Headlines

Why the US economy stays strong despite Trump’s shockwaves

The US economy is continuing to grow faster and generate more new jobs than Europe. Annual national income growth over the past five years has averaged 3.3% in the US against 2.6% in the EU. In the first quarter of 2026, the EU’s GDP was just 0.7% higher than a year before,

Asia

Taliban’s ethnic chauvinism an increasingly dangerous divide

The Taliban’s demotion of Haji Jumma Khan Fateh from deputy governor of Zabul province may have looked like a routine reshuffling. But it fits a disturbing pattern that runs through the movement’s entire governing structure: Non-Pashtun commanders are useful until their

Asia

Indonesia’s telling empty chair on the South China Sea

The most significant development at this week’s Conference Commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of the South China Sea Arbitration Award in Jakarta was not what was discussed. It was who failed to appear. Every Indonesian government representative scheduled to participate

Asia

New Zealand, Fiji renew five-year partnership

WELLINGTON, July 16 - New Zealand and Fiji signed a renewed five-year Duavata Partnership on Thursday, setting out cooperation priorities for 2026 to 2030 across trade, security, democracy, social development and climate resilience, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters

Asia

Bus accident kills six in China's Sichuan

BEIJING, July 16 - A bus plunged into a river after colliding with a road guardrail on Wednesday, killing six people and injuring 11 in China's southwestern Sichuan province, local authorities said in a notice on Thursday.

Asia

Donald Trump is running out of options in Iran

Serious hostilities between the US and Iran have resumed. On July 8, Donald Trump said that the ceasefire agreed to by the two countries in June was “over.” Since then, he has ordered the US military to carry out intensive airstrikes on Iran and has reimposed an economic

Asia

The Arctic: Indo-Pacific deterrence challenge

In Part I of this series the author explored how the Arctic has re-emerged as a key missile-warning and defense corridor, defined by its geostrategic characteristics and the changing military postures of the United States and Russia. He further observed mounting strategic

Asia

Hegseth mocked for plan to inject US soldiers with testosterone

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday elicited instant ridicule after he unveiled a new plan to offer military personnel testosterone injections. In a video announcement, Hegseth said he was authorizing a screening program to ensure US soldiers “have the right

Asia

Aid against the odds: running an NGO in North Korea

The forthcoming Miss Kathi: Saving Lives in North Korea is a book-length account in English by an aid worker operating on the ground amid the tensions and threat of conflict perpetually looming over the Korean peninsula. For many North Koreans, Zellweger was the first foreigner

Asia

Why Asia’s AI investment is outpacing AI outcomes

AI has become one of the few technologies in recent memory that organizations are simultaneously overestimating and underpreparing for. Across Asia-Pacific, investment levels suggest extraordinary confidence in AI’s ability to reshape enterprise performance. The organizational

Asia