Beggar’s banquet: South Korea’s young consumers turn extreme budgeting into a game

For South Korea ’s young budget-conscious consumers, finding a meal for less than 8,000 won (US$5.40) – at a time when a typical meal out in major cities can easily cost 12,000 won or more – has become more than a money-saving exercise.

Crowdsourced platform Geoji Map has turned the search for ultra-cheap meals into a viral online activity. Its name, which literally translates as “Beggar Map”, reflects a broader


Ukraine blames Russia for deadly strike on Turkish cargo ship

Ukraine said on Sunday that Russian missile strikes on a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying grain had killed six people, hours after Moscow fired a fresh barrage of missiles at Kyiv.

Ukraine’s navy said Russia had launched three cruise missiles at the Golden Leo, which flies the flag of Guinea-Bissau, as it was “leaving the combat zone with a cargo of grain”.

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said the crew had included citizens of Syria and India, while Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky said the vessel was struck near


Ferry capsizes off Guyana, authorities searching for 66 missing passengers

Guyana’s Prime Minister Mark Phillips, left, and Public Works Minister Juan Edhill during a press conference in the capital Georgetown on Sunday after a ferry capsized. Photo: NCN Guyana / AFP / Handout

An ageing ferry carrying more than 100 people capsized off the coast of Guyana, with 67 saved and rescue teams searching for the rest, officials said on Sunday.

The ferry MV Barima left the small English-speaking country at the northeast corner of South America on Saturday afternoon with 133 people aboard for a trip from the capital, Georgetown, to the town of Port Kaituma.

Port Kaituma is inland in the oil-


US military reports another soldier killed in northern Iraq

The US military on Sunday reported the death of another US soldier, bringing the total US military death toll in the Iran war to 17.

In a post on social media, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said a soldier was killed in northern Iraq on Saturday during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone. A second soldier sustained minor injuries and is continuing to receive medical treatment, it said.

This came a day after the US military reported that two other soldiers had been


Hong Kong’s 5-year plan will shore up market with governance and vision

Hong Kong’s decision to introduce its first five-year plan has prompted familiar questions. Does this signal greater government intervention at the expense of the free market? Will it make Hong Kong’s development model more similar to that of the mainland? Could it overlap with the annual policy address and budget? And without detailed key performance indicators, might it become little more than a symbolic document?

These concerns deserve a serious response.

For Hong Kong, the purpose of a five-year plan is not to remake


BTS, Madonna and the Muppets light up Fifa World Cup half-time show

The star-packed, Super Bowl-style extravaganza during the match between Spain and Argentina also featured a tribute to football icon Pele

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South Korean K-pop band BTS perform during the halftime show at the 2026 Fifa World Cup final match between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday. Photo: dpa

Musical headliners Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber, BTS and Coldplay were joined by Brazilian football icons and Ted Lasso actors in a spectacular first-ever Fifa World Cup final half-time show on Sunday

Israelis march to Gaza border demanding re-establishment of settlements

‘We are walking today to tell the government of Israel and show all the world that this land belongs to us,’ one demonstrator said

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Israeli right-wing activists gather at the border with Gaza on Sunday and attempt to cross over. Photo: dpa

Thousands of Israelis, including settlers and right-wing activists, marched towards the border with Gaza on Sunday, calling on the government to re-establish Israeli settlements in the war-shattered Palestinian territory, an Agence France-Presse journalist reported.

The demonstrators gathered near


Trump and Infantino set to face red-card protest at Fifa World Cup final

The US president and Fifa boss have faced criticism after US striker Folarin Balogun had his ban lifted despite receiving a red card

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US President Donald Trump, right, holds up a red card during a meeting with Fifa president Gianni Infantino at the Oval Office in the White House in Washington in 2018. Photo:AP

Football fans launched a unique protest against US President Donald Trump and Fifa chief Gianni Infantino at Sunday’s World Cup final.

Red cards were handed out in New York and New Jersey to those on their way


Israeli PM’s office slams New York mayor over Netanyahu arrest remarks

Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York. Photo: AFP / Getty Images / TNS

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday denounced New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani after he said he is considering whether to arrest the Israeli leader during a coming United Nations summit.

“Mr Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York,” Netanyahu’s office said, in a post on its official X account.

“Like Karim Khan , Mamdani appears interested in diverting public attention from his follies and attacking the

Chinese company demands compensation from the UK over British Steel nationalisation

Jingye Group said the move tarnished the UK government’s credibility, spooked international investors and caused losses to the operation

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The sign outside British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant in north Lincolnshire, England. Photo: AFP

The Chinese company that formerly owned British Steel demanded on Sunday compensation from the UK government for investment losses following the nationalisation of the manufacturer last week.

The British government took operational control of the company last year after Jingye Group said it was considering closing the blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant in northern