The year began with promise for US-India relations. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington reinforced both countries’ intent to sustain the partnership’s momentum. Their personal rapport, forged during US President Donald Trump’s first term, appeared to offer political capital for a results-driven agenda. India entered 2025 buoyed by a bipartisan consensus in Washington that New Delhi was central to the Indo-Pacific balance.
Yet as the year closes, optimism has faded. A…
Malaysian AG says no proof linking Namewee to Taiwanese influencer’s death
Malaysia’s top prosecutor said on Wednesday that investigations into the murder probe of Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh found no evidence linking Malaysian rapper Namewee to her death, and he would be released on police bail on Thursday.
Attorney General Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar confirmed the information with This Week in Asia, saying that there was no lead to show that Namewee was involved in causing Hsieh’s death in Kuala Lumpur.
“The investigation is still ongoing, instructions for further…
Private credit funding review ‘an opportunity’ to restore trust in Australia’s debt market
Despite recent headlines highlighting risks in private credit, the asset class remains a vital and growing part of Australia’s debt market.
Carney’s Canada finally gets real about China
What a difference an administration change makes in Ottawa, even though both the current and preceding governments are from the Liberal Party.
Three years ago, Canada under Justin Trudeau labelled China a “disruptive global power”. Last month, his successor Mark Carney reached agreement with Beijing to revive the strategic partnership the two nations signed in 2005, with Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand saying the framework would be “renewed and refocused”.
“We must be nuanced in our…
‘Lone wolf’ Jakarta mosque bombing suspect inspired by neo-Nazis: police
The student suspected of detonating blasts that injured dozens of people at a mosque in Indonesia’s capital last week was motivated by vengeance and inspired by attacks carried out by white supremacists and neo-Nazis, police said on Tuesday.
The blasts, which hit a mosque at a school complex in the capital Jakarta’s Kelapa Gading area during Friday prayers, left 96 people injured.
Police said on Tuesday that seven home-made explosives had been found by Indonesian authorities in and around the…
Devil in the details as US agrees to a South Korean nuclear-powered sub
For US President Donald Trump to consent to South Korea building its own nuclear-powered submarines was unexpected – though a welcome decision for the many South Korean analysts who have long argued such vessels were urgently needed by the country’s navy.
It will have a huge impact on the US alliance with South Korea and its neighbours, not least North Korea, which is apparently building its first nuclear ballistic missile submarine with Russian technical support: not just any nuclear-powered…
LinkedIn changes gen-AI training plans after data watchdog intervenes
LinkedIn has agreed to limit the volume and nature of the user data that it will use for training its generative AI (gen-AI) system following an intervention by Ireland’s data protection authority.
Mountains protect the Philippines from typhoons. Why isn’t it protecting them?
When Typhoon Fung-wong roared towards Luzon this weekend, forecasts invoked grim memories of Haiyan, the 2013 superstorm that killed more than 6,000 people in the Philippines. In Metro Manila, residents braced for disaster.
But by dawn on Monday, the capital woke instead to light rain and an uncanny calm. Once again, Luzon’s Sierra Madre mountains – the island’s natural shield – had absorbed the storm’s worst blows.
Scientists and environmentalists hail the range as a silent guardian. But they…
Australian Treasury seeks feedback on potential foreign investment reforms
A new discussion paper surrounding foreign investment framework reforms in Australia has been released, proposing an automatic approval process for certain low-risk investments and new conditions to ensure investments are in the national interest.
How Cop30 can advance a new template for South-South climate leadership
At Cop30, the first UN climate summit held in the heart of the Amazon, the stage is set for a fundamental reframing of climate diplomacy.
For too long, the Global South has been cast as a passive aid recipient, a problem to be managed rather than a partner in solutions. But as delegates gather in Brazil’s gateway to the world’s largest rainforest, they will confront a different reality: a tropical belt that holds the keys to our climate future and a generation of evidence showing that South-led…