Commentary: ASEAN’s energy crisis is not about energy

The security architecture that was supposed to protect the flow of energy to Southeast Asia has become the source of its interruption, says an academic.

US Democrats will try, and try again, to rein in Trump's Iran war powers

WASHINGTON, April 14 - The U.S. Senate will vote as soon as Wednesday on the latest Democratic-led effort to rein in President Donald Trump's war powers, and party leaders promised on Tuesday to keep bringing up such resolutions as long as the Iran war continues.

US-Indonesia defence ties upgrade: What Jakarta hopes to gain

President Prabowo Subianto may use the defence pact to turn Indonesia's strategic location into leverage without choosing sides.

IMF warns Trump’s Iran war could unleash global recession

The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that the US-Israeli war on Iran could slow global economic growth, stoke inflation, and increase the possibility of a worldwide recession and energy crisis. The war being waged by US President Donald Trump and the government of

Around 250 missing after Rohingya boat capsizes in Andaman Sea, UN agencies say

A trawler bound for Malaysia reportedly sank due to heavy winds, rough seas and overcrowding.

‘Unreliable partner’: China has been hoarding oil during Middle East war, says US Treasury’s Bessent

Mr Bessent told reporters he had spoken with Chinese officials about the issue.

Fertiliser shortages due to Iran war are a key worry for developing world, UN agency says

BRUSSELS, April 14 - Fertiliser shortages due to the Iran war are a pressing concern for developing countries and gains from rising oil and gas prices for developing world producers are likely to be short-lived, the head of the United Nations trade agency said on Tuesday.

Trump says Iran talks could resume over next two days, NY Post reports

WASHINGTON, April 14 - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran talks could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, according to an interview with the New York Post.

Trump and Modi stress need to keep Strait of Hormuz open in call

April 14 - U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure in a call on Tuesday, Modi said in a post on X.

Trump turns on Meloni, says he is 'shocked' by Italian leader

ROME, April 14 - U.S. President Donald Trump told an Italian newspaper on Tuesday he was \"shocked\" by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and had expected her to be more courageous, delivering a blunt public rebuke to one of his closest European allies.

Trump’s son Eric to join father's state visit to China

WASHINGTON, April 14 - U.S. President Donald Trump's son Eric Trump and his wife, Lara, will accompany the president on his trip next month to China, a spokeswoman for the family organization told Reuters on Tuesday.

In Hormuz war of words, US illustrates threat with ‘drug boat’ hit

On Monday, US President Donald Trump threatened to expand his administration’s boat-bombing spree to Iranian vessels that “come anywhere close” to the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that the president had ordered over the weekend. Trump wrote on social media that

Former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad says he has lost control of his leg after a fall

Recounting the incident, the former prime minister said that after three months, he can now stand but likened it to having "no legs".

China faces Trump’s Iran offensive in the Hormuz Strait

US President Donald Trump’s decision to block ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz presents China with a sticky choice: to accept Trump’s prohibition on trade with Iran, Beijing’s staunch ally, or challenge the closure and turn this Middle East conflict into a duel between

In India, $1 housekeepers spark a consumer, worker frenzy despite safety risks

MUMBAI, April 14 - At Indian startup Pronto's training hub, women hone their chopping and mopping skills while learning how to send SOS signals if they feel unsafe inside customers' homes. They are set to join India's newest consumer craze: house help for $1 an hour.

Despite Israeli firepower, Netanyahu struggles for political gains in Iran war

DUBAI, April 14 - The Iran war was meant to deliver a defining victory over Tehran that would secure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's place in history. More than six weeks into the conflict, he has been unable to translate military might into political gain.

Former Malaysian PM Mahathir says he has lost control of his leg after a fall

“I can stand now but I can’t control the leg,” he said in an interview posted on Instagram.

Hormuz mission talks to focus on sanctions, work with industry – source

PARIS, April 14 - Discussion led by Britain and France of steps to open the Strait of Hormuz will include possible financial sanctions on Iran if it keeps the waterway blocked, and steps to work with industry to resume shipping, a source said on Tuesday.

Malaysia brings home high-value art, including a Picasso, seized in 1MDB probe

Russian missile kills five in Ukraine's Dnipro, officials say

April 14 - A Russian missile strike on Tuesday killed at least five civilians in Ukraine's southeast city of Dnipro, and injured over two dozen more, Ukrainian officials said.

Malaysia to boost biodiesel use to cope with Middle East conflict fallout

The government has agreed to increase its 10 per cent biodiesel mandate to a 15 per cent biodiesel blend.

US forces to join combat drills in Philippines to show commitment to Asia while fighting Iran

South Korea can’t build enough stadiums to host its K-pop stars

The reasons include soaring demand for tickets, capital costs, land shortages, lawsuits, and bureaucratic obstacles.

From farms to labs, Indonesia bets on better seeds to boost food security

As Indonesia works to secure its food future, the answer may well lie in something small but powerful: the seeds planted today.

Four 1MDB-linked pieces of art, including a Picasso, safely returned to Malaysia

The four pieces of art are worth close to RM800,000 (S$258,000).

New hope of forever home, new name for Kuala Lumpur’s loyal ‘traffic dog’ Jon

“He was an extremely friendly, curious and smart boy," said an independent rescuer.

Malaysia among highest globally in support of under-16 social media ban, survey finds

Among the countries surveyed, support for the ban is highest in Malaysia, India and France.

Medieval Christian tropes inflaming Islamophobic Iran war debate

The war with Iran is not just a geopolitical conflict. We see religious rhetoric used to cast strategic interests as a moral or sacred matter. US House Speaker Mike Johnson described Iran’s majority faith tradition, Shiite Islam, as a “misguided religion” while discussing the

Japan suspends new visas for foreign restaurant workers as quota nears

This is the first restriction of its kind since the current limit was set.

China’s BYD says fire broke out at parking garage in Shenzhen; no casualties

According to experts, EVs burn differently than cars with internal combustion engines.

China calls US blockade of Iran ports ‘dangerous and irresponsible’

Xi Jinping vowed Beijing would play a “constructive role” in promoting peace in the Middle East.

How the US blockade of Iranian ports could impact China and India, with wider spillover effects

China buys about 90% of Iran's crude exports, while India recently received its first Iranian oil and gas shipments.

EU loan aims to keep Ukraine war going until 2029

Viktor Orban’s “democratic ouster” is expected to remove Hungary’s procedural opposition to the EU’s planned 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine, to be financed by members raising common debt. State-run RT published a detailed article about this plan last December, which

Tokyo aquarium recycles fishnets into employees’ uniforms to fight waste

It aims to raise awareness about marine debris through this initiative.

10 Taiwanese charged with spying for China

Nine of the defendants were accused of handing over classified military information in exchange for money.

Vietnam's top leader To Lam arrives in China for first state visit

The 68-year-old assumed the presidency while retaining his role as Communist Party chief – a dual mandate analysts say could bolster Vietnam’s global ambitions.

China's Xi says rule of law must be upheld for Middle East peace

The Chinese president vowed that China will play a "constructive role" in promoting peace talks in the Middle East, according to the Xinhua news agency.

90-year-old woman jailed in South Korea for laundering son’s drug money

Her son, in his 60s, is a trafficking ringleader currently jailed in Cambodia.

South Korea's Lee warns Iran war to keep oil price high, orders quick aid rollout

The government should treat prolonged disruption in global energy and raw materials markets as a given and reinforce its emergency response system, said President Lee Jae Myung in a Cabinet meeting.

Jewellery found in 1MDB-related raid too many to itemise, witness tells court

Police found 71 luggage bags, a plastic box and more than 200 boxes in the unit, the court heard.

Ex-teacher in Japan gets 2 years’ jail for sharing indecent student images

Katsuya Ishikawa, 28, is a member of an alleged teachers’ voyeurism ring in a case that came to light in 2025.

Third China Shock exposing US’s broken defense economics

In the opening months of 2026, a fierce, 40-day conflagration between Iran, the United States and Israel upended decades of received wisdom regarding military power. The conflict did not hinge on the stealth of an F-35 fighter or the sophistication of an Aegis radar array.

Indonesian authorities raid allegedly illegal ‘laughing gas’ warehouse amid reports of abuse

Nitrous oxide, which is used as a propellant or sedative, is often abused to induce euphoria.

China vows ‘countermeasures’ if Trump tariff threat materialises

The US President said he would hit China’s goods with a tariff if it gave Iran military assistance.

Japan halts new foreign worker intake for food services as quota nears

Businesses warn of hiring difficulties as the sector approaches its cap under the country’s specified skilled worker programme.

India’s Uttar Pradesh state raises workers’ wages amid protests over pay

The wage hike ordered this week will be applicable retrospectively from April 1.

Philippines, US military drills underscore Washington's defence commitment, US official says

MANILA, April 14 - The latest round of military drills involving the Philippines, the United States and several partner nations will underscore Washington's \"ironclad\" commitment to its treaty ally and to the region, even as global attention remains fixed on the Middle East,

China Evergrande's billionaire boss falls from circles of power to fraud plea

HONG KONG, April 14 - Mingling with power brokers at centenary celebrations of the Chinese Communist Party on July 1, 2021, a beaming Hui Ka Yan betrayed no sign of the pressure mounting on his property company, China Evergrande Group, the world's most indebted.

Philippines seeks US nod to buy more Russian oil

The Philippines has about 50 days’ worth of petroleum supply.