BANGKOK, Jan 29 — Healthcare centres serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after United States President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities.

WASHINGTON, Jan 29 — Microsoft and OpenAI are probing if data output from the ChatGPT maker’s technology was obtained in an unauthorised manner by a group linked to Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek, Bloomberg News reported yesterday.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 29 — Implementation of a ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Israel — due to start tomorrow — will be disastrous, the agency chief told the UN Security Council yesterday, as the United States accused it of being “irresponsible and dangerous”.

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 29 — Payments giant Visa and Elon Musk’s X are partnering to offer direct payment solutions to customers of the social media app, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters yesterday.

BERLIN, Jan 29 — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday sharply criticised Elon Musk’s backing of right-wing parties in the European Union, calling it “really disgusting” and said it was hindering democracy in the bloc.

SEOUL, Jan 28 — An Airbus plane belonging to South Korean carrier Air Busan caught fire today at Gimhae International Airport in the country’s south while preparing for departure to Hong Kong, fire authorities said.

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 — United States President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Monday to remove diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from the military, reinstate thousands of troops who were kicked out for refusing Covid-19 vaccines during the pandemic, and take aim at transgender troops.

BANGKOK, Jan 28 — Car production in Thailand dropped 17.37 per cent in December from a year earlier to 104,878 units due to lower domestic sales and exports, the Federation of Thai Industries said on Tuesday.

SINGAPORE, Jan 28 — Japanese technology shares fell on Tuesday as a global market rout sparked by the emergence of a low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence model entered day two, with investors questioning the sky-high valuation and dominance of AI bellwethers.

NEW YORK, Jan 28 — The Central Intelligence Agency has assessed that the Covid-19 pandemic is more likely to have emerged from a lab than from nature, an agency spokesperson said on Saturday.

BEIJING/NEW DELHI, Jan 28 — India and China have agreed to resume direct air services after nearly five years, India’s foreign ministry said on Monday, signalling a thaw in relations between the neighbours after a deadly 2020 military clash on their disputed Himalayan border.

HONG KONG, Jan 25—China is aiming to beef up physical education in schools, making it a core subject rather than a secondary subject, authorities said as they push for a more “holistic education” amid growing concerns about the rise in childhood obesity.

REUTERS, Jan 28 — US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok and that he would like to see a bidding war over the app.

HAMILTON (Canada), Jan 28 — The United Nations (UN) chief on Monday expressed concern over United States (US) President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of a pause in foreign assistance, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

GAZA CITY (Palestine), Jan 28 — The Palestinian group Hamas said Monday that a senior delegation led by Mohamed Darwish, the head of its Shura Council, had arrived in Egypt for an official visit to discuss the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and prisoner exchange with Israel, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 — Google Maps will change the name of “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America” once it is officially updated in the US Geographic Names System, Google said in an X post on Monday.

CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Jan 27 — Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed along the main roads leading north in Gaza on Monday, jubilant to be returning home after months of living in temporary shelter but fearing what might remain of their homes amid the bombed-out ruins.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — The synergy between Malaysia, Indonesia, and their Asean partners is important to ensure that the region's voice is heard more at the global level, especially in facing the geopolitical challenges of a world full of tension, said Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

YALA, Jan 27 — Four armed men suspected of being members of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional Pattani were killed in a shoot-out with local security forces in Kampung Charak Vakong, Kerong Pinang district in Yala province, Thailand, at 5.30am today.

SINGAPORE, Jan 27 — Singapore will conduct a pilot of autonomous or self-driving public bus services from mid-2026 for an initial period of three years, according to the republic’s Land Transport Authority (LTA).