Month: July 2025

The United States has deployed its most advanced fighter aircraft, the F-35, to the Philippines for the first time, a move analysts say signals Washington’s intent to stress-test forward combat readiness in a region increasingly shaped by China’s maritime assertiveness.
The arrival of the stealth jets for the Cope Thunder joint air drills – launched on Monday at Clark Air Base and running until July 18 – reflects a more tangible form of deterrence, experts say, as the Philippines becomes further…

Warranties, indemnities, and exemption clauses can provide contractual assurance and protection to businesses when things go wrong.

Southeast Asian nations are scrambling to recalibrate their approach to US tariffs ahead of a key diplomatic gathering that starts in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, as Washington’s preference for one-on-one trade deals casts doubt over Asean’s collective bargaining power.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced a delay to the next round of his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs – pushing the deadline from July 9 to August 1 – to give time for finalising deals with 18 major trade partners,…

Senior Malaysian lawmakers are calling for both a royal inquiry and a parliamentary investigation into Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim over alleged irregularities in judicial appointments, warning that such actions risk plunging the country’s judiciary into scandal once again.
Last week, Anwar’s administration declined to extend the tenure of widely respected chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim. This leaves the future leadership of the…

Brics leaders have called for stronger cohesion, expanded trade and increased use of local currency to improve the Global South’s clout as an alternative to Western power, even as the bloc of emerging markets maintains ties and partnerships with wealthier countries.
As two new members joined the New Development Bank, also known as the “Brics bank”, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told business leaders and investors on Saturday that this delicate balancing act and bid for greater momentum…

Vietnam breathed a sigh of relief when US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal had been struck between Hanoi and Washington. The Vietnam Stock Index reached its highest level since April 2022, indicating confidence that export stability had been achieved.
On the face of it, the deal is highly unbalanced, with US exports to Vietnam enjoying tariff-free market access, while Vietnamese exports in the other direction now face a 20 per cent rate, slightly over twice last year’s average rate…

Expertly switching between woks as he whips up appam, the coconut and rice batter pancakes that draw morning commuters to his roadside stall in a Kuala Lumpur suburb, Raj Kumar harbours anxieties that simmer away beneath the calm: petrol subsidy cuts are looming and prices may soon rise again.
At 44, Raj feels every shift in Malaysia’s rising cost of living – both in the prices he pays for ingredients and the rueful faces of his customers.
“Our suppliers raised prices after diesel subsidies were…

In his new memoir Ink and Influence: An OB Markers Sequel, Cheong Yip Seng reflects on the intersection of geopolitics, media, and identity through the lens of his long career as editor-in-chief of The Straits Times. In this excerpt, Cheong recounts a revealing moment during an official visit to China in 1976 with then-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. Among the officials present was S.R. Nathan, later Singapore’s sixth president, who witnessed Lee subtly rebuff a Chinese attempt to influence the…

The development of real estate tokenisation in Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) underscores the unwavering commitment by the region’s regulators to embrace fractional ownership of real estate, experts have said.

EU policymakers have been urged to apply a two-year postponement to EU AI Act rules due to take effect next month.