Nepal’s President Ram Chandra Poudel on Friday named former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki as the country’s interim prime minister, marking the first time a woman has led the nation’s government. The appointment followed widespread unrest that led to the downfall of the previous administration. Acting on Karki’s recommendation, the president also dissolved the […]
Read MoreBy Julian Ryall Tokyo will close all six of its government-funded Japan Centre offices in Russia – long tasked with promoting trade, language education and business ties – citing major changes in bilateral relations and the view that their mission has run its course. While Japanese officials framed the move as a functional decision, analysts […]
Read MoreBy Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesia is seeking China’s help to build a US$80 billion giant sea wall along the northern coast of Java in a project that officials see as essential to protecting millions of residents and key industries from rising seas and sinking land, despite criticisms over its financial and environmental costs. President Prabowo […]
Read MoreBy Hadi Azmi Malaysia’s most famous shopping centre edged closer to a damaging boycott after threatening to throw out a second group of pro-Palestinian protesters carrying flags, prompting calls for a mass gathering inside the plaza after Friday prayers. The management of Suria KLCC shopping arcade – at the bottom of the Petronas Twin Towers […]
Read MoreBy Shi Huang When it was officially announced in late August that statistician Liu Jun had left Harvard University and joined Tsinghua University in Beijing, speculation ran rampant. Was it political tension? Research funding cuts? A backlash against Chinese academics in the US? For Liu, the answer is simple – and deeply personal. It “has […]
Read MoreBy Hadi Azmi Malaysian mothers are being pressed into acting as “personal debt collectors” as fathers refuse or fail to pay child maintenance, a study published this week has found, with weak enforcement in the country’s sharia courts identified as an aggravating factor. The 2024 Telenisa Report by women’s rights group SIS Forum, released on […]
Read MoreBy Maria Siow India is keen on tariff talks with the United States, but it is expected to stand its ground even as their bilateral relations sour on issues ranging from trade to foreign policy. In the face of the 50 per cent tariff imposed on Indian goods, Delhi is neither “desperate nor cornered”, according […]
Read MoreBy David D. Lee When North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rose from his chair after a two-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin in Beijing last week, aides swooped in almost instantly, polishing the table and scrubbing the seat he had just occupied. The bizarre spectacle was not just political theatre or a quirk of the supreme […]
Read MoreBy Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s cabinet reshuffle is a “tactical” step to restore public trust in the government, according to analysts, but they argue it will not be enough to quell the unrest among protesters if it does not lead to more systemic reform. The shake-up on Monday saw the departure of […]
Read MoreNepal’s week-long youth-led protests have already toppled Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, and attention is swiftly turning to Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, better known as “Balen”, as the face of a possible new leadership. Demonstrations, driven largely by Gen Z, erupted after the government banned 26 major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and […]
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