100 days to US midterms, Trump faces defeat amid voter anger over inflation, Iran war

US President Donald Trump tosses his Trump 2028 hat to an attendee during the White House Correspondents Dinner on Friday. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

One hundred days before the US midterm elections, President Donald Trump ’s Republicans are staring down polling that points to the loss of the House of Representatives and a ferocious battle to retain the Senate.

Trump will not appear on the ballot on November 3, but the stakes for his presidency could hardly be higher.

A Democratic house would give the party control of powerful committees and subpoena authority, likely subjecting Trump’s administration to two years of


India aims for a 200-ship navy to counter China and Pakistan

INS Mahendragiri, the sixth stealth frigate of India’s Nilgiri-class, test fires a missile. It was commissioned into the navy on July 11. Photo: Instagram/IndianNavy

India ’s ambition to grow its navy past 200 ships within the next decade has taken on fresh urgency as China expands the world’s largest naval fleet and Pakistan adds advanced Chinese-built attack submarines , heightening New Delhi’s anxieties in the Indian Ocean.

Analysts see this month’s commissioning of the stealth frigate INS Mahendragiri and submarine hunter INS Malvan this month as a symbol of that effort: both domestically built warships presented


Unesco adds ancient Japanese capitals Asuka, Fujiwara to World Heritage list

With the addition, Japan now has 22 cultural and five natural World Heritage sites.

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The Asuka Palace ruins in Asuka village, Nara prefecture, are seen on April 20. Photo: Kyodo/AP

Unesco decided on Sunday to add a group of ancient sites in Nara prefecture that show the formation of Japan’s centralised state to the World Heritage list, marking the country’s 27th such site.

The decision on the Asuka-Fujiwara: Archaeological sites of Japan’s Ancient Capitals and Related Properties was

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European heatwaves drive summer tourists to cooler north

The concept of ‘coolcations’ – holidays in a cooler clime – has been gathering pace in recent years and appears to have exploded in 2026

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A tourist takes photos of Mount Nuolja, overlooking Abisko in northern Sweden, on August 26, 2021. Photo: AFP

European holidaymakers worn down by recurrent heatwaves are currently snubbing Mediterranean destinations for northern climes in hopes of cooler temperatures, but it remains to be seen whether it is just a fad or a durable shift in the tourism market.

With temperatures in the European

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Southeast Asia must embrace reforms for ‘China plus one’ to succeed

A container ship sails from Tanjung Pelepas Port in Gelang Patah, Malaysia, last month. Photo: Reuters

In recent years, Southeast Asian governments have viewed the “ China plus one ” strategy as their best chance to escape the middle-income trap. As global manufacturers looked to diversify away from China because of rising costs, trade tensions and supply-chain vulnerabilities, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia seemed perfectly placed to benefit.
The promise was simple and compelling: new factories would arrive, more formal jobs would be created, wages would rise in
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From marches to memes: why India’s youth turned against Modi

This Week in Asia Politics

Even the resignation of education chief Dharmendra Pradhan may not be enough to placate rising anger against the ruling BJP

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Supporters of the youth-led satirical political movement CJP take part in a demonstration at the Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: EPA

As India picks up the pieces in the aftermath of a youth protest that deposed an education minister, questions linger over the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ’s (BJP) failure to connect with younger generations.
Analysts say the scale of youth participation in the protest suggests a loss
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Typhoon Noul: China’s strongest storm of the year hits tech and manufacturing hubs

Fishing boats take shelter in Huila, Guangdong. Photo: CCTV

High-speed rail services and flights across Guangdong province were cancelled on Sunday after Typhoon Noul made landfall in the province, bringing heavy rainfall to large parts of southern China.

Noul – the strongest typhoon to hit China so far this year – made landfall at Huizhou city in Guangdong at around 3.50am on Sunday.

The National Meteorological Centre issued


Hong Kong expands after-school care but some families say they still lack access

Hong Kong’s after-school care scheme has expanded rapidly since the government removed its quota cap this school year, with some operators saying they have sufficient capacity to meet demand, while others are already recruiting more staff to keep pace.

While some mothers said the programme had freed them up to return to work after years of full-time caregiving, manpower constraints at some centres meant not all eligible families were able to access the scheme.

The School-based After School Care Service Scheme was launched in 59 schools


Why new US tariffs threaten Trump government’s credibility in Asean

This Week in Asia Economics

The additional duties come just a day after Marco Rubio tells Southeast Asian foreign ministers that the US is ‘with Asean 100 per cent’

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An American Flag hangs from a crane at Port Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, on Friday. US President Donald Trump has slapped new tariffs on 60 trading partners. Photo: AFP

A new wave of US tariffs that hit seven Southeast Asian countries is set to reinforce perceptions of Washington as an unreliable partner to the region, according to analysts.
Citing what it said were forced labour practices uncovered in its latest investigations
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Rare medical condition causes Chinese man’s scalp to thicken and fold, resembling human brain

A man from central China had long been troubled by a thickening scalp that developed folds resembling the creases of a brain, but he eventually found a plastic surgeon who could address his condition.

The 23-year-old man from Hunan province, surnamed Li, recently had his issue resolved at the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in Hubei.

Li first noticed the hardening of his scalp several years ago. As the condition advanced, his scalp thickened and proliferated, creating large areas of uneven folds that resembled brain tissue.

Li had been wanting to have a normal scalp for years — much like the man pictured above — having suffered from severe psychological stress and confidence issues since his teenage years. Photo: Shutterstock