AI, Air Taxis, and the Five-Minute Fix

This week's WTF explores how technology and changing habits are reshaping the way we live and work. We look at new research suggesting overreliance on AI could weaken critical thinking, why a simple five-minute walk every hour may be the best productivity boost for office workers, and Malaysia's pl…

WTF: From the Moon to the World Cup

This week’s WTF spans everything from football and space exploration to technology and public policy. We look at the controversies surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including geopolitics, visas, ticket prices and the growing commercialisation of the game. We also examine NASA’s Artemis programme…

Trust, Technology and the Talent Shortage

This week on What’s the Focus, we explore three stories that highlight how trust is being tested in very different ways. First, intelligence agencies from the Five Eyes alliance are warning that professional networking platforms may be used to recruit individuals with access to sensitive informatio…

When Health, Technology and Aging Collide

This week on What’s the Focus, we look at three very different stories tied together by one underlying theme: how societies adapt under pressure. First, a major global study warns that mental disorders have now become the leading cause of disability worldwide, raising urgent questions about whether…

When Technology and Tourism Start Going Too Far

This week on What’s the Focus, we look at two very different stories connected by the same underlying question about excess. First, we examine the dangerous overcrowding on Mount Everest, where extreme tourism is turning one of the harshest environments on Earth into a high-altitude traffic jam. Th…

When the Real Winners Aren’t Who You Expect

This week on What’s the Focus, we look at two stories where the real story sits beneath the headline. In India, a cola war between billion-dollar beverage giants is unexpectedly fuelling a boom in commercial refrigerators, turning cold storage into the new battleground for market dominance. Meanwhi…

WTF: Virus Spillovers, Plastic Shock and Perlis Dreams

This week on WTF, we look at the growing risks of zoonotic disease spillovers as avian flu and hantavirus outbreaks raise fresh global health concerns, the emerging “plastic shock” hitting Asia as oil disruptions squeeze petrochemical supplies, and the debate sparked by Perlis’ ambition to position…

China’s Soft Power, Climate Risks & Vet Shortage

A look at China’s growing global influence through brands and commerce and whether that translates into real soft power, rising concerns over climate tipping points like the potential collapse of the AMOC, and Malaysia’s widening shortage of veterinarians and what it means for public health, food s…

Ticketmaster Trouble, Wealth Taxes & Media Crackdowns

A look at the landmark US ruling against Ticketmaster’s parent company over monopoly practices and what it means for the global live events industry, debates around proposed wealth taxes in New York and whether they could gain traction elsewhere, and the detention of a journalist in Kuwait amid a w…

WTF: Ticketmaster Trouble, Wealth Taxes & Media Crackdowns

A look at the landmark US ruling against Ticketmaster’s parent company over monopoly practices and what it means for the global live events industry, debates around proposed wealth taxes in New York and whether they could gain traction elsewhere, and the detention of a journalist in Kuwait amid a w…