AseanPlus News

South Korea’s unseasonal temperatures spark rise in heat illnesses

Unseasonal heat in May has led to a surge in heat-related illnesses across South Korea, with 44 patients hospitalised over the past week – a dramatic 22-fold increase compared with the same period in 2024.

World

Pakistan to offer US firms concessions on mining investment in tariff talks, says minister

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan plans to offer concessions to U.S. companies to invest in its mining sector as part of negotiations with Washington over tariffs, its commerce minister told Reuters, as Islamabad seeks to capitalize on the Trump administration's interest in boosting trade with South Asia.

World

Russia, Ukraine each free first 390 prisoners in start of war's biggest swap

CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners on Friday and said they would free more in the coming days, in what is expected to be the biggest prisoner swap of the war so far.

World

UN rights chief urges warring sides in South Sudan to 'pull back from the brink'

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations rights chief urged on Friday for warring sides in South Sudan to pull back from the brink, warning that the human rights situation risks further deterioration as fighting intensifies.

Technology

Surge pricing and midnight discounts: EV charging rates go dynamic

Nearly 40% of the country's 10,700 or so public fast-charging stations recently started adjusting rates often and aggressively, based on a myriad of factors that skew the supply-demand equation, from weather and events to holiday travel spikes and fluctuating electricity rates.

World

Sweden lowers national threat level

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden's security service said on Friday it had lowered the national threat assessment by one notch to "elevated" from "high", citing a gradual change in the overall situation.

World

Tanzania releases Ugandan activist at border, Kenyan colleague alleges torture

KAMPALA (Reuters) -Tanzania has released the second of two foreign activists who had come to support an opposition leader charged with treason, her organisation said on Friday, after a Kenyan fellow activist said they had both been badly tortured.  

World

EU, US authorities take down malware network

PARIS (Reuters) -European, American and Canadian authorities have taken down over 300 servers worldwide and issued international arrest warrants against 20 suspects in a crackdown on malware, EU agency for criminal justice cooperation Eurojust said in a statement, the latest phase in Operation Endgame.

World

Bangladesh's Yunus could quit over lack of reform progress, student leader says

DHAKA (Reuters) -Bangladesh's de-facto prime minister has threatened to step down if political parties cannot agree on reforms that citizens await with growing impatience, a top student leader has said, deepening uncertainty in the wake of deadly protests last year.

Technology

Protesters yell ‘Shame!’ at guests of Trump’s memecoin dinner

Top holders of Donald Trump's memecoin and other guests were greeted by protesters as they arrived for a dinner with the president at his golf club outside of Washington on May 22, a day which saw Bitcoin extend its record high amid optimism about US government support for the crypto industry. 

Video games

Doom: The monster-slaying game you can play almost anywhere

For decades, tech enthusiasts have made the 1993 video game Doom playable on screens of all sizes, including treadmills, calculators and pregnancy tests.

World

South Korea's defence ministry says no talks held with US on troop withdrawal

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's defence ministry said on Friday that Seoul and Washington had not had discussions about the withdrawal of some U.S. troops stationed in the country.

World

Death toll in Australia floods rises to four, tens of thousands stranded

SYDNEY (Reuters) -The body of a man was found in a car trapped in floodwaters in Australia's southeast on Friday, raising the death toll to four, after three days of incessant rain cut off entire towns, swept away livestock and destroyed homes.

World

North Korea launches probe into accident during warship's launch

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea has begun a full-scale investigation into the accident that occurred during the launch of a warship this week, state media KCNA reported on Friday.

World

US indicts Russian accused of ransomware attacks

(Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday unsealed charges against a Russian national accused of leading the development and deployment of malicious software that infected thousands of computers over more than a decade.

World

US to impose sanctions on Sudan after finding government used chemical weapons

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States will impose sanctions on Sudan after determining its government used chemical weapons in 2024 during the army's conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the State Department said on Thursday.

World

Archaeologists identify owner of 3,000-year-old Luxor tomb

CAIRO, May 22 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian-Canadian archaeological team has identified the owner of a 3,000-year-old tomb in Luxor, Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Thursday.

World

U.S. stocks close mixed as Trump's tax bill passes House

NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks finished little changed on Thursday, as investors digested the House of Representatives's narrow passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tax legislation and its potential impact on the nation's growing debt.

World

Britain's public borrowing up 1 bln pounds in April: ONS

LONDON, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Public borrowing in the United Kingdom (UK) surged to 20.2 billion British pounds (27.07 billion U.S. dollars) in April, marking the fourth-highest level since monthly records began in 1993, official data showed Thursday.

World

Former Ukrainian commander says Ukraine cannot restore post-Soviet borders, media report says

(Reuters) -Ukraine should abandon any notion of restoring its borders established with the 1991 collapse of Soviet rule or even those dating from the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion, the country's former military commander was quoted as saying on Thursday.