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Joseph Wu was leading a delegation for a meeting known as the «special channel», the Financial Times reported earlier. It marked Trump's first use of the channel since returning to the White House on January 20. Feud around Taiwan The island nation of Taiwan has always remained a prime target for Chinese President Xi Jinping and the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has shown keen interest in keeping a good rapport with the US in order to tackle Beijing, as per a report on Daily Mail. But why is Taiwan so important for both the US and China? Located in the geopolitically critical South China Sea, the island nation is barely 100 kilometres away from China's southeastern shores. The tiny island country is hub of manufacturing and technological giants. Apart from this, Taiwan occupies the key trade route of Taiwan Strait. Also, Taiwan is part of 'first island chain' which includes territories from Japan to Philippines.

Act East Policy is the reflection of PM Narendra Modi’s foreign policy marked by dynamism and action. With the changing dynamics of the world, PM Modi in 2014, introduced a new vigour in India’s foreign policy. He transformed the Look East Policywith a more dynamic Act East Policy (AEP). Introduced in 1992, the Look East policy focused largely on economic ties with the Southeast Asia region. This shift was not just symbolic but marked a significant strategic approach that emphasized deeper diplomatic engagement, stronger trade partnerships, enhanced security cooperation, and cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region. The Act East Policy placed India as an active stakeholder in regional affairs. Over the past 10 years, the Act East Policy has positioned India as an active and influential player in Southeast Asia. The Indian PM’s frequent engagements, high-profile summits, and strategic partnerships have strengthened India's presence in the Indo-Pacific, making India not just a participant but a leader in regional affairs. Modi has himself visited SE Asia multiple times. This include trips to Singapore (2015, 2018, 2024), which have strengthened economic and fintech collaboration, and visits to Indonesia (2018, 2022, 2023), where India expanded its maritime security cooperation.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The global investment landscape is bracing for disruption as the Trump administration rolls out sweeping reciprocal tariffs on nearly all countries. The baseline 10% tariff rate against all countries will go into effect on 5 April.

IPO) for its portfolio company Straive in India, said people familiar with the matter. EQT has appointed Axis Capital, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley to manage the offering for the edtech-focused data and solutions provider, the people said.

The State Department said it was green-lighting a sale that includes 20 F-16 jets and related equipment to the Philippines, a treaty-bound ally of the United States. The sale would «improve the security of a strategic partner that continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in Southeast Asia,» a State Department statement said. It would also boost «the Philippine Air Force's ability to conduct maritime domain awareness» and «enhance its suppression of enemy air defenses,» the statement said. The news follows months of escalating confrontations between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit.

Japan's economy could lose as much as $1.81 trillion in the event of a long-anticipated megaquake off its Pacific coast, which could trigger devastating tsunamis, the collapse of hundreds of buildings and potentially killing about 300,000 people, a government report said on Monday. The expected economic damage of 270.3 trillion yen, or nearly half of the country's total gross domestic product (GDP), was up sharply from the previous estimate of 214.2 trillion yen as the new estimate accounted for inflationary pressures and updated terrain and ground data which have expanded anticipated flood areas, the Cabinet Office report showed. Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, and the government sees about an 80% chance of a magnitude 8 to 9 earthquake along a tremulous seabed zone known as the Nankai Trough. Under the worst-case scenario, based on a potential magnitude 9 earthquake in the area, Japan is likely to see 1.23 million evacuees or 10% of its total population. As many as 298,000 people could die from tsunamis and building collapses if the quake occurs late at night in winter, the report showed. The trough is off Japan's southwest Pacific coast and runs for approximately 900 km (600 miles), where the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting under the Eurasian Plate. The accumulating tectonic strains could result in a megaquake roughly once in 100 to 150 years.

The Huizhou 19-6 oilfield lies about 170 kilometres (100 miles) from Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province, Beijing's Xinhua news agency said. Test drilling has yielded a daily production of 413 barrels of crude oil and 68,000 cubic meters of natural gas, the CNOOC said. The state-owned oil giant's CEO, Zhou Xinhuai, hailed «successive breakthroughs in oil and gas exploration in the eastern waters of the South China Sea». CNOOC «has discovered 100-million-ton oilfields for two consecutive years, which creates a new growth pole for the continuous growth in offshore oil and gas production,» he added.

Planetcast, a leading provider of broadcast technology and media services, has announced that it has been selected by beIN Asia Pacific as its strategic technology partner to enhance the management and delivery of programming for 14 HD sports channels across Southeast Asia and Australia. By utilising Planetcast’s NexC suite of cloud-first products and services, this collaboration will enable beIN to optimise content preparation, processing, distribution, and monetisation, supporting business growth across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. Planetcast Media Services’ support for beIN’s live sports content management and delivery is based on two key NexC modules: Cloud.X Turbo, an agile, high-performance sports playout solution optimised for multiplatform distribution with ultra-low latency, and Recaster, the managed IP delivery solution that uses public internet to deliver broadcast-quality video streams globally.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that Japan was indispensable in tackling Chinese aggression by helping Washington establish a «credible» deterrence in the region, including across the Taiwan Strait. «We share a warrior ethos that defines our forces,» Hegseth told Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani at a meeting in Tokyo. Calling Japan a «cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific», the Pentagon indicated that suggested President Donald Trump's government would, like past administrations, continue to work closely with its key Asian ally. Japan hosts around 50,000 U.S. military personnel, squadrons of fighter squadrons and Washington's only forward deployed aircraft carrier strike group along a 3,000-km (1,900-mile) archipelago that helps hem in Chinese military power. Hegseth's praise of Japan contrasts with the criticism he levelled at European allies in February, telling them they should not assume the U.S. presence there would last forever.

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has officially recognized two culturally significant words in its latest update—spice bag from Ireland and gigil from the Philippines. The OED recognizes these words because of their cultural significance that reflects their impact on daily spoken language. For about 20 years, the spice bag has ruled Irish fast-food establishments, while gigil demonstrates the Filipino emotion of deep cuteness or affection.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A new U.S. missile system deployed in the Philippines puts key Chinese military and commercial hubs within striking distance and hands President Trump an early test of his commitment to deterring Chinese aggression against American allies in Asia.

SUNDAY Hotels have opened in 10 countries across the globe including India, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam. SUNDAY Hotels, a premium brand of four-star and five-star hotels, was originally launched in May 2023 through a joint venture between the SoftBank Group and Oravel Stays. The initiative is part of Oravel's ongoing programme to spread its premium hotel footprint around the globe.

The moves come as India Inc faces a severe dearth of C-suite talent in the semiconductor space due to the absence of any fab or a robust semiconductor ecosystem in the country, leaving these companies to rely exclusively on hiring expats for senior roles, the experts said. For instance, Tata Electronics tapped Intel's Foundry Services president Randhir Thakur as its CEO and MD while Murugappa Group's CG Semi roped in Filipino semiconductor industry veteran Jerry Arucan Agnes as CEO. The extended list includes past hires such as Vedanta which hired David Reed as CEO of semiconductor business and YJ Chen as CEO of display business in 2023.

Global leaders are arriving in New Delhi to participate in the Raisina Dialogue 2025, a key conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics. The foreign Ministers of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanar; the Philippines, Enrique A. Manalo; and Antigua and Barbuda, EP Chet Greene, have already arrived in the capital. Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote on X, «Welcoming FM Mr. Juraj Blanar of Slovak Republic, FM Enrique A. Manalo of Philippines & FM E.P. Chet Greene of Antigua & Barbuda, as they arrive in New Delhi for the Raisina Dialogue 2025.» The Raisina Dialogue, India's premier conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, will be held in New Delhi from March 17 to 19. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 10th edition of the event today, with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon as the chief guest and delivering the keynote address. Representatives from about 125 countries, including ministers, former Heads of State and heads of government, military commanders, captains of industry, technology leaders, academics, journalists, scholars on strategic affairs, experts from leading think tanks, and youth will participate in the Raisina Dialogue.

A statement by ministers meeting in Canada mirrored a February Japan-U.S. statement in condemning «coercion» toward Taiwan, language that heartened Taipei in its increasingly tense standoffs with Beijing. Compared to a G7 foreign ministers' statement in November, the statement added members' concerns over China's nuclear buildup, although it omitted references to their concerns about Beijing's human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. Also missing were references stressing the desire for «constructive and stable relations with China» and recognizing the «importance of direct and candid engagement to express concerns and manage differences.» The statement dropped past reassurances, recently stated in November, that there is «no change in the basic position of the G7 members on Taiwan, including stated One-China policies,» as well as that the G7 is «not decoupling or turning inwards» and recognizing the importance of China in global trade.

Global trade is forecast to grow, albeit less robustly, as the world reacts to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies, Germany's DHL Group CEO Tobias Meyer told Reuters on Wednesday. «That outlook is mainly based on the 75% of global trade that does not touch the U.S.,» said Meyer, who noted that segment is seeing positive momentum. The global goods trade is expected to expand at a compound annual rate of 3.1% from 2024 to 2029, a modestly faster pace than during the preceding decade, according to the DHL Trade Atlas 2025 prepared by delivery firm and New York University's Stern School of Business.

Here are some facts about the drug war during Duterte's presidency from 2016 to 2022: CAMPAIGN VOWS TO 'KILL' As longtime mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao, Rodrigo Duterte was known as «the punisher» for his harsh policies. His profanity-packed speeches and death threats to drug gangs were a feature of his successful campaign for the presidency in 2016. Among his statements during the campaign were: «Forget the laws on human rights. If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because I'd kill you.» He said his campaign in Davao kept citizens safe from crime. He also reiterated his intentions for a violent crackdown to Reuters reporters during the campaign.

Rodrigo Duterte said in Hong Kong that he was ready for possible arrest amid reports the International Criminal Court (ICC) was poised to issue a warrant over his years-long «war on drugs» that killed thousands. The «war on drugs» was the signature campaign policy that swept Duterte to power in 2016 as a maverick, crime-busting mayor, who delivered on promises he made during vitriolic speeches to kill thousands of narcotics dealers. The office of the current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Monday no official communication had been received from Interpol yet, but indicated Duterte could be handed over.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. TAIPEI—In an era of brutal great-power politics, how do lesser powers get by? For this embattled Pacific island, a lifeline comes from landlocked Slavs half a world away. Taiwan and the Czech Republic, living in the shadow of China and Russia, have found common cause when small powers worry about being trampled by bigger rivals.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Foreign institutional investors have called it quits on Asian equities after US President Donald Trump’s America First policy triggered global trade policy uncertainty. A likely shift in world trade dynamics due to potential reciprocal tariffs could hurt the economic prospects of Asian economies.

Autotech and financial solution provider CarDekho Group on Tuesday announced its foray into the UAE market. The company has tied up with Raya Holdings to redefine the car-buying journey for UAE consumers.