Malaysia upgrades South China Sea defences amid Sabah row with Philippines

This Week in Asia Politics

Long-range radar at Swallow Reef and new drones in Labuan aim to give Malaysia better oversight of its eastern waters

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A still from a video shared by Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin showing one of Malaysia’s newly acquired Turkish-built Anka drones. Photo: Facebook/MohamedKhaledNordin

Malaysia is stepping up surveillance on its eastern flank, pushing ahead with plans for a long-range radar at a frontline South China Sea outpost and launching newly operational drones.
The upgrades reflect Kuala Lumpur’s bid to improve its ability to detect threats as the Philippines
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‘Unmistakable spirit’: veteran Hong Kong actor Patrick Tse dies at 89

Veteran Hong Kong actor, film director and producer Patrick Tse Yin has died at the age of 89.

His daughter, Jennifer Tse, announced the star’s death in a Facebook post, writing: “With profound sadness, our family announces the passing of our beloved father, Patrick Tse.

“He passed away peacefully at the hospital, surrounded by the love of his family, after a period of declining health.

“Our father lived a remarkable and accomplished life, not only as an actor and artist,


Hong Kong dermatologist gets suspended punishment for clinic adverts on RedNote

A Hong Kong dermatologist has received a suspended punishment after being found guilty of professional misconduct by the Medical Council for failing to prevent improper advertising on the mainland Chinese social media platform RedNote.

The medical watchdog said on Monday that Dr Tinny Ho Tin-yee could be struck off the practitioners’ register for six months if she failed to complete the three-year probationary period without incident.

She was convicted of sanctioning, acquiescing to, or failing to take any or adequate steps to prevent the publication of promotional statements or information on


Indian police clash with ‘cockroaches’ marching to protest exam irregularities

The CJP supporters want the education minister to resign over exam irregularities such as question paper leaks and technical glitches

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CJP supporters take part in a protest demanding the resignation of India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday. Photo: AFP

India ’s riot police baton-charged protesters in New Delhi as they tried to march to parliament on Monday, escalating a protest over irregularities in major examinations.

Protesters ran for cover as police in blue riot gear charged at

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EU test pilots find ‘no major hardware risks’ with China’s C919 jet: sources

European pilots are now wrapping up their long flight testing process for the C919, but it is still unclear when the jet might be certified, sources say

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The C919 passenger jet has been in service domestically in China for three years. Photo: Xinhua

European pilots have found “no major hardware risks” with the Chinese-made C919 passenger jet during a months-long flight testing process in China , which is now beginning to wrap up, according to two sources with knowledge

North Korea paves way for possible Kim trip to Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui shake hands during their meeting in Moscow on Sunday. Photo: Kremlin/Sputnik/EPA

North Korea ’s top diplomat was in Moscow this weekend for talks analysts say likely focused on fresh ammunition and missile shipments to feed Russia’s war in Ukraine , while also laying the groundwork for a possible visit by Kim Jong-un .
Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met Vladimir Putin on Sunday, more than two years after Russia’s president had invited
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Lockheed Martin launches cheaper Patriot missile as air defence demand surges

World United States & Canada

The new missiles will cost less than half that of the current ones, which are about US$4 million each, the US defence contractor says

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A man looks at a PAC-3 MSE model by Lockheed Martin at an international military fair in Kielce, Poland, in September 2017. Photo: Reuters

Lockheed Martin announced a lower-cost Patriot interceptor on Monday as militaries seek cheaper ways to counter drones ‌and missiles, while defence contractors face competition from start
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Kimi K3 developer suspends new subscriptions amid compute constraints

Chinese start-up Moonshot AI has suspended new subscriptions for its groundbreaking new model Kimi K3 as surging demand squeezes its computing power, underscoring the challenges Chinese AI labs face in serving their products to global users.

“Over the past 48 hours, demand has pushed close to the limits of our current capacity,” Beijing-based Moonshot AI said in a statement posted on X on Sunday. “Our GPUs [graphics processing units] are feeling it.”

It had “temporarily paused new subscriptions”, adding


Ikea’s China remodelling: parent firm puts eight former retail sites on block

Ikea’s parent company Ingka Group has hired property consultancy JLL as its sole sales agent to offload eight retail properties in mainland China, the multinational furniture brand’s largest asset disposal since it entered the market nearly 30 years ago.

Seven of the properties were Ikea stores that ceased their operations in February . The remaining one, a site in Guiyang in the southern province of Guizhou, shut down in 2022 and has been vacant ever since, according to disclosure from JLL last week.

The move comes


In a first, super microscope captures how acupuncture calms cell chaos

System could enable study of complex biological processes in live animals over long periods with less tissue damage than previous methods

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The researchers used the cutting-edge, high-resolution RUSH3D-HR microscope. Photo: Handout

A cutting-edge microscope has allowed scientists to capture in real time how electroacupuncture directs the movement of immune cells inside living mice, offering a direct window into the biological mechanisms behind the ancient therapy.

The high-resolution