On Thursday, January 5, Pope Francis presided over the burial of previous Pope Benedict, giving a speech that compared his predecessor to Jesus in front of tens of thousands of mourners in St. Peter’s square. Twelve pallbearers carried the wooden casket containing Benedict’s remains out of St. Peter’s Basilica and put it on the ground in front of Christendom’s biggest …

China may be reopening, with its millions of would-be tourists and other global travelers freed of nearly all Covid-19 restrictions, but many of the countries that had been waiting desperately for the return of all those lovely tourist dollars are now keeping a wary foot behind the door, if not slamming it shut. China has announced that it would eliminate …

According to the findings of a survey conducted by Milieu Insights, approximately 27% of Southeast Asians use TikTok as a search engine. This is more prevalent in Indonesia and Vietnam, where 37% of the population uses TikTok as a search engine. This implies a generational shift toward TikTok as a source for product and service information collecting among people between …

The Asia Cup, which will be played in a 50-over format, will take place in September of this year, according to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), though the schedule and the host nation have not yet been revealed. The BCCI does not want to play in Pakistan because of political tension between the two nations, despite Pakistan being the initial …

As Jakarta accepts a plan to develop an offshore gas field there, the China Coast Guard’s flagship has been patrolling the waters surrounding Indonesia’s Natuna islands in the South China Sea, according to ship monitoring data. The largest coast guard warship in the world, CCG 5901, has been in the region since December 30, according to ship tracker Marine Traffic. …

Food waste and food packaging occupy a sizable amount of landfill space worldwide. With technology that transforms food waste into takeaway boxes and other containers, AlterPacks is addressing both problems. Pre-seed funding of $1 million has been received for the Singapore-based firm, with Plug and Play APAC, Seed Capital, Earth Venture Capital, and angel investor Alice Foo all contributing. The …

Despite the temperature cooling and the ringing of holiday bells, there are few foreign tourists at Jim Thompson Farm, the popular getaway tourism destination three hours from Bangkok. The farm, which is only open for six weeks a year, draws tourists with its gorgeous flower fields and authentic local experiences. Even though the country has been completely accessible to foreign …

In its second week in the Top 10, “Glass Onion” by Rian Johnson became Netflix’s third most viewed film in terms of hours viewed in its first 10 days. During the watching window of December 26 to January 1, the sequel to “Knives Out” amassed 127 million hours seen. With 209.4 million hours, the film enters the ranks of “Red …

Do you despise the concept of innovative and immersive television programs and wish for the tale to be told in a monotonous linear projectile? Well, you should probably look into that, and you’ll dislike both Knives Out flicks, but we’re here to help.  Except for the conclusion, Netflix’s Kaleidoscope is a heist series with a twist: not only are the episodes …

ormer According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday morning for a three-day visit, during which he will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen.  Rasmussen, who also served as Denmark’s prime minister, was greeted at Taoyuan International Airport at around 7:08 a.m. by MOFA Department of European Affairs director Vincent Yao.  Rasmussen, …