2 h. ago Is North Korea’s Kim shoring up navy in strategic bid with allies China, Russia?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to build a blue-water navy to counter what he described as growing threats from the United States, an ambition that observers say appears to be linked to broader strategic coordination with key Pyongyang allies China and Russia. Kim made the announcement during a launch ceremony at the northeastern port of Rajin for a newly repaired warship, following an earlier failed launch at the same location, state media reported on Friday. The vessel, “Kang Kon”,...

Politics

4 h. ago EU pushes for China trade "rebalancing" as Trump factor looms

EU pushes for China trade "rebalancing" as Trump factor looms  KrASIA

Politics

4 h. ago After the ceasefire, leaders of India, Pakistan seek cover under their flags

Pulled back from the brink by a ceasefire, nuclear-armed India and Pakistan avoided a potentially catastrophic collision, but the tides of nationalism unleashed by the four-day clash are still rising on either side of the border. Now, leaders of the two nations are seeking to cement a political dividend from the May conflict, with competing claims of victory relayed to domestic audiences attuned to triumphalism whenever the two nations clash. “The conflict has created a national fervour on both...

Politics

4 h. ago After the ceasefire, leaders of India and Pakistan seek cover under their flags

Pulled back from the brink by a ceasefire, nuclear-armed India and Pakistan avoided a potentially catastrophic collision, but the tides of nationalism unleashed by the four-day clash are still rising on either side of the border. Now, leaders of the two nations are seeking to cement a political dividend from the May conflict, with competing claims of victory relayed to domestic audiences attuned to triumphalism whenever the two nations clash. “The conflict has created a national fervour on both...

Politics

6 h. ago BYD to face cost pressure as Beijing pushes quick supplier payments

BYD to face cost pressure as Beijing pushes quick supplier payments  Nikkei Asia

Economics

13 h. ago Trump tariffs live updates: Trump threatens to set unilateral tariff rates within weeks

Trump tariffs live updates: Trump threatens to set unilateral tariff rates within weeks  Yahoo Finance

Politics

14 h. ago Henderson Land signs Jane Street as anchor in Central Hong Kong project

Henderson Land Development, one of Hong Kong’s largest developers, has leased a 223,437 sq ft space in its prized mixed-use project in Central to Jane Street Asia in one of the largest leasing transactions in the city’s main business district in decades. The rent for the space, across six floors in New Central Harbourfront, will be HK$137 (US$17.45) per square foot per month, or HK$30.6 million per month, excluding fees. The transaction, which makes the quant trading firm the anchor tenant of...

Politics

14 h. ago Jane Street to pay US$3.9m a month to rent Hong Kong office space

Henderson Land Development, one of Hong Kong’s largest developers, has leased a 223,437 sq ft space in its prized mixed-use project in Central to Jane Street Asia in one of the largest leasing transactions in the city’s main business district in decades. The rent for the space, across six floors in New Central Harbourfront, will be HK$137 (US$17.45) per square foot per month, or HK$30.6 million per month, excluding fees. The transaction, which makes the quant trading firm the anchor tenant of...

Society

14 h. ago Jane Street to pay US$3.9m a month in record Hong Kong office lease

Henderson Land Development, one of Hong Kong’s largest developers, has leased a 223,437 sq ft space in its prized mixed-use project in Central to Jane Street Asia in one of the largest leasing transactions in the city’s main business district in decades. The rent for the space, across six floors in New Central Harbourfront, will be HK$137 (US$17.45) per square foot per month, or HK$30.6 million per month, excluding fees. The transaction, which makes the quant trading firm the anchor tenant of...

Economics

15 h. ago Air India crash witnesses recount horrific scenes of corpses and dead dogs

It was just another long and languorous summer afternoon for Chirag Patel at his mobile phone retail shop near Ahmedabad’s airport on the outskirts of the western city when he was greeted by a shocking sight in the sky – a massive Air India plane was plunging towards a building. “We are used to seeing planes taking off or landing at the airport, but I was horrified to see one heading right at us. The plane’s tail struck a building that houses a student hostel and got stuck. The front portion...

Events

16 h. ago Smiling, friendly China a perfect antidote to Trump’s angry America

Following the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, China experienced a sharp drop in the number of international visitors and many foreign residents left the country. International tourism was still below pre-pandemic levels as late as 2024. When tourists did not return in large numbers after it reopened its borders in 2023, China began to take measures to reverse the trend and bring foreigners back, rolling out a unilateral 30-day visa-free entry scheme, which now encompasses 47 countries,...

Politics

17 h. ago ‘Any time, any place’: Philippine army to be deployed to South China Sea islands

A senior Philippine military official has revealed a soon-to-be-deployed strategy that would involve an army contingent to support law enforcement units on occupied islands in the South China Sea. Observers said the strategy would align with Manila’s policy shift from an internal to external defence posture aimed at protecting the country’s territorial waters. One expert, however, warned that it could lead to more aggressive moves by the Chinese navy and coastguard if Beijing were to view...

Politics

17 h. ago Israel’s attacks risk pushing Iran towards nuclear weapon development

Israel’s attacks against Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities and assassinations of several of the regime’s leadership figures could pile pressure on Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei to drop his long-standing ideological opposition to Tehran’s construction of nuclear weapons. To arrive at that seminal moment, Tehran must first decide whether to carefully calibrate its response to the hundreds of Israeli attacks conducted overnight so as to avoid direct military intervention by the United States,...

Events

17 h. ago Huawei’s AI chip output limited to 200,000 in 2025, US commerce official says

Huawei Technologies is expected to ship no more than 200,000 of its advanced artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors this year, according to a senior Trump administration official overseeing US export controls, who estimated that “most or all of” those chips would be supplied to enterprises within China. That figure would pale in comparison to the more than 1 million China-specific H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) produced by Nvidia in the last nine months of 2024, according to a January...

Politics

21 h. ago China steps up global aviation expansion as Comac bids for Laos carrier

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) has reportedly bid to take a majority stake in the flag carrier of Laos, as the state-owned Chinese aviation firm continues its push to expand its market in Southeast Asia. The deal – which is pending approval by the Lao authorities – would see Comac help Lao Airlines overhaul its operations and stem its losses in exchange for the carrier agreeing to use the Chinese company’s passenger jets, Vientiane Times quoted Prime Minister Sonexay...

Politics

22 h. ago ‘Important step’: fatal crashes prompt Malaysia to curb speeding lorries, buses

Malaysia will require owners of lorries and buses to install a device that prevents vehicles from going faster than 90km/h, after a spate of fatal road accidents, including a bus crash on Monday that killed 15 university students. Malaysia’s roads are among some of the world’s most dangerous, with one person dying every two hours according to government statistics between March 2024 and March 2025. Lorries and buses routinely flout the speed limit of 90km/h, and high-speed collisions are common...

Events

24 h. ago China delays approval of $35bn US chip merger amid Donald Trump’s trade war

China delays approval of $35bn US chip merger amid Donald Trump’s trade war  Financial Times

Politics

25 h. ago Will Air India’s crash in Ahmedabad derail its revival plans?

Air India’s crash of a Boeing 787 jet that killed more than 200 people will be a huge setback to the former state-run carrier’s comeback plans after a change in its ownership to the Tata Group three years ago, according to analysts. The London-bound plane, carrying 242 passengers and crew, went down shortly after taking off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. Only one person survived. The deadly accident has raised questions about what possibly went wrong for the Boeing Dreamliner, one of...

Events

26 h. ago Dan Wang observes the grandeur and tragedy of the Chinese ‘engineering state’

Unlike tourists in many places, those visiting China for the first time often consider subway stations in major cities attractions in themselves for their sheer beauty, innovative designs, or simply their novelty. Hell, if nothing else, they are sparkling clean! Those such as Panda Avenue station in Chengdu and Rainbow station in Guangzhou are mentioned in tourist guides as places to visit. Several stations in Shenzhen look more like the halls found in many of Asia’s ultra-modern airports. From...

Politics

28 h. ago Chinese solar firms bank on overseas expansion to survive amid US tariffs

Chinese solar and energy-storage companies will continue to press ahead with their overseas expansion with or without a long-term agreement on trade tariffs, as production abroad holds the key to their long-term survival, according to executives at China’s largest solar industry exhibition. Although the US and China reached a 90-day truce in their ongoing tariff war in May, solar panel exports from China and Southeast Asia to the US are still subject to tariffs of as much as 3,521 per cent, with...

Economics