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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos warned today that important laws may be derailed. — AFP pool pic

Get back to work...please: Philippine president urges senators to end boycott

The programme was a key part of Prabowo’s campaign to win the presidency in 2024, and the government has budgeted at least US$15 billion  for an ambitious bid to provide free meals to 83 million children and pregnant women across the sprawling archipelago. — AFP pic

Indonesia free meals agency HQ sealed off after investigators raid premises

People commute in heavy rain brought by severe tropical storm Jangmi in Kawasaki, Kanagawa prefecture on June 3, 2026. — AFP pic

Flood warnings issued as storm Jangmi moves towards Tokyo

Investors have also raised concerns over the fiscal impact of Prabowo’s large-scale welfare spending, including the meals programme. — AFP pic

Indonesia’s Prabowo sacks free meals agency chief over governance, food quality concerns

Trump scrapped an AI oversight order from his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden on his first day back in the White House. — Reuters pic

Trump signs AI order giving government access to powerful models

A federal judge had already temporarily blocked the White House from moving ahead with the “anti-weaponisation fund” designed to compensate people who claimed to have been treated unfairly by the US government. — Getty Images via AFP pic

Trump admin abandons US$1.8b fund to compensate supporters

A photograph shows the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes in the Burj al-Chamali area near the southern city of Tyre, on June 2, 2026. Israel continued to strike southern Lebanon on June 2, as Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked its troops there despite an apparent Washington-brokered de-escalation deal and a fourth round of US-hosted talks between Lebanon and Israel. — AFP pic

Israel, Hezbollah trade blows as diplomats meet in Washington

In February this year, the high court ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing tariffs. — Getty Images via AFP pic

US government appeals judge’s order for tariff refunds

Protestors demonstrate with police officers near Portswood Police Station in Southampton, southern England, on June 2, 2026, during a protest held in reaction to the Police's handling of the detention of victim Henry Nowak, following the conviction of his murderer Vickrum Digwa. Body camera footage of dying student Henry Nowak, who was handcuffed by British police after being stabbed by Sikh man Vickrum Digwa, and falsely accused of racially abusing his murderer sparked outrage Tuesday. — AFP pic

‘I can’t breathe’: Clashes erupt after UK police handcuff dying student

Bill Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 9, 2026. US President Donald Trump appointed on June 2, 2026 a loyalist with no national security experience as head of US intelligence yesterday -- and said he would also retain his existing jobs overseeing federal housing and mortgage policies. Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte, who also leads the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, was named as the acting director of national intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard. — AFP pic

Trump names ally Bill Pulte as US intelligence chief, despite no security experience

People gather around a giant sculpture alluding to the FIFA 2026 World Cup taken down during a protest by the National Coordination of Education Workers (CNTE) in Mexico City on June 2, 2026. Protesting teachers attacked an exhibition themed around the FIFA 2026 World Cup football tournament that had been set up on a famous avenue in Mexico City on June 2, 2026, in an effort to press their labour demands. — AFP pic

Protesting teachers in Mexico topple player statues days before World Cup

Nigel Farage called for an end to “anti-white prejudice” and recognition that “white lives matter”. — Reuters pic

UK releases footage of dying student wrongly handcuffed after fatal stabbing, sparking backlash

Record sightings have been reported again this year as the bears emerge from their winter slumber, according to local media. — Picture by Hokkaido University

Bear rampage in northern Japan leaves four injured in factories, residential area

El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. — Picture by Raymond Manuel

UN agency warns El Nino likely by August, raising risk of heatwaves, droughts and extreme weather

Cambodian soldiers ride their motorbikes as residents evacuate following clashes along the Cambodia-Thailand border in Preah Vihear province on December 8, 2025. — AFP pic

Cambodia turns to UN-backed mediation in US$300b maritime dispute with Thailand

A departures board shows a cancelled flight to Okinawa after Severe Tropical Storm Jangmi shut down the airport there as it moved toward mainland Japan, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on June 1, 2026, as airlines began suspending service across the region. — AFP pic

Tropical storm Jangmi lashes Japan, cutting power to tens of thousands and injuring nine