Philippines

Taal Volcano logs 61 seismic events in 24 hours

LUCENA CITY: Taal Volcano in Batangas province recorded 61 seismic activities within 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported on Thursday (Oct 30).

AseanPlus News

‘Good to see you’: Trump, Xi open crucial meeting in S. Korea with high hopes of trade deal

AUSTIN/BUSAN/SINGAPORE: With the eyes of the world upon them, US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday (Oct 30) kicked off a widely anticipated meeting in the South Korean port city of Busan, with hopes that a trade deal could be sealed.

Thailand

Top 3 Bangkok central business districts lead foreign housing demand

BANGKOK: Ten years ago, the Thai real estate market was primarily driven by "locals" buying homes for personal use and "investors" purchasing properties for speculation.

South Korea

Trump says trade deal with China could be signed on Thursday

BUSAN, South Korea: US President Donald Trump said a trade deal with China could be signed on Thursday (Oct 30), as he met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea.

South Korea

South Korea strikes gold with Trump’s visit, sealing trade deal

GYEONGJU, South Korea: South Korea went on a golden offensive to charm US President Donald Trump during his visit to the East Asian country, as the two sides finally agreed on a trade deal after months of deadlock.

South Korea

Trump, Xi open crucial meeting in South Korea, with high stakes for South-East Asia

AUSTIN/BUSAN/SINGAPORE: With the eyes of the world upon them, United States President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday (Oct 30) kicked off a widely anticipated meeting in the South Korean port city of Busan.

Indonesia

Hundreds sick in Indonesia after free school meals

JAKARTA: Hundreds of pupils in Indonesia fell ill after eating free school meals, officials said Wednesday (Oct 29), in the latest case of alleged food poisoning marring a government-funded programme.

Asia & Oceania

China's newest travel trend: Low-altitude tourism

From skydiving to scenic flights, China's new travel trend makes aerial adventure more accessible to the public.

Singapore

27 Singaporeans, seven Malaysians wanted for suspected links to Cambodia scam ring

SINGAPORE: Warrants of arrest have been issued against 27 Singaporeans and seven Malaysians suspected of being involved in a scam ring operating in Cambodia.

Forex

Ringgit extends gain for seventh day after US rate cut

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended its gains for the seventh day on Thursday, opening higher against the US dollar, supported by the much-anticipated 25 basis points cut last night by the US Federal Reserve (US Fed), an analyst said.

Markets

Mild gains on Bursa Malaysia after Fed's hawkish remarks

KUALA LUMPUR: More-hawkish-than-expected remarks from US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell tempered enthusiasm on the local bourse as expectations of further interest rate cuts for the year are lowered.

Entertainment

HK actor-turned-farmer Liu Wai-hung says his farm was destroyed: 'There's nothing left'

The 67-year-old cultivates his own produce in Guangdong and is the proud founder of a well-loved rice brand in China.

Nation

Anwar takes 10th spot in World's 500 Most Influential Muslims list

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has climbed to 10th place in The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims 2026 edition, published by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISSC) under the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Amman, Jordan.

Nation

Trump praises Malaysia and Anwar again at APEC Summit

SHAH ALAM: United States President Donald Trump once again showed he has not "moved on" as he praised Malaysia and its Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

World

Trump says South Korea has approval to build nuclear-powered submarine

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he has given South Korea approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine, a dramatic move that would admit Seoul to a small club of nations possessing such vessels.    The submarine will be built in a Philadelphia shipyard, where South Korean firms have increased investment, Trump wrote on social media.     The U.S. president, who has been meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and other regional leaders during his visit, also said Seoul had agreed to buy vast quantities of U.S. oil and gas.    Trump and Lee finalized details of a fraught trade deal at a summit in South Korea on Wednesday.     Lee had also been seeking U.S. permission for South Korea to reprocess nuclear fuel.         NUCLEAR RESTRICTIONS EASING?    Seoul is barred from reprocessing without U.S. consent, under a pact between the countries.    "I have given them approval to build a Nuclear Powered Submarine, rather than the old fashioned, and far less nimble, diesel powered Submarines that they have now," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.     South Korea's Industry Ministry said its officials had not been involved in any detailed discussions about building the submarines in Philadelphia.    While South Korea has a sophisticated shipbuilding industry, Trump did not spell out where the propulsion technology would come from for a nuclear-powered submarine, which only a handful of countries currently possess.    The U.S. has been working with Australia and Britain on a project for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines involving technology transfers from the United States. The U.S. has so far only shared that technology with Britain, back in the 1950s.    Lee said when he met Trump on Wednesday that allowing South Korea to build several nuclear-powered submarines equipped with conventional weapons would significantly reduce the burden on the U.S. military.    He also asked for Trump's support to make substantial progress on South Korea being allowed to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, or on uranium enrichment, something currently not allowed under the nuclear agreement between the two countries, even though South Korea possesses nuclear reactors to generate power.        APPROVAL RAISES QUESTIONS    Lee's predecessors had wanted to build nuclear-powered submarines, but the U.S. had opposed this idea for decades.    Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, said the issue of South Korea acquiring such submarines "raises all sorts of questions."    "As with the AUKUS deal, (South Korea) is probably looking for nuclear propulsion services suitable for subs, including the fuel, from the U.S," he said.    Kimball said such submarines usually involved the use of highly-enriched uranium and would "require a very complex new regime of safeguards" by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has a key role in implementing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).    "It remains technically and militarily unnecessary for South Korea to acquire the technology to extract weapons-usable plutonium from spent fuel or to acquire uranium enrichment capabilities, which can also be used to produce nuclear weapons," he said.    "If the United States seeks to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons worldwide, the Trump administration should resist such overtures from allies as strongly as it works to deny adversary access to these dual-use technologies."    Jenny Town, who heads 38 North, a Korea-focused research group in Washington, said it was inevitable that South Korean demands for U.S. cooperation on nuclear issues would grow, given recent allegations about Russian technical cooperation to help nuclear-armed North Korea make progress towards acquiring nuclear-powered submarines.    Kim Dong-yup, a North Korea studies professor at Kyungnam University, said the Lee-Trump summit had formalized a "transaction scheme of security guarantees and economic contributions" for maintaining the extended deterrence and alliance in exchange for South Korea's increased defense spending and nuclear-powered subs and U.S. investments.     "In the end, this South Korea-U.S. summit can be summarized in one word: the commercialization of the alliance and the commodification of peace," he said. "The problem is that the balance of that deal was to maximize American interests rather than the autonomy of the Korean Peninsula."

Commodities

Oil settles higher on large drop in US stockpiles

Oil prices rose on Wednesday after data showed US crude and fuel inventories drew down more than expected last week, and as US President Donald Trump's optimistic tone over upcoming talks with his Chinese counterpart helped ease economic jitters.

Nation

Biggest beneficiary was Najib

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Razak was the biggest beneficiary of the RM2.28bil misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), the High Court heard.

Thailand

Govt to crack down on vaping as users top 400,000

The Cabi­net has ordered an urgent amendment to the country's tobacco control legislation in a concerted effort to curb the spiralling use of e-cigarettes.

South Korea

High hopes to ease tariff turmoil

US Presi­dent Donald Trump began the final leg of his Asia trip in South Korea, optimistic about advan­cing an unresolved tariff deal with President Lee Jae-myung and striking a trade war truce with China's Xi Jinping.

Myanmar

Foreign coverage of polls allowed

Inter­natio­nal media will be allowed to cover the country's upcoming junta-run polls, election authorities said, an apparent invitation for foreign press to scru­tinise the deeply-disputed vote.