Japan as a nuclear power, Chinas first female C919 captain: 5 weekend reads

On January 13, 2026, a large Turkish delegation, including officials from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), arrived in Dhaka to hold consultations with Bangladesh Air Force officials. Afterward, Bangladeshi officials reportedly confirmed the acquisition of six Turkish-manufactured T129 ATAK attack helicopters, as well as Hisar-O+ medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, under a US$600 million deal. Negotiations…

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 years, has been killed in US and Israeli airstrikes on his country, according to US President Donald Trump. Iran did not immediately confirm his death. As one of Iran’s longest-serving leaders, Khamenei has been almost as ubiquitous in Iranian society as his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who…

US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Saturday that President Donald Trump is questioning why Iran has not “capitulated” in the face of Washington’s military build-up aimed at pressuring them into a nuclear deal. The United States and Iran this week resumed Oman-mediated talks in Geneva aimed at averting the possibility of military action, after Washington…

As he heads out the revolving door of Japanese politics, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has two important stops on his agenda. The first will be in Busan, South Korea, for a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung next week. The two leaders have vowed tosolidify the momentumin closer relations and to make these…

When Malaysian rapper Zamaera hit send on an email to South by Southwest’s (SXSW) music team in mid-December, she had already been told she was returning to Austin as a showcasing artist. What she wanted was bigger: a stage for Malaysia, the kind Japan, Taiwan and Britain already had at the US music festival. “They…

This article was first published by Pacific Forum. It is republished with permission. When Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet on the side of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in South Korea, there will be much on their agenda, including trade, Taiwan and Ukraine. And also, according to US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent,…