In a bid to escape the soaring summer temperatures now becoming the norm across Japan, cities are moving traditional festivals – including beloved fireworks displays – to spring and autumn for the sake of safety and comfort. One of the most prominent examples is Tokyo’s century-old Adachi Fireworks Festival, which will take place on May […]
Read MoreFrench President Emmanuel Macron bestowed Indonesia’s leader with France’s top award during a visit to a military base on Thursday, before a trip to the world’s largest Buddhist temple. Macron’s visit to Indonesia is the second stop of a three-nation, six-day tour of Southeast Asia that began with Vietnam and concludes in Singapore. After meeting […]
Read MoreJi Siqiin Beijing Economic tensions between the US and China are rising under the weight of tariffs and spreading into areas where it is harder to reach a consensus – namely, advanced technology – analysts say in the wake of Washington’s reported moves to pause exports of products and technologies related to semiconductor design and […]
Read MoreSatellite imagery shows China landed two of its most advanced bombers in the disputed Paracel islands in the South China Sea this month – a gesture that some analysts described as Beijing’s latest signalling of its growing military capabilities to rivals. The deployment marks the first time the long-range H-6 bombers have landed on Woody […]
Read MoreThe Economist’s latest printed edition for Asia featuring Vietnam’s top leader To Lam on its cover has been banned in Vietnam, sources at two local media distributors told Reuters, in a new instance of censorship in the Communist-run country. The May 24 issue, which is still available in the country in its electronic version, portrays […]
Read MoreUS Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth will try to convince Asian defence leaders this weekend that the United States is a more trusted partner for the region than China, US officials told Reuters, as questions linger about the Trump administration’s commitment to the region. Hegseth, who has spent a large portion of his first months on […]
Read MoreTokyo, May 28, 2025: Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday reiterated that a general election will be held in Bangladesh by June next year under any circumstances to carry forward the reform initiatives taken by the current interim government. Professor Yunus renewed the vow when former Japanese Prime Minister and Japan-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship League […]
Read MoreBy Rajeev Ahmed The Idea of ‘Eurasia’ Is More Viable Than ‘Europe’ In the shifting tectonics of 21st-century geopolitics, the concept of Eurasia is emerging as a more strategically viable and inclusive vision than the narrower, often insular construct of Europe. The latter, increasingly defined by the confines of the European Union and the transatlantic […]
Read MoreKUALA LUMPUR: Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah was admitted to the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday due to fatigue, Malaysian government sources confirmed to AFP. The sultan is in Kuala Lumpur with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders, who are meeting on Tuesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and dignitaries from […]
Read MoreBy Catherine Putz In 2013, Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced the land-based portion of what we now call the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in a speech delivered in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. More than a decade – and more than a trillion dollars in FDI across Asia, Africa and Latin America – later, China is […]
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