his new wife, Japanese singer-actress Emi Aramaki, after online allegations questioned both her age and educational background — but the controversy may have begun with an inaccurate age that was repeatedly published by the media. Wu’s camp, through his record label B’in Music, rejected claims that Aramaki had lied about her age or fabricated her academic credentials. According to the statement, Aramaki is 31 years old, not 35, and graduated fro

August 20, 2026