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A rare military confrontation occurred in the waters northeast of Taiwan near the Miyako Strait on Saturday when Japan claimed that Chinese naval fighters had conducted intermittent fire-control radar illumination – a tactical precursor to missile engagement – on its F-15J fighter jets.According to Japan’s Ministry of Defence, J-15 fighters launched from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier performed two separate instances of radar targeting.The first incident happened between 4.32pm and 4.35pm local time over international airspace southeast of Okinawa’s main island, while the second happened between 6.37pm and 7.08pm.Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi labelled the action a “dangerous act” beyond the…

Once a symbol of the all-American road trip, recreational vehicles (RVs) are enjoying a surge in popularity in Malaysia as families seek cheaper, more adventurous holidays – and as the government moves to develop more dedicated RV parks and streamline related regulations.The trend reflects a broader shift across the Asia-Pacific, where a growing middle class in China, Australia and Japan is fuelling demand for road trips and camping holidays, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence.Sales of RVs in Malaysia have surged in recent years, according to companies in the sector.Among the new enthusiasts is musician Hazrilfitri Hadzir, who co-produces…

Hong Kong’s surging residential rents show little sign of easing, with tiny flats in traditionally mid-priced Happy Valley now fetching per-square-foot rates on par with luxury homes on The Peak – a stark indicator of how deeply the city’s rental inflation has spread.One of the units at a serviced apartment development in Happy Valley, The Unit, was recently rented for HK$12,700 (US$1,631) a month, according to Chinese media. The room measures just 117 sq ft, translating to a per-square-foot rent of about HK$107.By comparison, a luxury house on The Peak’s No.28 Gough Hill Road, complete with a private garden and…

The southern Chinese megacity of Shenzhen, a symbol of the country’s rapid urbanisation and development, has spent decades transforming urban villages and tenement blocks into dense public housing estates and massive industrial and office parks.Now, in a move that speaks volumes about its scarcity of land, the tech hub is relocating an enormous landfill from the city centre, an act that could allow for the development of floor space totalling more than 1 million square metres (10.76 million sq ft) on 30 hectares (74 acres) of newly open land.Work is in full swing to move and detoxify more than 2.55…

ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, has moved to tighten controls on its artificial intelligence-powered smartphone after several of China’s most widely used apps restricted its voice-operated functions.The company said it had scaled back the capabilities of Doubao, the agentic AI that runs on the device.In a statement issued on Friday, ByteDance said it would prevent the Nubia M153 AI phone from claiming incentives that were intended for active human users.It was also disabling the assistant’s interaction with financial apps, including banking and payment services, and suspending AI features in competitive games to preserve fair play.The measures followed moves by a…

Now, scientists have shed light on the pet’s origin in the country, suggesting its earliest presence dates back to the Tang dynasty (618-907), with its arrival via the Silk Road.A Tang dynasty provincial governor was recorded as the first person in Chinese history to name his dozens of cats. The avid cat lover also set aside a large area at home to play with them.Wu Zetian, China’s first and only woman emperor, is also said to have gifted a pet cat to her ministers – a story that is among the oldest written accounts with a clear description of a…

Mainland Chinese customers enjoy the best mobile banking apps in Asia, but banks across the region still lag behind their Western counterparts when it comes to a great mobile experience, according to a global study.Three mainland lenders – Ping An Pocket Bank, China Merchant Bank (CMB) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) – swept the top three positions in Asia in the ranking by Sia, an international management consulting firm.The firm’s Mobile Banking Benchmark assessed 137 apps from 22 markets, including 28 from Asia, on more than 100 criteria. The study expanded its Asia coverage this year from…

Analysts say the political climate has turned far more hostile since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leaving “no chance” of such visits resuming while Japan supports Kyiv and Moscow deepens its strategic alignment with Beijing.Takaichi made the pledge during a recent meeting with Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki and representatives of displaced islander families – a reminder of how every new Japanese leader must confront the unresolved Northern Territories issue even as the geopolitical environment becomes increasingly unforgiving.Suzuki, a long-time advocate for renewing access to the islands, has lobbied successive prime ministers to negotiate with Moscow on reopening the sea route linking…

A pale-grey, nearly one-metre-tall, four-legged robot drew crowds at Tokyo’s International Robot Exhibition, lowering itself down some steps before lifting its right foreleg as if to greet onlookers. It rolled around one of the exhibition halls on wheels, avoiding obstacles in its path.The quadruped, dubbed the D5, is the latest model unveiled on Wednesday by Chinese robot maker Pudu Robotics at IREX – a biennial industry showcase at Tokyo Big Sight from December 3 to 6.It is Pudu’s second robot dog model after a smaller, less-agile version released in 2022. Since then, advances in motion-control algorithms, key components and embodied…

DOUANKARA, Mauritania (AP) — A new Russian military unit that replaced the Wagner mercenary group is carrying out abuses including rapes and beheadings as it teams up with Mali ‘s military to hunt down extremists, dozens of civilians who fled the fighting have told The Associated Press.The Africa Corps is using the same tactics as Wagner, the refugees said, in accounts not reported by international media until now. Two refugees showed videos of villages burned by the “white men.” Two others said they found bodies of loved ones with liver and kidneys missing, an abuse the AP previously reported around…