Author: admin

A giant flower’s rediscovery in a West Sumatran forest of Indonesia has spurred a growing campaign among researchers to change the colonial-era name of one of the world’s most famous plants.Last month’s find of an extremely rare Rafflesia hasseltii – one of the giant, foul-smelling blooms often dubbed “corpse flowers” – has energised researchers and activists seeking to strip the genus of its association with Thomas Stamford Raffles, a figure widely credited with founding colonial Singapore but criticised by scholars and campaigners for violence and coercion during Britain’s rule in parts of Southeast Asia.Recognised as among the world’s largest flowers,…

The Japanese yen rose in Asian trading on Tuesday against a basket of major and minor currencies, extending its gains for a second consecutive day against the US dollar, as it continued to recover from four-week lows, following a strongly worded warning from Japanese authorities signaling Tokyo’s readiness to intervene to support the local currency.   Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Japan has full freedom to take whatever action it deems necessary to address excessive volatility in the yen, stressing that recent moves in the currency do not reflect market fundamentals at all.   A former Bank of Japan official…

Taiwan has bolstered security ahead of the coming holidays to pre-empt potential copycat attacks following a deadly mass stabbing that has left the island on edge.The island’s Ministry of the Interior and National Police Agency (NPA) ordered tighter deployments at transport hubs and major events, increased monitoring of online threats and accelerated reviews of police resources and command procedures.Announced in separate statements on Tuesday, the measures came after last week’s violence triggered a surge in public anxiety and a rash of threatening and copycat posts on social media.The attacks unfolded on Friday afternoon in central Taipei, when a 27-year-old man…

China has emerged as a broadly positive partner for Indonesia in the public mind, according to a new survey, driven by visible economic engagement and investment on the ground, even as public support stops short of seeing Beijing as a full strategic partner.The 2025 China–Indonesia Survey, released on December 18 by Jakarta-based think tank Centre of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), suggests Indonesians increasingly view ties with Beijing through a transactional lens, welcoming economic and technological cooperation while remaining cautious in other areas.Overall, 66 per cent of the 1,022 respondents surveyed described relations between Jakarta and Beijing as positive, particularly…

The Japanese yen rose in Asian trading on Tuesday against a basket of major and minor currencies, extending its gains for a second consecutive day against the US dollar, as it continued to recover from four-week lows, following a strongly worded warning from Japanese authorities signaling Tokyo’s readiness to intervene to support the local currency.   Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Japan has full freedom to take whatever action it deems necessary to address excessive volatility in the yen, stressing that recent moves in the currency do not reflect market fundamentals at all.   A former Bank of Japan official…

Short-video platform Kuaishou Technology reported a major cyberattack to the police after a breach on Monday evening allowed explicit content to flood high-traffic live rooms for more than an hour.Kuaishou’s live-streaming services were thrown into chaos at around 10pm when recommended feeds were inundated with explicit material, according to news website Sina. Viewership in some compromised rooms surged past 50,000 before the platform launched an emergency response.By 11.30pm, Kuaishou began a mass deletion of the videos and closed its live-streaming channels, according to Sina, adding that services began to gradually resume at 2am on Tuesday.Kuaishou said on Tuesday that the…

The Saudi–Pakistan corridor will succeed only when Pakistani firms operate at global standards and align deeply with Saudi national priorities combining Pakistan’s scale and talent with Saudi Arabia’s capital, institutions, and Vision-2030 execution discipline, Qaiser Noor told Business Recorder in an exclusive interview. Noor is a board member of eight entities in the Kingdom. He is also the author of a book titled ‘The Kingdom Through My Eyes! Vision 2030 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)’. According to him, the Saudi–Pakistan economic and investment corridor “will succeed through strategic alignment rather than sentiment.” “Saudi Arabia contributes capital strength, regulatory stability, and…

PARIS (AP) — A freight lift rose up on its crane Tuesday toward the Louvre Museum — but this time it wasn’t jewel thieves. It was workers installing security bars on the window used to break into the Paris landmark’s Apollo Gallery in October’s stunning heist.The world’s most-visited museum is slowly coming to terms with security failings exposed by the theft, while investigators hunt for missing crown jewels worth $102 million.With the Louvre closed Tuesday, maintenance workers in security helmets and high-visibility vests mounted a freight lift to a second-floor balcony to secure new metal bars outside a now-infamous window.The…

Gold prices rose in European trading on Tuesday, extending gains for a third consecutive day and continuing to smash record levels, as they moved sharply closer to trading above $4,500 per ounce for the first time in history. The rally was driven by strong investment demand for the precious metal and supported by a decline in the US dollar in foreign exchange markets.   These developments come as expectations grow that the Federal Reserve will cut US interest rates twice next year. To reprice those expectations, investors are awaiting later today the release of US economic growth data for the…

The Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday rejected Najib’s application to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest, ruling that a purported addendum to a royal clemency order “had no legal effect because it was never deliberated by the Pardons Board”.The decision meant the 72-year-old remains in Kajang Prison, where he is serving a reduced six-year sentence over the misappropriation of 42 million ringgit (US$10.3 million) of public funds from a former subsidiary of the scandal-ridden sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. Najib’s lawyers have said they plan to appeal.On Friday, the court is due to deliver its verdict…