Ho Chi Minh City police have issued a warning about an alarming rise in online scams targeting individuals seeking jobs in Australia and South Korea, leaving many victims financially defrauded.

The top military officers of South Korea and Australia held phone talks Monday and concurred on the need to expand cooperation, such as combined drills and personnel exchange, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

“Over the course of next year, Putin will likely face mounting domestic problems. Russia’s central bank has forecast economic growth of 0.5 to 1.5 per cent in 2025, down from 3.5 to 4 per cent in 2024, suggesting that the wartime boom may have run its course.”

Control of Korea Zinc, the world’s largest producer of zinc, is at stake in a battle challenging the country’s entrenched chaebol system of powerful conglomerates.

The new Trump administration’s recommitment to the Quad this week will give Australia – and fellow members Japan and India – cause for optimism even as it compounds an aura of irrelevance now hanging over the ASEAN bloc.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has blasted opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien’s nuclear fact-finding mission to South Korea, labelling the study tour a “last-ditch” attempt to make the ­Coalition’s planned tilt towards atomic energy stack-up.

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The South Korean government will reduce subsidies for biomass energy after rising domestic and international criticism of its link to deforestation. Environmental activists generally applauded the reforms but criticized loopholes and slow timelines for phasing out the subsidies.

Parental supervision features strengthened to protect from explicit content Instagram launched Teen Accounts in South Korea on Wednesday, a feature designed to protect teen users from explicit content and inappropriate contact.

South Korean investigators recommended Thursday that impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol be charged with insurrection and abuse of power, as they handed over the results of their probe into his ill-fated declaration of martial law to prosecutors.

Hegseth responded at the heated Senate confirmation hearing that he couldn’t tell Duckworth the exact number of ASEAN nations, but that “I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan in AUKUS (a pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S.) with Australia.”

North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) met over two days this week and reported on its achievements during 2024 but state media made no mention of anticipated changes to the constitution that would further cement its hostile policy towards South Korea.