Headlines

US says UN aid to Afghanistan needs evaluation

March 9 - Despite what it called a humanitarian \"disaster\" in Afghanistan, the U.S. said on Monday international assistance to the country should be evaluated, given Taliban \"intransigence\" and its exclusion of the female population from basic rights.

Nvidia halts H200 production as China backs Huawei AI chips

Nvidia has reportedly halted production of its H200 artificial-intelligence (AI) chips intended for China amid rising political tensions between the United States and China and Beijing’s policy of supporting domestic chips. The company has reallocated manufacturing capacity at

Iran conflict hardens North Korea’s nuclear posture

North Korea’s list of close partners keeps shrinking. After the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria in December 2024, Iran became North Korea’s sole ally in the Middle East. Now, after the US-Israel strikes on Iran and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death, it appears that

Asia in the crosshairs as oil barrels toward $120

Oil surged to over US$119 a barrel on Monday, levels not seen since 2022, before falling back to around $100 in a whipsaw trading session driven by uncertainties around the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran. The possibility of prolonged shipping disruptions and cut supplies

Russia wanted a new world order – just not this one

Four years ago, Vladimir Putin escalated his war against Ukraine to an all-out assault. The plan was for a quick and lively campaign and a speedy takeover of a country the Russian president thought shouldn’t exist. Victory would reassert Russia’s status and hasten a shift from

US-Israel bombing aims to depopulate Iran’s capital

Residents of the Iranian capital of Tehran awoke on Sunday to an apocalyptic scene after the United States and Israel bombed the city’s oil storage facilities. A towering pillar of fire emerged in the aftermath, toxic smoke clouded out the sun and blackened rain fell on this