46+ min ago (165+ words) Separately, across the Bay of Bengal, another 153 people were killed by a cyclone in the island nation of Sri Lanka. JAKARTA/BANGKOK - The death toll mounted to over 500 from floods and landslides caused by torrential rains across three countries in Southeast Asia, officials said on Sunday, as relief efforts for tens of thousands of displaced people continued over the weekend.Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand faced large-scale devastation after a rare tropical storm formed in the Malacca Strait fueling heavy rains and wind gusts for a week There were 336 dead in Indonesia, 170 in Thailand and two deaths reported in Malaysia.Rescue and relief officials in the Southeast Asian countries were still trying to get access to many flood-hit areas on Sunday even as flood waters receded and tens of thousands people were evacuated across the three countries Over 4 million people have…...

7+ hour, 24+ min ago (118+ words) A Japan Times reporter was invited to ride on the M10, the newest rolling stock in Japan's maglev fleet. The vehicle, which was developed by Hitachi, is more energy efficient than its predecessors, as ... Japan's maglev is a train to nowhere that continues to wow the crowds The world's fastest train, a maglev that has reached speeds of 600 kilometers an hour, regularly travels 42.8 kilometers from a patch of unremarkable farmland in Yamanashi Prefecture to a point farther into the middle of nowhere. Spectators along the way get to see it whoosh by now and then, and a lucky few get a chance to take a ride. For now, that's just about it....

21+ hour, 1+ min ago (94+ words) Taiwan's government has proposed $40 billion in extra defense spending over several years, with the focus on developing the advanced system. What is Taiwan's multilayered T-Dome air defense system? Taiwan's government has proposed $40 billion in extra defense spending over several years, with the focus on developing a multilayered air defense system dubbed T-Dome. The system will be designed to protect the democratic island against a potential attack by Chinese fighter jets, missiles or drones. China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it....

22+ hour, 55+ min ago (123+ words) The loss surpassed Wales' 68-14 defeat to England in the Six Nations in March and marked the first time Wales had been shutout in Cardiff since 1967. Springboks inflict record home defeat on Wales Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu starred as South Africa ran in 11 unanswered tries to inflict a record 73-0 home defeat on Wales in the autumn season-ending international test in Cardiff on Saturday. The loss surpassed Wales' 68-14 defeat to England in the Six Nations in March. It was also the first time Wales had been kept pointless in Cardiff in the professional era " the last time the Welsh were kept at nil in the capital was back in 1967 in a 3-0 loss to Ireland....

23+ hour, 5+ min ago (123+ words) Kim made the announcement at an event marking the 80th anniversary of the North Korean Air Force, accompanied by his daughter Ju Ae. North Korea's Kim vows to equip air force with new 'strategic assets' North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced the country's air force will be equipped with "new strategic military assets," state media said Sunday. Kim made the announcement at an event marking the 80th anniversary of the North Korean Air Force on Friday, accompanied by his daughter Ju Ae, who is understood to be his recognized successor. "The Air Force will be given new strategic military assets and entrusted with a new important duty," he said in a speech without elaborating, according to state-run Korean Central News Agency....

23+ hour, 33+ min ago (248+ words) Micron Technology will spend "1.5 trillion ($9.6 billion) to build a plant in western Japan to make memory chips for artificial intelligence applications, Nikkei newspaper reported. The move comes as Micron looks to diversify advanced chip production outside of Taiwan, Nikkei said, citing people familiar with the matter. The new factory will manufacture high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component for working with AI processors such as those made by Nvidia, according to the report. Micron will build the facility within the compound of its Hiroshima plant, starting in May, with plans to launch HBM shipments around 2028, Nikkei said. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will subsidize up to "500 billion of the costs for the project, the newspaper said. Japan has already set aside about "5.7 trillion in a plan initiated in 2021 to rebuild the nation's chipmaking prowess. The country is set…...

1+ day, 1+ hour ago (105+ words) Chinese companies are building on rapid development of drones and EVs while harnessing government support for the futuristic inventions. Electric vehicle prowess helps China's flying car sector take off A worker in white gloves inspects the propellers of a boxy two-seater aircraft fresh off the assembly line at a Chinese factory trialing the mass production of flying cars. Globally, technical and regulatory challenges have prevented the much-hyped flying car sector from getting off the ground. But Chinese companies are building on rapid development of drones and electric vehicles (EVs) in the world's second-largest economy, while harnessing government support for the futuristic inventions....

1+ day, 2+ hour ago (140+ words) A draft of the strategy notes "an increase in state-supported cyberthreats" such as those by China, Russia and North Korea. It calls for "defense and deterrence with the state at the core" following ... Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government plans to adopt a new cybersecurity strategy next month that calls for needed measures to address foreign threats such as election interference. A draft of the strategy notes "an increase in state-supported cyberthreats" such as those by China, Russia and North Korea. It calls for "defense and deterrence with the state at the core" following the enactment of a law to introduce what is known as an active cyberdefense. The draft expresses caution over the fact that "cyberattacks, even those backed by states, are regularly carried out to halt critical infrastructure, interfere in other countries' elections and steal sensitive information."...

1+ day, 4+ hour ago (125+ words) Prior to an operation, U.S. troops had been given a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to kill everyone on board, The Washington Post and CNN both reported. U.S. killed survivors of strike on alleged drug boat, reports say The U.S. military conducted a follow-up strike on a boat in the Caribbean that it believed to be ferrying drugs, killing survivors of an initial missile attack, U.S. media reported Friday. Prior to the operation, the troops had been given a directive from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to kill everyone on board, The Washington Post and CNN both reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the operation. "The order was to kill everybody," one of the sources told the Post....

1+ day, 5+ hour ago (223+ words) A Japanese anime event that kicked off in Shanghai on Friday with a three-day schedule was canceled following an incident where a Japanese singer's performance was forcibly interrupted at the event venue, according to Japanese entertainment firm Bandai Namco Holdings, the event's organizer. At the venue, experience-oriented attraction booths featuring popular Japanese anime such as "One Piece" and "Mobile Suit Gundam" were set up, drawing many local anime fans on the first day on Friday. In the evening on the day, a performance by singer Maki Otsuki, who sings the theme song for "One Piece," began, but midway through a song, the lights and sound were cut off, forcing the performance to end. On Otsuki's official website, her agency explained that the performance had to be halted abruptly "due to unavoidable circumstances." Amid growing backlash in China over Japanese Prime…...