Ukraine sees path to Japanese arms after Tokyo eases export rules

Japan’s relaxation of its weapons-export rules opens a path for talks that could one day lead to Tokyo supplying military equipment to help Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion, Kyiv’s ambassador to Japan said.
“This allows us to talk,” Yurii Lutovinov said in an interview at Ukraine’s embassy. “Theoretically, it’s a very big step forward.”
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s move last week to ease export rules – Japan’s latest shift away from a strict post-war pacifist stance – has sparked broad…

Why Singapore, Thailand are among the world’s ‘happiest’ economies

Singapore and Thailand ranked among the world’s “least miserable” economies in an annual index compiled by a Johns Hopkins University economist, who said Southeast Asia was one of the “healthiest economic neighbourhoods” in the world.
The 2025 Hanke’s Annual Misery Index (HAMI), compiled by applied economics professor Steve Hanke, measures the “economic temperature” of a country and seeks to approximate how its average citizen experiences the economy.
This year’s HAMI found that several…

Gaming platform Roblox to require facial scans for users under 16 in Indonesia

Roblox, a gaming platform popular with kids, announced Thursday that children under 16 in Indonesia will be required to undergo facial scans to verify their age to comply with new restrictions on minors’ use of social media and digital platforms in the country.
Nicky Jackson Colaco, Roblox’s vice-president and global head of public policy, announced the changes in a press conference in Jakarta, describing them among the strictest that the company has implemented anywhere in the world.
She said…

Male pageant contestant’s viral swimsuit walk sparks body image debate in Philippines

A viral appearance in the swimsuit round by a male beauty pageant contestant in the Philippines has sparked a wider debate about male beauty standards and whether pageantry is ready to make room for people who do not fit its traditional ideals.
RJ Perkins, 21, drew widespread attention after a video showed him strutting across an outdoor stage during the swimwear segment of Mister Pampanga, held in the province of Pampanga, north of Manila.
Unlike the chiselled bodies typically associated with…