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This article originally published by Pacific Forum is republished with permission. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi notched a historic election win last weekend. The first woman to head a party ticket in national elections in Japan led her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to a landslide victory, claiming the most seats for a single party in…
Economic issues are expected to take centre stage at the US-China summit in April but regional security will also feature, according to former US ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns. Speaking via a video link to the Yale Centre Beijing on Tuesday, Burns said US President Donald Trump would be “right to focus on economic issues”…
US job growth beat expectations in January while unemployment crept down, official data showed on Wednesday, defying immediate concerns about labour market fragility on the back of US President Donald Trump’s economic policies. The United States added 130,000 jobs last month, the Department of Labour said, significantly higher than the 55,000 predicted in surveys by…
Hong Kong’s police chief has said that national security remains a priority despite the city’s overall stabilising social situation, citing absconders and foreign forces among lingering threats. Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming said on Wednesday the force would continue to ramp up intelligence gathering and enhance national security education among officers and the public,…
WASHINGTON — A handful of House Republicans tanked a procedural vote Tuesday night that would have kept intact a ban on congressional action against President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs. Republican Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Kevin Kiley of California joined all Democrats in a214-217 vote blocking language to continue a…
A gunman who fired shots at a school in Hat Yai district in southern Thailand on Wednesday has been detained and all the people who were held hostage have been freed, a police official told Reuters. An 18-year-old man entered the Patongprathankiriwat School in Songkhla Province earlier on Wednesday with a gun, the provincial administration…
The captain of a Hong Kong-flagged container ship has denied responsibility for severing a critical Baltic Sea gas pipeline linking Estonia and Finland three years ago. Wan Wenguo, 43, from mainland China, pleaded not guilty at Eastern Court on Wednesday to one count of criminal damage relating to the severed section of the 77km (47.8-mile)…
The Philippines is a maritime nation surrounded by multiple bodies of water, yet its approach to governing them remains fragmented, reactive and increasingly strained. Public attention has understandably focused on the West Philippine Sea, where transparency efforts have helped many Filipinos better understand the stakes. However, at a time when maritime challenges are multiplying, the…
The recent US-Bangladesh trade deal, finalized on February 9, 2026, represents an upper hand in economic preservation, securing Dhaka’s US$8 billion export corridor to the US amid an increasingly protectionist global landscape. While some analysts, including those at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) think tank, have characterized the bilateral pact as a hurried capitulation,…
China has successfully completed a crucial safety test and fired off a new-generation rocket as part of the country’s preparations for a crewed mission to the moon. Wednesday’s escape test on board the Mengzhou crew carrier was designed to ensure that astronauts could be safely returned to Earth if something went wrong during the launch….
