Asia news

• FirstFT: Japan frustrated at Trump administration’s silence over dispute with China

  07-12-2025 23:02
  Also in today’s newsletter: Hong Kong’s low turnout election, and Chinese phonemakers attempt to win over iPhone users
  
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• The meaning of China’s $1tn trade surplus

  09-12-2025 19:22
  Beijing’s latest milestone underscores its industrial strength — and growing economic imbalances
  
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• Why are Thailand and Cambodia engaged in a border conflict?

  09-12-2025 16:20
  Territory mapped during France’s colonial rule is behind clash that has exposed tensions between the countriesA long-running border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has erupted in fierce clashes for the second time this year, despite a peace deal brokered by Donald Trump.Seven civilians have been killed in Cambodia and 20 wounded, while Thailand has confirmed three soldiers’ deaths in the latest fighting, which began with skirmishes on Sunday night. Continue reading...
  
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• Trump decides to let Nvidia export powerful H200 chips to China

  09-12-2025 15:00
  Also in today’s newsletter, the US warns the EU to be ‘very careful’ after it fined Elon Musk’s X
  
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• Preparation for the Next Life review – deeply felt story of love among the marginalised in New York

  09-12-2025 12:00
  Bing Liu’s film is an unflinching portrait of an undocumented Uyghur immigrant and a traumatised US veteran whose fragile connection is strained by their pastsChinese-American film-maker Bing Liu made an impression with the poignant documentary Minding the Gap about people from his home town in Illinois; now he pivots to features with this sad and sombre study of romance and life choices among those on the margins of US society, adapted from the prize-winning novel of the same name by Atti
  
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• China set to limit access to Nvidia’s H200 chips despite Trump export approval

  09-12-2025 11:38
  Discussions among regulators come as Beijing seeks to achieve self-sufficiency in semiconductor production
  
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• BoJ governor says economy has weathered Trump’s tariffs

  09-12-2025 10:01
  Kazuo Ueda’s comments feed market expectations of an interest rate rise at next week’s meeting
  
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• Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea review – gripping trip along supply lines in China standoff

  09-12-2025 10:00
  A gripping film captures the fraught contests, lonely outposts and human toll of the Philippines’ struggle to assert sovereignty against ChinaDirector Baby Ruth Villarama and her crew board an assortment of maritime vessels to record the ongoing strife and its consequences between the Philippines and China over control of what has recently been named the West Philippine Sea (WPS), formerly part of the South China Sea. This area, which is seen by just about everyone (apart from the People&r
  
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• Trump clears way for Nvidia to sell powerful AI chips to China

  09-12-2025 09:29
  Commerce department finalising deal to allow H200 chips to be sold to China as strict Biden-era restrictions relaxedDonald Trump has cleared the way for Nvidia to begin selling its powerful AI computer chips to China, marking a win for the chip maker and its CEO, Jensen Huang, who has spent months lobbying the White House to open up sales in the country.Before Monday’s announcement, the US had prohibited sales of Nvidia’s most advanced chips to China over national security concerns.
  
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• Fatal Thailand-Cambodia clashes spread along contested border area

  09-12-2025 09:26
  Each side has blamed the other for renewed clashes, which have derailed a ceasefire brokered by Donald TrumpDeadly clashes have escalated along the disputed Thailand-Cambodia border as both sides blamed each other for the fighting and vowed to defend their territories.Seven civilians have been killed and 20 wounded in Cambodia and three Thai soldiers have been killed in the fiercest fighting since a five-day conflict in July. Continue reading...
  
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• Australia deporting refugee to Nauru may cause his ‘imminent’ and ‘preventable’ death, court hears

  09-12-2025 08:25
  Legal team of man who was part of cohort of non-citizens freed after high court decision argues Nauru’s medical facilities are ‘insufficient’ to treat his severe asthmaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLawyers for an Iranian refugee Australia wants to deport to Nauru say there is a “real risk he will die” there, setting the stage for a showdown against the federal government’s $2.5bn NZYQ deal.The case surrounding the Iranian refugee,
  
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• China’s record trade surplus reveals its biggest strength – and hidden weakness

  09-12-2025 07:52
  Booming Chinese exports have driven trade surplus past $1tn but also reveal the extent of country’s reliance on foreign marketsA boom in exports that has pushed China’s trade surplus past $1tn for the first time reveals the extent to which its economy is still overwhelmingly reliant on foreign markets – and the difficulty figures like Donald Trump will have in trying to rebalance global trade.Data released on Monday shows that in the first 11 months of this year, China’s
  
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• Goa nightclub owners fled to Thailand hours after deadly fire, police say

  09-12-2025 06:14 via bbc.com
  Indian authorities confirmed the two brothers boarded a flight to Phuket in Thailand shortly after the incident.
  
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• It’s the world’s rarest ape. Now a billion-dollar dig for gold threatens its future

  09-12-2025 06:00
  Tapanuli orangutans survive only in Indonesia’s Sumatran rainforest where a mine expansion will cut through their home. Yet the mining company says the alternative will be worseA small brown line snakes its way through the rainforest in northern Sumatra, carving 300 metres through dense patches of meranti trees, oak and mahua. Picked up by satellites, the access road – though modest now – will soon extend 2km to connect with the Tor Ulu Ala pit, an expansion site of Indonesia&r
  
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• What is LegCo in Hong Kong – explained in 30 seconds

  09-12-2025 04:15
  LegCo elections have become devoid of meaningful opposition as Hong Kong has faced significant political repression and undergone major governance system overhauls in recent yearsHong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) acts as a mini parliament that can make and amend laws for the city. However, LegCo elections have become devoid of meaningful opposition as Hong Kong has faced significant political repression and undergone major governance system overhauls in recent years.When the former B
  
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• Trump gives Nvidia green light to sell advanced AI chips to China

  09-12-2025 03:13 via bbc.com
  Nvidia had been at the centre of a geopolitical tug-of-war between the US and China in recent months.
  
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• Dozens injured after magnitude 7.5 quake strikes northern Japan

  09-12-2025 02:38 via bbc.com
  Authorities have warned that a stronger tremor could occur in the coming days.
  
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• What IndiGo’s airport chaos says about Indian aviation

  09-12-2025 02:30
  Also in this newsletter: Parliament to debate the revision of electoral rolls, and Farooq Adam’s mantra
  
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• China’s open-source AI is a national advantage

  09-12-2025 02:00
  The models are akin to studying together to ace a test instead of relying on individual knowledge
  
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• Flight chaos brings India’s biggest airline back to earth

  09-12-2025 01:59
  Low-cost carrier IndiGo’s cancellation of thousands of flights prompts passenger fury and regulator scrutiny
  
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• A wage for housework? India's sweeping experiment in paying women

  09-12-2025 01:29 via bbc.com
  Some 118 million women in 12 Indian states receive unconditional cash transfers, one of the world’s largest experiments.
  
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• The countdown to the world’s first social media ban for children

  09-12-2025 01:25
  Under-16s will no longer be able to subscribe to popular apps under Australian groundbreaking law
  
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• Nvidia can sell H200 AI chips to China, Trump says

  08-12-2025 22:55
  US president says other chipmakers will also be allowed to export advanced semiconductors
  
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• Japan tells residents to evacuate as powerful earthquake strikes north-east

  08-12-2025 22:00
  90,000 people advised to take shelter after 7.5-magnitude quake, with 20 injuries reported A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake has shaken north-eastern Japan, injuring more than 20 people and triggering a tsunami of up to 70cm in Pacific coast communities.The earthquake and tsunami warnings prompted orders for about 90,000 residents to evacuate their homes, although the warnings were later downgraded to advisories. Continue reading...
  
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• Civilians flee as Thailand strikes targets at border with Cambodia – video

  08-12-2025 19:13
  Thailand has launched airstrikes along its disputed border with Cambodia after the two countries accused each other of breaching a ceasefire deal brokered by the US president, Donald Trump. Four Cambodian civilians and at least one Thai soldier have been killed in the renewed clashes, which have forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homesThailand launches airstrikes along disputed border with Cambodia as tensions flare Continue reading...
  
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• British universities’ reliance on Chinese fees fuelling self-censorship, say academics

  08-12-2025 17:28
  Lecturers call for improved safeguards against Beijing’s influence on UK campuses
  
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• US set to announce $12bn aid package for farmers hit by tariffs

  08-12-2025 17:14
  Bailout will help mitigate cost of the president’s trade policies to the sector
  
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• Jay-Z’s investment firm targets $500mn Korean pop culture-focused fund

  08-12-2025 16:00
  MarcyPen Capital Partners bets on K-pop’s global popularity as it agrees partnership with Hanwha Asset Management
  
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• Jay-Z investment firm targets $500mn K-pop fund

  08-12-2025 16:00
  MarcyPen Capital Partners taps into South Korea’s popularity with Hanwha Asset Management partnership
  
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• Woman handed four-year sentence for blackmailing footballer Son Heung-min

  08-12-2025 12:55
  Yang extorted £153,000 from former Spurs playerCo-conspirator receives two-year sentence in Seoul courtA woman has been sentenced in Seoul to four years in prison for blackmailing South Korean football star Son Heung-min.The woman, identified only as Yang, was charged with extorting 300 million won (£153,000) from Son in 2024 after sending him an ultrasound photo of a baby that she claimed was his and demanding money to stay silent. Continue reading...
  
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