These CNA stories, from profile pieces to investigative work, offer a snapshot of what helped shape 2025 at home and abroad and made viewers feel deeply, think harder and see the world more clearly.
China’s push to localise automotive chips is gaining ground, but mostly in mature control systems rather than high-end computing. Observers say the main hurdles are technical, not geopolitical.
The price of China’s most prestigious drink has fallen to its lowest in years. It’s a good time for its fans, says Bloomberg Opinion’s Juliana Liu.
India is home to an estimated 100 million smokers.
WASHINGTON, Dec 31 - A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from ending deportation protections for thousands of migrants from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua after opponents argued the terminations were motivated by racial hostility.
BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH, Dec 31 - Thailand released 18 Cambodian soldiers on Wednesday under a renewed ceasefire agreed by the two countries at the weekend, authorities from both countries said, easing tensions after weeks of deadly border clashes.
Organisers held a minute’s silence for the victims of the attack at 11pm.
"We faced challenges head-on and strived diligently, successfully achieving the main goals of economic and social development," Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a New Year's Eve speech.
Beijing launched missiles and deployed dozens of fighter jets, navy ships and coastguard vessels on Monday and Tuesday around Taiwan's main island.
The idea of a Japan–India partnership in the Indo-Pacific has today acquired an almost axiomatic status in strategic discourse. It is routinely invoked as a stabilizing force, a democratic counterweight, and a pillar of the emerging regional order. Yet, to appreciate the depth
TOKYO — US President Donald Trump’s unusual fixation on criticizing the Federal Reserve is alarming policymakers and investors worldwide. However, here in Asia, it’s a uniquely personal threat, given that this region is the largest holder of US Treasury securities. The
A sea of mourners have gathered in Dhaka to pay final respects to Khaleda Zia, who died on Tuesday aged 80.
Jamaat-e-Islami had been banned from elections since 2013.
DHAKA, Dec 31 - A once-banned Bangladeshi Islamist party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in polls in February, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief told Reuters on Wednesday.
The extra tariffs apply for three years – until Dec 31, 2028.
Beijing said it appreciated Russia, Pakistan and Venezuela expressing their support for China.
MANILA, Dec 31 - The Philippines Coast Guard said it deployed an aircraft on Tuesday to challenge a Chinese research ship that serves as a base for submersible vessels after it was spotted about 19 nautical miles off the coast of northern Cagayan province.
China's economy is expected to have grown to about 140 trillion yuan (US$20 trillion) in 2025, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday (Dec 31).
There is only one lavatory containing two cubicles near the Diet’s main plenary session hall for the 73 women elected to the Lower House.
Some believe that this will protect the rich and powerful.
The icy weather is expected to continue until Jan 2.
The daughter of Jimmy Lai tells the BBC that her father's health is deteriorating in prison.
The new criminal code criminalises premarital sex and insulting the state.
JAKARTA, Dec 31 - Indonesia's new criminal code, which will make crimes of premarital sex and insulting the state when it takes effect on January 2, will need public oversight to help prevent abuse of the law, a government minister told Reuters.
Most of the workers sustained minor injuries, said an official.
China's drills this week involved dozens of fighter aircraft and navy vessels conducting live-fire drills, simulating a blockade of Taiwan's key ports and assaults on maritime targets.
The first woman to serve as prime minister in the South Asian nation died on Dec 30 aged 80.
The shape of the universe is not something we often think about. But my colleagues and I have published a new study suggests it could be asymmetric or lopsided, meaning not the same in every direction. Should we care about this? Well, today’s “standard cosmological model” –
The release is part of a new ceasefire deal after weeks of deadly clashes along the Thai-Cambodia border.
2025 is drawing to a close, so here’s one last roundup of interesting econ-related items from around the web. I don’t have any podcasts for you this week, but an episode of “Doom Debates” with Liron Shapira will be coming out soon. 1. Why Abundance is good for small business It
Dec 31 - Russia’s top general said its forces were pressing forward in northeastern Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin had ordered expansion of territory Moscow calls a buffer zone there in 2026, Russian news agencies said on Wednesday.
Turnout was about 70 per cent in Myanmar's 2020 and 2015 general elections, according to a US-based nonprofit organisation.
On December 8, the United Nations Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team released its 16th report, offering the most authoritative international assessment of governance under the Taliban administration in Afghanistan. The report highlights that
BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH, Dec 31 - Thailand on Wednesday released 18 Cambodian soldiers it had detained since July under the renewed ceasefire the two countries agreed on the weekend to end a border conflict, Cambodian and Thai authorities said.
Its Foreign Ministry said the release was done “as a demonstration of goodwill and confidence-building”.
India’s electronics story is often framed through incentives, factory announcements or ambitions around semiconductor fabrication. Yet the more consequential shift underway is quieter and more structural. India is entering a “Second Wave” of electronics and hardware
Many said the verdict raised fresh questions over the independence of the country’s institutions.
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 - Anti-graft activists in Malaysia have renewed calls for sweeping reforms to tackle corruption and prevent a repeat of 1MDB, after former Prime Minister Najib Razak was convicted last week over the $4.5 billion scandal at the state fund.
The stabbing was not life-threatening.
Enforcement operations will focus on tourist hot spots to curb the disposal of small litter.
TAIPEI, Dec 31 - Taiwan stayed on high alert on Wednesday after China staged massive military drills around the island the previous day, keeping its emergency maritime response centre running, the head of the island's coast guard said.
Dec 31 - A handbook found during a police raid on a compound used by a cyberfraud gang in the Philippines offers detailed instructions in Chinese for conducting scams and reveals a blueprint for grooming and deception.