Month: January 2026

Former army chief Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan has been arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over corruption allegations.
Also arrested were his two wives after they presented themselves at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya on Wednesday to have their statements recorded in an ongoing investigation involving military contract tenders.
Another couple was also arrested earlier in the day over the same investigation and remanded for seven days.
Muhammad Hafizuddeain and his…

Foreign money is flowing back into Southeast Asia, and analysts expect the region to remain a draw for global investors even as geopolitical tensions and domestic political risks cloud the outlook.
Emerging Southeast Asian markets recorded US$337 million of equity inflow in December last year, the highest monthly figure since September 2024, according to a Bloomberg report.
These economies include Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Analysts say the rebound points to…

An update to the German code on civil procedure that came into force on 1 January 2026 could lead to an increase in number of claims supported by AI, experts have said.

Major projects are less likely to be delayed, go over budget, and become the subject of disputes if legal teams earmarked to support on different phases of the project are better integrated from a project’s outset.

Indian exporters of products ranging from home decor to leather shoes are worried about missing the US summer shopping season if they are unable to lock in orders in January as trade deal talks drag on between New Delhi and Washington.
This will be the decisive month for sealing the trade pact so contracts can be secured for the first half of 2026, according to half a dozen local exporters. The punitive 50 per cent US tariffs since August already hurt the exporters’ order volumes in the…

When ships from China and the Philippines encounter each other near the Second Thomas Shoal, most incidents are resolved without diplomatic intervention. No shots fired, no ministerial calls, no carrier deployments. Within days, encounters are logged, reviewed and absorbed into routine reporting channels.
That administrative resolution reveals how stability is maintained in the South China Sea. Debate over these waters still defaults to navies, deterrence and great power rivalry. However, most…

A blunt White House social media post following the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has drawn unexpected attention among South Koreans online, where users quickly identified the photo’s background as a South Korean airport and began speculating about whether its use carried a hidden message.
The post, uploaded on Saturday to the White House’s official social media accounts, featured a black-and-white image of US President Donald Trump walking up the stairs, stamped with the acronym…

The Armed Forces of the Philippines has hailed the sudden arrest of retired air force general Romeo Poquiz over inciting to sedition as within the “rule of law”, after a video surfaced of him openly urging the military chief to withdraw support for President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, whom he described as a drug addict.
The country’s leader is grappling with a spiralling corruption scandal over billions of pesos squandered on anomalous flood control projects.
Amid mounting public outrage, the…

Policymakers have drawn up plans to enable manufacturers of medicines developed with the benefit of biotechnology to operate free from competition in the EU market for an extra year than they might do currently.

Restrictions on the advertising of less healthy food and drinks now apply in the UK.