5 d. ago US action in Venezuela fuels Asia’s fears of collapsing rules

America’s capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro in a special operation sent shock waves across the world. With characteristically bombastic rhetoric, US President Donald Trump hailed Operation Absolute Resolve as “an assault like people have not seen since World War II” and “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might” in history. His deputies were quick to add that the operation also showed the long arm of the US justice system by accusing...

Politics

5 d. ago How the US Capture of Nicolás Maduro Impacts China’s Engagement with Indonesia

How the US Capture of Nicolás Maduro Impacts China’s Engagement with Indonesia  Fair Observer

Politics

6 d. ago Cuba defiant after Trump says island to receive no more Venezuelan oil or money

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said no more Venezuelan oil or money will go to Cuba and suggested the Communist-run island should strike a deal with Washington, ramping up pressure on the long-time US nemesis. Venezuela is Cuba’s biggest oil supplier, but no cargoes have departed from Venezuelan ports to the Caribbean country since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces in early January amid a strict US oil blockade on the Opec country, shipping data shows. “THERE...

Politics

6 d. ago Cuba defiant after Trump threat to cut off ‘oil and money’ lifeline

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said no more Venezuelan oil or money will go to Cuba and suggested the Communist-run island should strike a deal with Washington, ramping up pressure on the long-time US nemesis and provoking defiant words from the island’s leadership. Venezuela is Cuba’s biggest oil supplier, but no cargoes have departed from Venezuelan ports to the Caribbean country since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces in early January amid a strict US oil...

Politics

8 d. ago Top South Korean official calls Trump’s Venezuela raid ‘violent atrocity’, stirring unease

Senior officials in South Korea’s Prime Minister’s Office are voicing concern over Park Seok-woon, a committee chairman under its authority, after he joined protests criticising US President Donald Trump and his administration over American military operations in Venezuela. Park, a long-time liberal activist, took part in a rally on Monday in front of the US embassy in Seoul, following an American military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013,...

Politics

9 d. ago Venezuela releasing ‘significant number’ of prisoners in bid to ‘seek peace’

Venezuela released citizens and foreigners from its prisons on Thursday in what a top government official described as a gesture to “seek peace” less than a week after former President Nicolas Maduro was captured by US forces to face federal drug-trafficking charges in New York. Jorge Rodriguez, brother of Acting President Delcy Rodriguez and head of the National Assembly, did not specify who they would be releasing or how many people would be released. But he said the release of prisoners “is...

Events

9 d. ago Venezuela frees opposition figures and activists, which Trump says US requested

Venezuela released a number of imprisoned high-profile opposition figures, activists and journalists - both citizens and foreigners - on Thursday in what the government described as a gesture to “seek peace” less than a week after former president Nicolas Maduro was captured by US forces to face drug-trafficking charges. US President Donald Trump, who has been pressuring Maduro allies now leading the country to fold to his vision for the future of the oil-rich nation, said the releases came at...

Politics

9 d. ago Macron slams US for ‘breaking free’ from global rules after Maduro raid, Greenland threat

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that the United States was “breaking free from international rules”, and “gradually turning away” from some of its allies. Macron delivered his annual speech to French ambassadors at the Elysee Palace as European powers are scrambling to come up with a coordinated response to US assertive foreign policy in the western hemisphere following Washington’s capture of Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro and Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland. “The...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump calls for US$1.5 trillion in military spending, citing ‘dangerous times’

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday proposed setting military spending at US$1.5 trillion in 2027, citing “troubled and dangerous times”. Trump called for the massive surge in spending days after he ordered a US military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and spirit him out of the country to face drug trafficking charges in the United States. US forces continue to mass in the Caribbean Sea. The 2026 military budget is set at US$901 billion. Trump in recent days has also...

Events

1 week ago The Maduro effect: regime change fears grip Asia’s autocrats after US raid on Venezuela

The United States’ dramatic capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro at the weekend has sent shock waves across Asia, where analysts say authoritarian rulers, now deeply wary of Washington’s motives, are likely to draw closer to Moscow and Beijing. US special forces stormed Maduro’s residence in Caracas early on Saturday morning, seizing the Venezuelan leader and his wife before flying them to the US, where both face federal charges of narcoterrorism and drug trafficking. Washington has long...

Politics

1 week ago Trump team praises US media for keeping its Venezuela raid plan secret

In the wake of last weekend’s US military action in Venezuela, the US news media got something it has seldom heard from the Trump administration: a “thank you”. Secretary of State Marco Rubio credited news organisations that had learned in advance about last Saturday’s strike that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with not putting the mission in jeopardy by publicly reporting on it before it happened. Rubio’s acknowledgement was particularly noteworthy because US Defence...

Politics

1 week ago US’ Asian allies reluctant to slam Trump over Venezuela despite his ‘cowboy tactics’

The mild responses by America’s Asian allies in response to the US military strike on Venezuela stem from a desire not to “bite the hand that feeds” them, analysts have said, noting that some countries were buying time by claiming to monitor the situation. Following the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday to face narcoterrorism charges on US soil, President Donald Trump declared on Sunday that Washington was “in charge” of the South American nation, including its...

Politics

1 week ago Maduro’s capture sparks hope, concern among Venezuelans in Hong Kong

Venezuelan Manny Reimi was queuing for Hong Kong’s Peak Tram on Saturday with his cousin and her family, whom he had not seen in 15 years, when news broke that the United States had captured Nicolas Maduro, the president of his homeland. The 37-year-old father of two, who relocated from Venezuela to Hong Kong in 2011 and now runs a consultancy and artificial intelligence-related start-up in the city, said the family felt “exhilarated”. One nephew even confessed that he had wished for Maduro’s...

Politics

1 week ago Trump’s US isn’t giving up on extraterritorial power, just the rules

The explosions that rocked Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, in the early hours of January 3, signalled the definitive collapse of the post-war international order. With the announcement that US forces had captured president Nicolas Maduro and his wife under “Operation Absolute Resolve,” the world has been thrust into a chilling new era. This is the era of the “Trump Corollary”, a doctrine that replaces diplomatic norms with raw power and turns the western hemisphere into a private arena for US...

Politics

1 week ago What assets does China have in Venezuela, and what could happen with Maduro gone?

Amid prolonged international sanctions imposed on Venezuela, Chinese enterprises stand out as some of the few willing to pour resources into the South American country’s turbulent economy. However, Saturday’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces – just hours after Maduro met with Chinese diplomats to reaffirm their strategic partnership – raises concerns about the future of such investments. In this explainer, we examine the portfolio of Chinese assets in Venezuela and how...

Politics

1 week ago US attack on Venezuela ‘death certificate’ for UN, will trigger global arms race: analyst

The American attack on Venezuela on Saturday could further undermine international institutions and accelerate a global arms race, analysts warned, with one likening Washington’s actions to issuing a “death certificate” for the United Nations. On Saturday, in a surprise precision operation, the US military struck Venezuela and captured its leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were later placed in detention in New York. President Donald Trump later said the US would run the South American...

Events

1 week ago China says it is still ‘committed’ to ties with Venezuela and energy cooperation

China remained committed to its energy partnership with Venezuela and stressed that the cooperation between the two countries was protected by international law, the foreign ministry in Beijing said on Monday. Following this weekend’s raid that saw President Nicolas Maduro captured and taken to the United States, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian was asked whether the country, the largest customer for Venezuelan oil, would continue the imports. He did not answer directly, but said:...

Science

1 week ago Asian economies to face volatile oil prices over Venezuela, US plans for Caracas

Asian economies face the risk of renewed volatility in oil prices this year as analysts say the US capture of Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro and uncertainty over Washington’s plans for the oil-rich South American country may unsettle investor sentiment. On Monday morning, Benchmark Brent crude opened about 1.2 per cent lower near US$61 a barrel, before falling further to US$60.54 in the early afternoon, while US West Texas Intermediate crude declined by 0.5 per cent to US$57.04 a barrel. The...

Economics

1 week ago North Korea’s missile test after Maduro’s arrest signals denuclearisation equals ‘suicide’

A missile test by North Korea in the aftermath of the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro signals what analysts have said is Pyongyang’s cautionary stance over the vulnerability of countries without credible military and nuclear deterrence. While overseeing the launch of multiple missiles on Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un alluded to the US attacks on Venezuela and Maduro’s arrest a day earlier and Iran in June as justifications to bolster his nuclear arsenal. The test of what...

Events

1 week ago What North Korea’s missile test after Maduro arrest says about Kim’s denuclearisation stance

A missile test by North Korea in the aftermath of the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro signals what analysts have said is Pyongyang’s cautionary stance over the vulnerability of countries without credible military and nuclear deterrence. While overseeing the launch of multiple missiles on Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un alluded to the US attacks on Venezuela and Maduro’s arrest a day earlier and Iran in June as justifications to bolster his nuclear arsenal. The test of what...

Events