ASIA

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Beijing on Monday criticized the Dalai Lama ’s first Grammy win, describing the music industry award for an audiobook, narration and storytelling as “a tool for anti-China political manipulation.”

The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, who lives in exile in India, took the award on Sunday for his book, “Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”

He said in a statement on his website that he saw the award “as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility.”

“I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility,” he added.

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South Korea's special prosecutor has formally requested the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to impose martial law in late 2024, marking one of the most dramatic legal reckonings in the country's modern political history.

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Japan has once again suspended operations at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, the facility with the largest installed nuclear power capacity in the world, only hours after one of its reactors was restarted. The announcement was made by the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, also known as Tepco, highlighting the

continued sensitivity and technical challenges surrounding nuclear energy in Japan more than a decade after the Fukushima disaster.

According to Tepco spokesperson Takashi Kobayashi, an alarm sounded during reactor start up procedures at reactor number six, located at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant north west of Tokyo. While the alarm prompted an immediate suspension of operations, Kobayashi stressed that the reactor itself remained stable and that there was no radioactive impact outside the facility. He added that Tepco is currently investigating the cause of the incident and has not yet announced when operations will resume.

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South Koreas movie of the year did not arrive with loud promotion or blockbuster expectations. Instead it came quietly, led by an indie filmmaker few people knew and centered on a teenage girl whose life refuses to be defined by a single wound. The World of Love directed by Yoon Ga eun has become one of the most talked about films in the country, earning both critical praise and unexpected commercial success.

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At least 32 people were killed and 66 others injured after a construction crane collapsed onto a moving passenger train in north-eastern Thailand on Wednesday, authorities said, in one of the country's deadliest rail disasters in recent years.

The accident occurred at about 09:00 local time in Sikhio district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, roughly 230 kilometres northeast of Bangkok. The train, travelling from the capital to Ubon Ratchathani province, was passing beneath an elevated construction site when the crane fell onto two carriages, derailing the train and briefly igniting a fire.

Officials said between 171 and 195 passengers were on board, many of them students and workers commuting for school or employment. Among the injured were a one-year-old child and an 85-year-old man, with seven people reported to be in critical condition.

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The Asian Film Awards Academy has announced a major change to the format of its upcoming 19^th edition, opting to suspend all competitive award categories and cancel the traditional red carpet ceremony. Instead, the 2026 event will take place as a scaled back gathering centered on the presentation of special honors. The decision comes in response to the deadly fire that occurred in Hong Kong last year and the lasting impact it has had on the local community.

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The U.S. government has granted approval for Nvidia to sell its advanced AI chips in China, as announced by the Department of Commerce on Tuesday. Previously, the sale of the H200, which is Nvidia's second-most advanced semiconductor, was restricted due to concerns that it could bolster China's technological and military advancements, potentially posing a competitive threat to the U.S. The Commerce Department noted that shipments of these chips to China are allowed provided that there is a sufficient supply of the processors available within the United States.