HO CHI MINH CITY – Việt Nam has launched its first cross-sea postal delivery route using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), marking a significant step forward in the application of advanced logistics technology and the development of the country’s emerging low-altitude economy. The new route connects Cần Giờ Commune and Vũng Tàu Ward in HCM City and was inaugurated on February 12 under the coordination of the municipal Department of Science and Technology, CT Group and Việt Nam Post Corporation (Vietnam Post). During the inaugural flight, a UAV designed and manufactured by CT UAV carried a 2kg parcel across a…
Author: Asia News Network
SEOUL – Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is on course to be the official second in line for power, South Korean lawmakers said Thursday, citing a National Intelligence Service briefing at the National Assembly. “The NIS assesses that North Korea is in the stage of designating Kim Ju-ae as the successor,” Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the main opposition People Power Party told reporters after the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee. The spy agency cited Kim Ju-ae’s recent public appearance at Kumsusan mausoleum in January and the 80th anniversary of its air force last year, as well…
DHAKA – The BNP is on course for a thumping win in the 13th national election, where millions of voters exercised their long-denied franchise in a festive and peaceful atmosphere yesterday. According to unofficial results and the party’s own counts, the BNP and its allies were leading in 170 constituencies till the filing of this report at 3:30am today. The party, which has been out of office for nearly two decades, was hopeful of securing more than a two-thirds majority with what it called “an overwhelming public mandate”. “Based on the vote count received so far and detailed seat-wise information,…
JAKARTA – Youths in Southeast Asia may have embraced artificial intelligence, but institutions and educators have yet to keep pace in properly guiding the use of the frontier technology, according to the ASEAN Foundation and Google.org. The ASEAN Foundation, the regional bloc’s development arm, and Google.org, the charitable arm of the search engine giant Google, on Wednesday published the ASEAN Digital Outlook report during the AI Ready ASEAN: 3rd Regional Policy Convening meeting in Manila. The report is part of AI Ready ASEAN, an initiative launched in 2024 by the ASEAN Foundation with a US$5 million grant from Google.org aimed…
NEW DELHI – Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday strongly refuted Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s charges linking him to convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Puri said that while he did meet Epstein on a few occasions, his interactions had nothing to do with the infamous sex offender’s criminal offences. “The Epstein Files are about charges that he had an island where he used to take people to indulge their sexual fantasies, charges of paedophilia, there are victims of this. Those victims have brought cases against people in authority. My interaction had…
JAKARTA – Yet, come Valentine’s Day, chocolate still plays its part: dependable, gift-wrapped and expected. According to the National Confectioners Association, approximately 58 million pounds of chocolate were purchased on Valentine’s Day alone in the United States last year. The National Retail Federation estimates that more than $20 billion is spent annually on the occasion. In Indonesia, the ritual also exists, but it may surprise you to learn that Valentine’s isn’t the industry’s biggest season. Beyond Valentine Valentine’s Day may feel like a frenzy, but for Jakarta’s local chocolatiers, February is just one moment in a much busier calendar. “Chocolate…
BEIJING – China expressed opposition on Wednesday to the United States over fabricating excuses for its own attempt to resume nuclear tests, urging Washington to take concrete actions to safeguard international nuclear disarmament and the nuclear nonproliferation regime. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian made the remarks after Thomas DiNanno, the US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, told a disarmament forum in Geneva last week that China has conducted nuclear explosive tests — including one on June 22, 2020 — with yields “in the hundreds of tons”. DiNanno called on China to join multilateral talks on…
CHONGQING – It is lunch hour in central Chongqing in China and eateries inside the popular Paradise Walk mall are starting to fill up. But on this weekday, one restaurant in the mall remains mostly empty, with only a handful of tables occupied by diners. The Xibei outlet, which can accommodate 100 guests, specialises in north-western Chinese delicacies such as grilled lamb and oat noodles. Employees stand attentively at the few occupied tables, some performing magic tricks for children. But sleight of hand might not be enough to save the dented reputation of this 38-year-old chain restaurant, which is closing…
CHENGDU – Thirty giant panda cubs born in 2025 at two leading panda breeding institutions in Sichuan province made their collective public debut on Wednesday to send Spring Festival greetings to the nation. The adorable cubs were presented to the public across four festively decorated display areas at the Ya’an and Wolong Shenshuping bases of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, as well as two panda nurseries at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Giant panda cubs born in 2025 at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province…
DHAKA – Bangladesh has been without a competitive election for so long that almost a third of the electorate has never witnessed genuine polls in which voters elect parliamentarians of their choosing. That is set to change today as thousands queue at polling centres, some since the crack of dawn, to reclaim their franchise. These same voters had taken to the streets in July 2024 to overthrow a tyrannical regime. They bled while many others lost their lives. It had been a monsoon of rupture. But today, they can usher a spring of hope. Keen to ensure a peaceful election,…