World has less than three years to avert worst climate impacts, scientists warn

A new global climate report warns that the world is on the brink of irreversible damage. The findings come amid sluggish international action ahead of COP30.

COMMENT: Can BRICS deliver beyond the rhetoric? experts weigh in

BRICS has evolved from an emerging economies club into a coalition Trump sees as threatening enough to warrant tariffs. Experts reveal tensions between China's dominance and multipolar goals, with institutional gaps but growing Global South support.

Fitch upgrades Trump’s effective tariff rate to 19.4%

President Donald Trump’s evolving trade policy is set to sharply increase the United States’ effective tariff rate (ETR), with Fitch Ratings warning of substantial rises as new duties take effect on August 1.

Geopolitics is weighing on FDI, capital chasing certainty over scale – study

The world is living through turbulent times, but investors are still chasing returns which has affected the flows of international foreign direct investment.

ASEAN in 2025: still relevant, but only just

Founded on August 8 1967, in Bangkok, ASEAN has long prided itself on unity in diversity, guided by the principles of non-interference and consensus-based decision-making.

Timor-Leste’s ASEAN accession: A milestone moment despite deepening dilemmas

Timor-Leste’s road to ASEAN has been a protracted one. After over a decade of evaluations and delays, including a pandemic, ASEAN granted “in-principle” approval in 2022. The final decision was confirmed during the 46th ASEAN Summiit.

ASIA BLOG: The global fallout of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan

There have already been rumblings in Taiwan that self destruction of key infrastructure would be preferential to Chinese takeover.

Biofuel development in Southeast Asia: a region turning greener by the day

Tourism sector booming in Vietnam

In Q1 alone, over 6mn visitors arrived - a 29.6% year‑on‑year jump and the strongest quarter on record. That translated into roughly $9.3bn in tourism revenue.

Racial profiling in Japan

A 2025 survey by the plaintiffs' legal team found that over 71% of obviously foreign nationals who had lived in Japan for more than five years had been questioned by police on the street.

IMF: The debate over falling fertility

A decline in global population later this century may threaten human progress, or it may lead to better lives.

Tipping Point: when populations peak – Statista

As July 11 marks World Population Day, celebrating the approximate date that the world's population reached 5bn in 1987, we're taking a closer at one of the population trends that will affect many countries sooner or later in the 21st Century.