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South Korea Sends Thousands of Blankets to Flood-Ravaged Nepal as Rescue Efforts Continue

South Korea is expanding its humanitarian response to Nepal after devastating floods and landslides struck the country’s Rasuwa District near the Nepal-Tibet border, sending 38,320 thermal blankets and additional emergency supplies to people displaced by the disaster. The South Korean Foreign Ministry said the latest relief shipment is valued at 130 million won (about $95,850) and consists of 36,000 emergency thermal blankets and 2,320 heavier thermal blankets. The supplies are scheduled to tra

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Asian Stocks Surge as Fed Rate-Hike Fears Suddenly Fade — But One U.S. Jobs Number Could Flip the Rally

Asian shares pushed higher on September 4 after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller opened the door to keeping U.S. interest rates unchanged at the central bank's September meeting if incoming inflation data confirms that price pressures are easing. The remarks immediately changed the mood across global markets. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed about 1% during Asian trading. Japan's Nikkei gained around 0.8%, China's blue-chip CSI 300 advanced roughly

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Korean Shamanism Is Going Global — And Its Biggest Transformation May Be Just Beginning

For generations, Korean shamanism existed largely outside the global spotlight. Today, that is changing rapidly. Known in Korea as musok, the tradition is reaching international audiences through films, streaming platforms, social media and practitioners working outside the country. At the center of one remarkable story is Andrea Kalff, a German woman who became the first European initiated as a Korean shaman after studying under the late master Kim Keum-hwa. But Kalff's story is only one part

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After 70 Years on Stage, Taiwan’s Opera Legend Still Refuses to Let the Curtain Fall

TAIPEI, Taiwan — More than seven decades after first stepping onto a stage as a child, Taiwanese opera icon Wang Jin-ying is still working to keep one of Taiwan’s most distinctive traditional art forms alive. Now in her 80s, Wang remains active not only as a performer but also as a teacher, script researcher, creator and cultural preserver. Her extraordinary career has followed the evolution of Taiwanese opera — from traveling performance troupes and radio broadcasts to television and modern th

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Singapore Haze Crisis Deepens as PSI Crosses 100 — And Indonesia’s Fires Could Make It Worse

SINGAPORE — Singapore’s haze situation has entered a more serious phase, with air quality in the central region crossing into the unhealthy range as fires continue to burn across parts of Indonesia and dry conditions persist across Southeast Asia. The National Environment Agency (NEA) recorded a 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading of 101 in central Singapore at 7am on Friday, September 4, pushing the area into the unhealthy band of 101 to 200. The reading later climbed to 103. Othe

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Trump’s Harvard Battle Could Give Hong Kong a Rare Opportunity in Global Education

A growing political fight between the Trump administration and Harvard University is creating uncertainty for international students — and Hong Kong may be one of the places positioned to benefit. The latest controversy erupted after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized Harvard during a government-linked family road-trip video. His daughter, who was considering universities including Harvard, said she might welcome the opportunity to study in a more liberal environment. Duffy res

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IOI Properties Moves Closer to S$2.5 Billion Asia Square Tower 2 Deal After Call Option Exercise

A major Singapore property deal has taken a decisive step forward after IOI Properties Group exercised its call option to acquire Asia Square Tower 2 from CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT). CICT said on September 2 that all conditions under the put-and-call option agreement had been satisfied and that the purchaser had exercised the call option. The move means the sale process has advanced toward completion, which is expected in mid-September 2026. The buyer is IOI Marina View Pte

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China Launches Record Academic Misconduct Crackdown After ‘Student Geng’ Exposes Research Problems

China has escalated its fight against academic misconduct after a viral whistleblower’s allegations against prominent researchers triggered a wave of university investigations — culminating in what the country’s top basic-research funding agency describes as its largest public disclosure of misconduct cases to date. The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) published details on August 28 covering 31 cases involving more than 40 researchers at universities and hospitals across the

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Thailand-Cambodia Border Conflict: Why Security Could Hold the Key to a Lasting Peace

The guns may have fallen silent along much of the Thailand-Cambodia border, but the conflict is far from fully resolved. The central challenge now is no longer simply negotiating another ceasefire. It is creating enough security, trust and verification on the ground to prevent a disputed incident from once again turning into a wider military confrontation. That is the core argument behind a recent analysis published by The Diplomat: a durable settlement will require security arrangements that

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Taiwan Condemns China-Egypt Declaration After Cairo Backs Beijing’s Taiwan Position

Taiwan has sharply condemned a new China-Egypt joint declaration after Egypt reaffirmed Beijing’s position on Taiwan during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Cairo. The dispute erupted after China and Egypt issued a joint statement on September 2 following Xi’s two-day visit. The declaration said Egypt would continue to adhere to the One-China principle and described Taiwan as an “inalienable part” of the territory of the People’s Republic of China. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Aff

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