Geopolitical Tensions and Unexpected Eventsactive

Authorities confirmed that Matthew James Sullivan died from an accidental overdose, which has intensified scrutiny as 14 space experts are currently missing or deceased.

From Taiwan to Tibet, French President Emmanuel Macron has touched Beijing’s nerves on a range of sensitive issues over the past few weeks. On a trip to Japan earlier this month, he and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi “emphasised the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and urged a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues through constructive dialogue”. The irritation for Beijing was less about the language and more about the timing, with the joint statement coming...

While other major airport terminals are grappling with rodent infestations, staff strikes, and collapsing ceilings, the futuristic and serene atmosphere of Changi Airport in Singapore seems like a world apart.

Hong Kong will intensify law enforcement efforts against forced shopping, unlicensed tour guides, and unfair sales practices targeting visitors during mainland China's Labour Day "golden week," according to the city's tourism minister. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui stated on Saturday that hotel occupancy rates in Hong Kong are expected to exceed 90 percent during the period, with the government estimating 980,000 visitors from mainland China, an increase of 7 percent compared to the same holiday last year.

A turret explosion that killed three Japanese crew members inside a Type 10 tank during manoeuvres earlier this week has caused shock and confusion in military circles. Japan’s defence ministry and experts concur that a round detonating inside a tank turret is virtually unheard of and the cause of the accident will need to be traced before the Ground Self-Defence Force’s (GSDF) newest and most advanced tank can return to training. An analyst suggests the investigation will look closely at...

The White House has introduced a beehive shaped like a miniature presidential mansion.

The discovery of hundreds of toxic mothballs on St. Pete Beach triggered an official investigation in Florida, posing a direct threat to a protected bird colony and necessitating an urgent cleanup operation. The incident, detected on April 20, 2026, in a coastal area approximately 48 kilometers southwest of Tampa, mobilized the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), volunteers, and environmental organizations such as Audubon Florida and the Coastal Wildlife Advocacy Group. The presence of these banned pesticides in the open air has raised concerns about the safety of wildlife and visitors, as detailed by USA Today and confirmed by state authorities. The FWC explained that the use of mothballs outdoors violates state and federal laws, as these products contain toxic compounds such as naphthalene and paradichlorobenzene, which can severely harm birds, pets, and people. The official investigation is focused on determining whether the dispersal of the pesticides was intentional and whether it was aimed at preventing the nesting of the black skimmer, a threatened species in the region. According to a report by Axios Tampa Bay, the placement of new mothballs after an initial cleanup reinforces the hypothesis of a deliberate action. St. Pete Beach is an ecologically important area due to the seasonal presence of black skimmer colonies, a species protected by Florida law. The intervention…

Belgium is loosening closing-time rules for its stores, to give them a fighting chance against online retailers. The federal government announced Friday it formally scrapped the requirement for shops to close for a mandatory 24-hour period each week. It also relaxed closing-time rules, allowing shops to stay open until 9 p.m. every day. Previously, shops had to close at 8 p.m. on most days. The changes to physical merchants’ opening hours were announced last summer to help them compete with online vendors. “The current law is no longer adapted to the expectations of consumers and retailers, nor to the development of e-commerce, which is much more flexible than physical stores, causing distortions of competition,” Eléonore Simonet, Belgium’s minister for small businesses, the self-employed and SMEs, said in a statement in July 2025. “More flexibility should ensure that retailers can adapt to current expectations,” she added. While large retailers have welcomed the increased flexibility, employees have raised concerns. Earlier this week, workers at Aldi, one of Belgium’s largest supermarket chains, went on strike after the company told unions it would start exploring the option of opening branches on Sundays. Smaller and self-employed retailers fear the measures will put pressure on them, as larger companies will find it easier to adapt. The Neutral Union for the Self-Employed (NSZ) has argued that the reforms will lead to higher operating costs without increasing income. Since July 2025, the legislation has undergone a formal consultation procedure before being approved by the Council of Ministers on Friday. The law, which forms part of the current government’s coalition agreement, must now be approved by the Belgian parliament and is expected to enter into force later this summer.

As the US Navy moves to deploy thousands of unmanned surface vessels in the Indo-Pacific, questions are mounting over whether these drone swarms can deliver meaningful combat and deterrent effects against China. This month, USNI News reported that the US Navy is looking to field thousands of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) in the Indo-Pacific by […] The post US Navy’s audacious drone swarm bet against China appeared first on Asia Times.

Taiwanese analysts have broadly welcomed a new US Navy plan to deploy thousands of uncrewed surface vessels across the Indo-Pacific by 2030, saying it could complicate Beijing’s military planning and strengthen deterrence. But they also warned that unless Taipei pressed ahead with its own stalled drone fleet ambitions, the approach might offer Taiwan only limited direct benefit, given Washington’s production, logistics and surveillance challenges. The assessments follow remarks this week by...

Data also indicates that the impact of prices increases as more renewable energy sources are added to the grid.

A hotel operator's planned entry into the Xiongan New Area, southwest of Beijing, underscores a tentative but growing alignment between Hong Kong's private sector and the state-backed development project, as leaders renew efforts to accelerate the zone's transformation into a high-tech growth hub. Hong Kong-based Langham Hospitality Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Eagle Holdings, announced on Thursday that it had signed a management agreement with China Xiongan Group Public Service Management to...

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Jonah Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Dispatch, about President Trump's declining public approval.

A long-awaited cross-border solo travel scheme will allow yachts from Macau and Hong Kong to easily sail to about six designated ports in the western waters off the Greater Bay Area, with the policy to be finalised as early as this summer, the South China Morning Post has learned. A Guangdong provincial government document, seen by the SCMP, also showed several routes that were recommended for leisure, such as the waters off Castle Peak Bay, the Pearl River Delta and Fan Lau Kok of the Lantau...

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones (D) on Wednesday said he will appeal an injunction on the state’s redistricting referendum approved by voters. “As I said last night, Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote,” Jones said in a statement shared on the social platform X.…

The U.S. Department of State on Wednesday condemned the pressure exerted by China on three African nations to block the airspace for the plane carrying Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, which forced him to cancel his official visit to Eswatini – the island's only African ally. A spokesperson for the State Department described the maneuver as an abuse of the international civil aviation system and demanded that Beijing cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan. This was the first time in history that a Taiwanese president had to cancel a trip abroad due to the refusal of third countries to open their airspace. Seychelles, Madagascar, and Mauritius unilaterally revoked the overflight permits granted to President Lai's plane, which was scheduled to depart on Wednesday for Mbabane to attend the celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III's coronation. The Secretary-General of the Presidential Office of Taiwan, Pan Meng-an, announced the cancellation at a press conference and clarified that the revocation was unilateral and without prior notification. This would have been Lai's first trip abroad since November 2024, when he visited the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Palau, with stopovers in Hawaii and Guam. According to Reuters, the State Department spokesperson stated that the countries involved acted "at the behest of China, interfering with the safety and dignity of a routine trip..."

President Trump responded Wednesday to Virginia Democrats’ redistricting win the previous night, saying the results were “rigged” without citing evidence.  “A RIGGED ELECTION TOOK PLACE LAST NIGHT IN THE GREAT COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA!” Trump wrote in a post on TruthSocial.  “All day long Republicans were winning, the Spirit was unbelievable, until the very end when,…

President Trump's political director, James Blair, expressed confidence on Wednesday regarding potential GOP victories in the upcoming midterm elections, despite declining economic approval ratings and a recent defeat on a redistricting measure in Virginia. "We are not oblivious to the history of midterm elections, of course, but it is far too early to declare defeat," Blair told CNN's Dana Bash.

Authorities have found the body of one of the six missing crew members from a cargo ship that overturned near the Northern Mariana Islands during a typhoon. US Air Force divers “used an underwater remotely operated drone to search the interior of the vessel” and recovered the body on Tuesday, the US Coast Guard said in a news release. Additional divers from the Japan Coast Guard further examined the ship. They did not find any additional crew members, the US Coast Guard said. “Coastguard...

China indicated it was pleased with three countries that apparently blocked Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s trip to an African diplomatic ally, as Beijing seeks to further isolate the self-ruled democracy.

LED packaging maker Brightek reported consolidated revenue of NT$161 million (US$5.1 million) in the first quarter of 2026, down 9.7% year on year, impacted by the transition period at its new Nantong plant in Jiangsu, China, which began operations at the end of 2025. The company posted a net loss after tax of NT$3.95 million for March alone, widening its losses from the same month last year, with a loss per share of NT$0.06.

Florida has opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI following a deadly shooting in 2025 at Florida State University, Attorney General James ​Uthmeier said Tuesday. Authorities are looking into claims that the company's ChatGPT chatbot provided information to the suspect prior to the attack.

China is backing Namibia’s bid to move beyond raw material exports by supporting the domestic processing of critical minerals and uranium. In a joint communique issued on Friday following bilateral talks in Beijing between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his counterpart Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, China pledged to help transform Namibia’s natural resources into higher-value products through domestic processing and downstream cooperation. Namibia, which has exported unprocessed minerals for decades, is...

Ahead of the midterm elections taking place this fall in the United States, the congressional district boundaries in southern Virginia are expected to be redrawn in a way that favors the opposition Democratic Party. This is seen as a blow to the ruling Republican Party and former President Trump.

Florida on Tuesday announced a criminal probe into whether artificial intelligence played a role in a deadly mass shooting at a university in the US state. The decision to launch an investigation came after prosecutors reviewed exchanges between OpenAI chatbot ChatGPT and the suspected gunman, who opened fire at Florida State University last year, according to state Attorney General James Uthmeier. “If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder,” Uthmeier said. Florida law...

The State Council, China’s cabinet, has published guidelines on innovative drug pricing that a bank analyst has described as “the most significant” in a decade, as they aim to reward drug innovation and ease pricing tension for domestic and multinational pharmaceutical companies. The framework document published this month said patented innovative drugs would be supported through value-based pricing, while the prices of generic drugs would be driven down through market competition and...

Amid all the tensions in the Middle East, the situation in East Asia looks a lot calmer. That’s especially true after a visit to Beijing by Taiwan’s opposition leader Cheng Li-wun, a positive sign for peace and an encouraging step toward Washington’s longstanding interest in peaceful cross-strait relations. Cheng’s visit to China was not unprecedented. The opposition […] The post Taiwan’s KMT offers US an off-ramp from war with China appeared first on Asia Times.

The US Navy’s F/A-XX fighter bid underscores a deeper contest with China not just over next-generation carrier aircraft, but over which side can sustain carrier aviation as a credible instrument of power, deterrence and influence in the Indo-Pacific. The Navy will select a builder for its next-generation F/A-XX carrier-based fighter in August, Chief of Naval […] The post F/A-XX fighter tests future of US carrier power against China appeared first on Asia Times.

Half of Taiwanese not only doubt the US would send troops to defend Taiwan in the event of a cross-strait conflict but also question whether American weapons would prove effective, a poll this week has revealed. The results highlighted mounting scepticism on the island over Washington’s security guarantees, according to the survey released on Monday by the Taipei-based Democracy Foundation. The poll found that 57 per cent of respondents did not believe the US would send troops to defend the...

A Japanese prefecture is paying its singles to use dating apps as the country grapples with record-low birth rates. Kochi prefecture announced on April 10 that it would subsidise private matchmaking app fees for its young residents, according to a Sankei News report. Residents aged between 20 and 39 will get a subsidy of up to 20,000 yen (US$125) for the 2026 financial year to use apps that have received “internet-based marriage partner introduction service certification”. One of these verified...

State attorney general said inquiry will look into whether AI tool offered ‘significant advice’ to campus shooting suspect Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Florida’s top prosecutor is to launch a criminal investigation into how the tech company OpenAI and its software tool ChatGPT may influence users’ threats of harm to themselves or others, including whether it “offered significant advice” to a gunman accused of conducting a mass shooting in the state last year. State attorney general James Uthmeier said at a news conference on Tuesday that his office is expanding an examination of OpenAI, saying a “criminal investigation is necessary” and the state had issued subpoenas to the $852bn California-based tech firm. Continue reading...

China's next-generation "drone-carrier" amphibious assault ship is en route to the South China Sea for critical sea trials, China's military announced Tuesday. This is the same area where the US, the Philippines, and Japan are conducting large-scale joint military exercises, and where the aircraft carrier Liaoning is reportedly sailing. "The Sichuan, our country's first Type 076 amphibious assault ship, has set sail from Shanghai for relevant waters in the South China Sea to carry out scientific..."

WASHINGTON. – Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer is leaving the cabinet of U.S. President Donald Trump, the White House announced on Monday, following multiple allegations of abuse of power, including having a relationship with a subordinate and consuming alcohol during work hours. Chavez-DeRemer is the third member of Trump's cabinet to leave their position, after the president dismissed then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in March and removed Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month. "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve in this historic Administration and work for the greatest President of my lifetime." "At the Department of Labor, I am proud that we made significant progress in advancing President Trump’s mission to bridge the gap between business…" — Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer (@SecretaryLCD) April 20, 2026 In a statement posted on social media, Chavez-DeRemer praised the Republican president and wrote: "I am proud that we have made significant progress in advancing President Trump's mission to bridge the gap between businesses and workers, and to always put the American worker first." Unlike other recent departures from the cabinet, Chavez-DeRemer's resignation was announced by a White House aide and not by the president himself on his social media account. "Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, is leavin…

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Florida has intensified its dispute with OpenAI and the ChatGPT tool on Tuesday, as the state pursues potential criminal charges related to the popular bot's involvement in a deadly campus shooting at Florida State University last year. Florida's Attorney General, James Uthmeier, stated that the state's investigation into OpenAI is expanding because a "criminal investigation is necessary" after state prosecutors determined that ChatGPT "offered significant advice" to the suspected FSU shooter. The state issued subpoenas to the tech firm on Tuesday, indicating that "legal action" is expected soon. "If this were a person on the other end of the screen, we would be charging them with murder," Uthmeier said during an event in Tampa. Uthmeier, a Republican appointee of Governor Ron DeSantis, earlier this month indicated that Florida would investigate OpenAI and ChatGPT over public safety and national security concerns. The attorney general elaborated on the investigation on Tuesday, explaining that Florida is now pursuing criminal and civil investigations into OpenAI surrounding the FSU shooting, child sex abuse material, and the encouragement of suicide and self-harm. New revelations from the FSU shooting are expected to play a central role in Florida's criminal investigation into OpenAI. The suspected FSU gunman, Phoenix Ikner, who was a 20-year-old student during the April 2025 shooting, allegedly communicated frequently with the ChatGPT bot about a campus attack. Specifi…

Hong Kong police are investigating two separate traffic accidents on Tuesday that led to the deaths of two women. In the first case, police were alerted at about 8.51am to a light goods vehicle driven by a 36-year-old man travelling along Cha Kwo Ling Road towards Yau Tong. The vehicle was approaching Yau Tong MTR station when it reportedly knocked down a woman crossing the road. The woman, a 30-year-old from mainland China, sustained serious injuries to her head and limbs. She was rushed to...

The two main ferry operators running daily services between Hong Kong and Macau will raise fares by up to 11 per cent amid surging fuel prices, while a union said bus drivers were reporting lost income as companies cut services. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that the government would continue to monitor oil prices as it pressed ahead with measures set out earlier by the interdepartmental task force on fuel supply. A day earlier, TurboJet and Cotai Water Jet said they would...

The country hopes to bolster national defense and boost economic growth. But the decision, seen as going against the country's pacifism, has caused unease among some of the Japanese public.

Despite Trump's criticisms of wind and solar power, countries are still increasingly turning to renewable energy sources for national security reasons.

Hong Kong’s top-ranking civil servants will be held accountable if they fail to provide adequate support in policy formulation, the city’s leader has said, despite a new investigation mechanism that primarily targets department heads. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that the proposed “Heads of Department Accountability System” was intended to promote self-improvement within departments rather than “picking on” individuals. Under the new mechanism, the chief executive, department...

Hong Kong's leader has defended the government's decision to postpone the legalization of basketball betting, emphasizing that the policy was never intended to promote gambling and that all risks must be controlled before any further action is taken. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu made the remarks on Tuesday, following the government's unexpected reversal last week to halt the authorization of basketball betting, citing the rapid growth of prediction markets – cryptocurrency-based platforms that allow...

Trump’s labour secretary becomes the third cabinet member to leave the administration in less than two months. Earlier in March, the US president fired Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem and soon after dismissed Attorney General Pam Bondi.

China recently pledged to expand military support to Somalia in its fight against al-Shabaab militants. Beijing has promised equipment, training and closer security cooperation with Mogadishu. This marks a shift from China’s traditionally cautious and small presence in the country. Brendon J Cannon has researched how external powers – including China – engage with sub-Saharan […] The post In jab at Taiwan, China ramps up military support for Somalia appeared first on Asia Times.

President Donald Trump's signature became the butt of jokes for late night talk show host Jon Stewart, who pointed to what he found to be peculiarities.

Pro-Trump Super Pac raises $35mn in March with donations from billionaire Diane Hendricks and Andreessen Horowitz

The number of members from China’s leading scientific and engineering institutes in the top ranks of the Communist Party has doubled over the course of a decade, according to a new report. It said the number of academicians in the party’s 18th Central Committee, selected in 2012, stood at 15, accounting for around 3.5 per cent of the total membership. But when the 20th Central Committee started its five-year term in 2022, this total had risen to 30, around 8 per cent of the total, including...

Chavez-DeRemer leaves the Trump administration after the recent departures of Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi.

President Donald Trump’s super political action committee raised $35.6 million in March, bolstering his war chest to $550 million as he tries to defy history by hanging onto congressional Republican majorities in an increasingly difficult midterm election environment.

Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is out of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, the administration announced on Monday, after a series of alleged abuses of her position’s power, including having an affair with a subordinate and drinking alcohol on the job. Chavez-DeRemer is the third Trump cabinet member to leave her post after Trump fired his embattled homeland security secretary Kristi Noem in March and ousted Pam Bondi as attorney general earlier this month. Unlike other recent cabinet...

In March, China's exports of magnets made with rare earth elements to Japan decreased by more than 27% compared to the same month last year. Some analysts believe this decline is a result of the Chinese government's strengthened export controls on dual-use items destined for Japan.

USA Rare Earth has agreed to acquire the owner of a rare-earth mine and processing plant in Brazil, a move that would strengthen its mine-to-magnets supply chain amid geopolitical tensions between the U. S. and China.

Regarding the development of gas fields in the East China Sea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it has confirmed activities by China involving the construction of new structures in the Chinese waters near the median line between Japan and China. The Ministry expressed its strong objection through diplomatic channels, stating that such unilateral development is deeply regrettable.

At a time when the U. S. trade sanctions aim to hamper China’s fabs from manufacturing cutting-edge logic and memory chips by restricting the supply of the latest fabrication equipment, materials, and

A 32-year-old man was found dead after being spotted floating in waters off a Hong Kong park, with police saying he had a record of mental illness. The force received a report at 6.37am on Monday that the body was floating two to three metres offshore near Tsing Yi Northeast Park on Tam Kon Shan Road. Firefighters recovered the man who was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of death will be determined after an autopsy. No suicide note was found at the scene. If you have suicidal thoughts or...

Hong Kong’s government is under mounting pressure to deliver the Northern Metropolis, announced in 2021, as it approaches the end of its term – less than 15 months and counting. The megaproject, to turn 30,000 hectares (74,132 acres) near the border with mainland China into a centre of international innovation and technology, is to be an engine to drive the city’s economic growth and housing – and the gem of its economic integration with the mainland. We are pressed for time. Beijing has long...

Japanese electronic components maker Taiyo Yuden recently issued a price increase notice, announcing that it will raise prices on some products starting in May, specifically in the multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) market.

A Chinese military magazine has suggested that if Taiwan sends a swarm of uncrewed combat boats across the strait – a strategy inspired by Ukraine – Beijing could counter with its GJ-21 stealth attack drones. According to a commentary in Defence Review, the GJ-21 has long endurance and high manoeuvrability, which would give it a critical advantage against a “game changing” swarm attack by unmanned surface vessels. The GJ-21 – a naval variant of the GJ-11 Sharp Sword – is the world’s first and...

Qiu has been scouring Shanghai’s labour agencies for a job for her 58-year-old father – a former mechanic from neighbouring Jiangsu province caught in a frustrating limbo. While he is still years away from the official retirement age for rural migrants, his struggle to find work underscores a paradox in China’s financial hub: even as the city desperately needs more workers to counter a shrinking population, ageing jobseekers are being met with high fees and physical exhaustion. His search...

Lea Albritton’s mornings belong to the repair shop. Her afternoons belong to the camera. The 40-year-old from Leyte in the central Philippines has lived in the US state of Georgia since 2019 with her 62-year-old American husband, Timothy, running a recreational vehicle repair shop in the mornings. After lunch, she produces videos about Filipino food, migration advice for couples stuck in the fiancee visa queue and glimpses of domestic life for the 250,000 followers of her page, Pinay sa America...

Taiwan must urgently overhaul its civil defense and rethink its energy strategy to withstand a potential blockade, experts warned during a tabletop exercise, describing existing preparedness as "too romantic" for a real-world crisis. The two-day 2026 Political, Economic, Military, and Societal Tabletop Exercise, held at National Chengchi University in Taipei last week, simulated a 2030 scenario in which shifting global alliances and regional conflicts left Taiwan's energy and social systems acutely...

ATHENS — Greece’s Deputy Agriculture Minister Makarios Lazaridis resigned on Saturday after it was revealed he was hired in the public sector without the required qualifications. He was appointed earlier this month in a mini Cabinet reshuffle in Athens after a widening farm scandal prompted resignations, including that of Agriculture Minister Konstantinos Tsiaras. Former European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas took over as the new agriculture minister. It was then revealed that Lazaridis had been employed as an expert scientist in 2007 to the then-minister of education of the New Democracy party, and then again in 2013. The position requires a minimum of a university degree, doctorate or postgraduate qualification. Lazaridis holds a diploma from the College of Southeastern Europe, a now-defunct private school whose credentials were not formally recognized as equivalent to a degree. When he left his position to work in the office of the now Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, it was filled instantly by his wife. In a series of interviews this week, Lazaridis defended himself and said he wouldn’t justify his credentials to opposition parties and that he is not as lazy as “all left-wingers.” On Thursday, though, he offered to return any compensation he received improperly. Lazaridis on Saturday said he was resigning to ensure the government and the agriculture ministry could continue their work “without distraction” and accused opposition parties of “toxic attacks” and “slander.” The main opposition party, PASOK, was quick to criticize Mitsotakis’s administration. The resignation of Lazaridis “underscores just how weak the prime minister is,” PASOK said in a statement. “In the end, he opened the exit door himself, since his admission that he had defrauded the state was not grounds for dismissal in Mitsotakis’s eyes.”

The People’s Liberation Army could use minelaying drones to blockade Japan and other waters in the strategic first island chain during a conflict over Taiwan, a mainland Chinese military magazine has suggested. The PLA’s strategy would see AJX002 drones used for “offensive minelaying” missions targeting Japan’s islands, including the Ryukyu archipelago, as well as the waters of the Philippines, according to an analysis in the latest edition of Shipborne Weapons. It comes as America’s blockade of...

Japan is set to take another step away from its long-standing limits on arms exports, a move analysts say will strengthen the domestic defence industry, spur innovation, deepen security ties and reduce Tokyo’s reliance on the US at a time when Washington is increasingly seen as a less reliable partner. The Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday that revisions to the Three Principles on the Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology would be approved at a cabinet meeting next week. The changes...

Amid surging demand from low-Earth orbit satellites, aerospace, and defense, Parpro Corporation expects a sharp acceleration in core business growth in 2026, supported by a maturing North American manufacturing footprint. The company forecasts that full-year profits could rise from prior years, with gross margins holding near 20%.

Taiwan-based startup Fortune AI will attend the Plug and Play Silicon Valley Summit in May, one of five Taiwanese startups selected for this year's cohort. Its flagship product, SAFE SWIM, uses computer vision with a large language model (LLM) backend to detect drowning risks in real time, delivered as a B2B SaaS subscription to aquatic facilities. Founder and CEO Andrew Chen spoke with DIGITIMES Asia ahead of the event, discussing the product's commercial logic, technical moat, and the realities of entering the US market.

A year-old Hsinchu startup is heading to Silicon Valley. Fluidiconic Bio will join four other Taiwanese companies at the Plug and Play Silicon Valley Summit this May, pitching a high-throughput tumor-on-a-chip platform its founders believe can do what decades of animal testing cannot: accurately predict how a cancer drug behaves inside a human tumor.

When it comes to hotel rooms, “luxury” does not necessarily mean clean and hygienic. A number of studies have shown that light switches and television remote controls are among the objects with the highest levels of bacterial contamination, while toilets and bathroom sinks also contain high levels of microbial organisms. A 2012 survey in the United States – which is still cited by the travel industry 14 years later – found that 81 per cent of US hotel samples tested positive for surface faecal...

TPK Holding reported a sharp rebound in profitability for the first quarter of 2026, driven by new semiconductor investments and favorable one-off gains.

Chinese authorities plan to seize ‘offense-related assets’ of the imprisoned dissident.

Beijing's top official for Hong Kong affairs met with the city's second-ranking official and finance chief in the capital to discuss aligning with the national 15th five-year plan, as the city government prepares to draft its own initial plan by the end of the year. The State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) announced that its director, Xia Baolong, held talks with Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, and the newly appointed Secretary for Constitutional...

Japan’s most extensive participation to date in a counter-landing and missile defence exercise in the Philippines signals its “priorities” in deterring Beijing in a Taiwan contingency, according to analysts. Japan’s Joint Staff announced on Tuesday that its Self-Defence Forces (SDF) would deploy about 1,400 personnel, multiple warships and aircraft, as well as Type 88 anti-ship missile systems for the Balikatan exercise, an annual large-scale joint military drill between the Philippines and the...

The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo announced that it received a threatening letter in March, which contained statements about an attack on the embassy. The embassy has requested that the Japanese authorities take measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.