Month: January 2026

Indonesia has placed “resilience” at the heart of its foreign policy this year, pitching it as a way to keep the country from being buffeted by intensifying rivalry among the world’s major powers.
But analysts say the concept, though rhetorically appealing, lacks clear objectives and a long-term strategy – running the risk of Jakarta’s diplomacy becoming more transactional and drifting away from its stated values of non-alignment, multilateralism and respect for international law.
In his annual…

Japan welcomed a record 42.7 million foreign visitors in 2025, fuelled by a weak yen that made it one of the world’s cheapest major tourist destinations, but the boom may already have peaked.
The number is expected to decline this year amid a political row between Japan and China, and staff shortages in the tourism sector, according to industry forecasts, potentially complicating the government’s ambition to attract 60 million overseas visitors by 2030.
In comparison, 31.9 million tourists…

Malaysian anti-corruption authorities have opened two investigation papers into a man bearing the title “Tan Sri” over his alleged involvement in a large-scale investment fraud amounting to more than 300 million ringgit (US$75 million).
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had arrested two individuals and carried out searches at five premises around the Klang Valley earlier in the week following information received.
Preliminary investigations found that between 2021 and 2024, nearly…

UPDATED: Luxembourg is set to overhaul its carried interest tax regime to better attract active fund management and other front-office talent, after a new law was voted in on 22 January.

AusEnergy Services Limited (ASL) is seeking market feedback on a proposed long-term energy service agreement (LTESA) for hybrid projects, particularly solar plus battery projects, in New South Wales.

Tim Leissner, the former Goldman Sachs banker who admitted his role in one of the largest financial frauds in history, is seeking a presidential pardon before he surrenders to a federal prison in the US.
Leissner filed his pardon application to the US Justice Department last year, according to a notice on the DOJ website. It was submitted between September 3 and November 18, according to archived copies posted on lawyeroyer.com.
Leissner, Goldman’s former Southeast Asia chairman, pleaded guilty…

The recent drama surrounding US action in Venezuela, its renewed interest in Greenland and tariff threats on governments that object, along with comments on Cuba, Colombia and Mexico, appear disjointed – part diplomacy, part law enforcement, part political theatre.
Like many observers, I rely on the news to try to make sense of the policy logic and what it may mean for those who have to live with its consequences.
Washington’s rationale for its actions in Venezuela was initially framed as law…

The Supreme Court has ruled that a contractor does not have the immediate right to terminate a construction contract simply because a client has made two late payments.

Financial services firms operating in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) have been instructed to significantly enhance the way they identify, manage and mitigate conflicts of interest following the publication of a comprehensive thematic review by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).

Former prime minister Han Duck-soo’s conviction and unexpectedly harsh prison sentence have sent shock waves through South Korea’s establishment and cast a shadow over impeached ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol, awaiting his own verdict next month.
Analysts say the ruling not only dismantles Yoon’s legal narrative that his short-lived martial law decree fell within presidential authority, but also signals that the courts are prepared to impose the heaviest penalties yet for what they formally define…