A 19-year-old French student was fined 600 Singapore dollars, equivalent to $465, after pleading guilty to a public nuisance charge for filming himself licking a straw from an orange juice vending machine and returning it, according to court documents and prosecutors. Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien recorded the stunt at a shopping mall in March and … Read more
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 shook Kumamoto on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu late Tuesday afternoon, prompting a tsunami advisory from the Japan Meteorological Agency. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the tsunami advisory targeted nearby Ariake Bay on the western coasts of Kumamoto, located about 900 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. … Read more
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered a veiled rebuke of China during his state of the nation speech on Monday, vowing that his government will defend a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea. According to the president, Filipinos “do not yield” to conquerors as territorial confrontations in the … Read more
Punch, the orphaned monkey at the Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden who captured global attention by clinging to an orangutan plushie, received approximately 2,500 birthday cards from fans worldwide as he marked his first birthday, according to zoo head Takashi Yasunaga. From Plushie Companion to Troop Integration Abandoned by his mother shortly after his … Read more
A United Nations committee meeting in Busan, South Korea, inscribed the West Bank town of Sebastia and a group of five castles in southern Lebanon on both the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger on Friday, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The emergency designations proceeded … Read more
Thousands of young protesters camped on the streets of New Delhi on Thursday, defying new restrictions in a growing movement that has emerged as one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, according to Associated Press reports. The demonstrations follow weeks of escalating friction over competitive entrance exam leaks and highlight deep-seated … Read more
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness for a political and diplomatic settlement to the war in Ukraine during talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Manila, according to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The discussions took place on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting, with … Read more
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated Thursday that the Trump administration is poised to help end the war in Ukraine, though diplomacy will require sustained effort and new ideas as past U.S.-mediated talks have stalled. According to Rubio, previous efforts proved unsuccessful or unfruitful, but President Donald Trump remains committed to the work if … Read more
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at a gathering of southeast Asian foreign ministers, to discuss how to manage bilateral tensions ahead of a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.The meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) … Read more
Lim Kim’s “Exit to Nowhere” and the Evolution of Personal Identity in Music South Korean singer Lim Kim, known for her genre-fluid career, explores themes of individual identity and the transition into adulthood in her latest album, Exit to Nowhere. According to the Associated Press, the seven-track project serves as a “chronicle” of the artist’s … Read more