Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling coalition is likely to win big in Japan’s lower house election on February 8. Hopefully, Washington recognizes what it has with Takaichi. Among major US allies, Japan is the only one that is taking its defense seriously and not cozying
China is paradoxical. Two incredibly different narratives can be correct at the same time: its economy is slowing sharply, and its exporters are becoming an even bigger competitive force. But this contradiction is not really a contradiction. A development model that helped turn
Thailand’s Feb 8 snap election is shaping up as a three-way contest, with voters weighing stability against reform and political legacy against change.
After almost a year of fear, policy uncertainty and lost orders, India’s exporters tell CNA the latest US tariff cut offers relief - but not clarity.
Key US strategy documents indicate that Southeast Asia is not high on the list of priorities, but the region cannot disengage, says Kevin Chen from the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
Many made-in-Malaysia CNY tunes are jaunty, with lyrics in a mix of Mandarin, Chinese dialects, English and even Malay.
Pakistan has said it will boycott its match with India scheduled in Colombo on Feb 15.
Originally published by Pacific Forum, this article is republished with permission. In the early 1990s, President Lech Wałęsa envisioned Poland becoming a “second Japan” – an advanced economy with cutting-edge technology. Today, Polish observers note with irony that Japan may
A CORUNA, Spain, Feb 5 - Around a third of countries attending a military AI summit agreed on Thursday to a a declaration on how to govern deployment of the technology in warfare, but military heavyweights China and the U.S. opted out.
Feb 5 - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he retained the right to \"militarily secure\" a joint US-UK airbase in the Chagos Archipelago following \"productive\" discussions with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Mr Trump added in his Truth Social post that they will meet on March 19 at the White House.
Feb 5 - U.S President Donald Trump on Thursday said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had his \"total endorsement\" ahead of a legislative election in the east Asian country on Sunday, adding that they would meet March 19 at the White House.
QUETTA, Feb 5 - Pakistan's military said on Thursday it had concluded a week-long operation against separatists in Balochistan who stormed more than a dozen locations, taking hostages, setting off explosives and waging gun battles with security forces.
China sends warplanes and warships into the skies and waters around the island on a daily basis.
Feb 5 - At least 16 people were killed and more were feared trapped after an explosion at an unauthorised coal mine in India's northeastern state of Meghalaya, an official said, the latest in a series of similar incidents in the region in recent years.
The blast was at a "rat-hole" mine, where tunnels are just big enough for workers to get through.
Residents and business owners documented red spray-painted messages at more than 40 locations.
The operation targeted the illegal sale of cigarettes in central Hat Yai.
CCTV footage of the incident shows the small lift engulfed in flames for a split second.
Malaysia's health ministry detected the TB cluster in the area on Jan 25.
The two issues have previously emerged as key choke points in China-US relations.
The Union Budget 2026-27 has allocated 200 billion rupees (US$2.2 billion) to the Research, Development and Innovation fund, signaling a possible renewed commitment to scientific development. However, only 30 billion rupees ($331 million) of the previous budget’s allocation has
BAKU, Feb 5 - An Azerbaijani military court issued long prison sentences on Thursday to 13 former officials of Nagorno-Karabakh, where ethnic Armenians maintained an unrecognised breakaway statelet for three decades until Baku restored military control in 2023.
MOSCOW, Feb 5 - Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that it had expelled a German diplomat in response to what it said was Berlin's unfounded expulsion of a Russian diplomat accused of espionage in January.
KYIV, Feb 5 - Ukraine and Russia concluded a second day of U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to end Europe's most destructive conflict since World War Two, agreeing to a major prisoner swap, the first such exchange in five months, officials said.
KYIV, Feb 5 - Starlink internet terminals used by the Russian military on the battlefield in Ukraine have been deactivated, Ukraine said on Thursday, in what one official described as a \"disaster\" for Moscow that had disrupted its assault operations in many areas.
LONDON, Feb 5 - The captain of a container ship that crashed into a U.S. tanker off Britain's east coast last year was jailed for six years on Thursday for causing the death of a crew member through gross negligence.
Student unions at Hong Kong universities were once hotbeds of political activism in 2019.
Feb 5 - Democratic U.S. senators on Thursday urged the Pentagon to conduct an immediate review of SpaceX amid allegations that Chinese investors have secretly acquired stakes in the closely held rocket maker, citing potential national security risks, according to a letter seen
A restaurant in Seremban, Malaysia, has been ordered to close for two weeks after a viral video allegedly showed a staff member rinsing cooked food, including chicken and tofu, to be offered for sale again the next day.
United States Forces Korea (USFK), established in 1957, maintains deterrence and strengthens the US-South Korea alliance on the Korean Peninsula. Through continuous training, intelligence sharing and capability development with South Korea’s military, the Republic of Korea
Feb 5 - Ukraine's military said on Thursday it had carried out a series of \"successful\" strikes in January on a launch site for Russian intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
Heavy snowfall will continue in some parts of northern and western areas through the weekend.
The sisters were “denied access” to K-Pop music and Korean games and movies.
The US-listed e-commerce firm has been under a government probe over the 2025 personal data breach.
BEIJING, Feb 5 - China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding national sovereignty and security and \"opposes unwarranted interference by external forces\", China's foreign minister told his Cuban counterpart on Thursday, as the U.S. tightens the screws on the island nation.
MOSCOW, Feb 5 - The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia would continue taking a responsible approach to strategic nuclear stability, despite the expiry of the last nuclear arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington.
Officials said DDP attracted 17.1 million people last year alone.
He already had his public service licence cancelled.
GENEVA, Feb 5 - U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk appealed for $400 million on Thursday to address mounting human rights needs in countries such as Sudan and Myanmar, after donor funding cuts drastically reduced the work of his office and left it in \"survival mode\".
The bans will be on Feb 14 and 15, and Feb 21 and 22, 2026.
Nearly 53 million eligible voters across Thailand will choose their preferred member of Parliament and the party they like best.
At the CNA Summit held in Jakarta on Thursday (Feb 5), Indonesia’s Investment and Downstream Industry Minister Rosan Perkasa Roeslani called for more collaboration between the government, private sector and foreign investors.
NEW DELHI, Feb 5 - India and the United States expect to sign a long-awaited formal trade deal in March, after which New Delhi will reduce tariffs on U.S. goods, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.
Washington is expected to cut duties on Indian exports to 18 per cent from 50 per cent.
