Daily Asia briefing

As Asia grappled with the impact of the Iran war, a major pharmaceutical milestone quietly made the headlines. On March 20, the patent for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy drugs, ex...

The two-week ceasefire the United States agreed to with Iran on Tuesday not only sets a deadline to seal a deal with Tehran, but leaves just days before the expiration of the 60-day legal limit for waging war without con...

Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu declared a fragile two-week ceasefire with Iran, emphasizing readiness to resume military action if objectives aren't met. Despite cooperation with the US-Iran truce, Israel will continu...

Expanded ‘Balikatan’ combat drills are a sign of deeper South China Sea defense coordination, experts say.

A recent conflict has shifted control of the vital Strait of Hormuz. Iran may now charge transit fees for ships passing through. This follows a US-Iran ceasefire agreement. The situation signals a significant change in r...

The United States boasts military superiority over Iran but has emerged as the strategic loser in the five-week conflict, with gains limited to a fragile two-week ceasefire and conditional passage through the Strait of H...

Former US attorney general Pam Bondi does not plan to appear for a planned interview with a House of Representatives committee on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files following her firing by US President Donald Trump...

Control of the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as the central fault line in US-Iran negotiations, with US President Donald Trump appearing to recast an earlier off-the-cuff idea into a more formal proposal that seeks to bri...

A Canadian opposition legislator defected to the ruling Liberal Party on Wednesday, leaving Prime Minister Mark Carney on the verge of a parliamentary majority that would make it easier to push through his agenda. The ce...

President Xi Jinping has signalled a renewed focus on China’s services sector, calling for a demand- and tech-led strategy to reshape growth and create jobs, as policymakers met to chart the path forward. “The focus must...

After a delicate two-week truce, President Trump announced a "strategic shift" in Tehran, highlighting enhanced US-Iran cooperation to dismantle nuclear arsenals. He revealed intentions for both sanctions relief and pote...

Thailand’s foreign minister confirmed on Wednesday the deaths of three Thai crew members of a cargo ship struck by Iran while transiting the Strait of Hormuz a month ago. US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February promp...

Times of India World is tracking Economy & Trade developments tied to ‘She wanted to die...’: Canadian woman says 93-year-old mother nearly euthanised over one remark.

Times of India World is tracking Economy & Trade developments tied to Christmas gift horror: Former delivery driver pleads guilty to killing 7-year-old Athena Strand in Texas.

Times of India World is tracking Economy & Trade developments tied to Michigan man Daniyal Khan charged with kidnapping 12-year-old girl; child found using Amber Alert.

Times of India World is tracking Economy & Trade developments tied to 'Ketamine Queen' Jasveen Sangha gets 15 years in prison, sold drugs to Matthew Perry before his overdose death.

Times of India World is tracking Economy & Trade developments tied to 1,100 Afghans stranded in Qatar for over a year, US asking countries in Africa, Asia to take them.

Times of India World is tracking Economy & Trade developments tied to ‘Baby Killers!’: US nurse fired after viral antisemitic Times Square rant at Israeli tourists – Watch video.

YouTuber IShowSpeed is venturing into the anime world with a new series produced by Matt Owens, the showrunner of the live-action One Piece. This significant career milestone sees Speed's high-energy persona translated i...

Philippine lawmakers have voiced hope that joint oil and gas exploration deals with China could proceed amid the global energy crunch, despite a former Supreme Court justice warning that accepting Beijing’s terms would b...

A man has admitted stabbing four children to death at a kindergarten in Uganda, saying he believed killing them as human sacrifices would make him wealthy, prosecutors said on Wednesday. The defendant, Christopher Okello...

A federal judge on Wednesday handed down a sentence of 15 years in prison to a woman who pleaded guilty to selling Friends star Matthew Perry the ketamine that killed him in 2023. US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett...

Candace Owens has questioned an audio clip linked to Charlie Kirk that supported Erika Kirk’s rise as CEO. She claims the recording sounds edited and lacks clarity. Her remarks have divided public opinion, with supporter...

A fire services company did not conduct any on-site inspections and merely acted as a “rubber stamp” in submitting 85 notices to shut down the hose reel system of a housing estate hit by Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in de...

Chinese artificial intelligence company Zhipu AI open-sourced its latest flagship model, GLM-5.1, on Wednesday while raising application programming interface prices by 10 per cent, signalling a shift towards monetising...

The UAE has launched the world's first commercial upper 6GHz (U6GHz) network, a significant advancement in internet technology. This new network, operating between 6425–7125 MHz, promises faster, smoother, and more relia...

A Long Island architect who led a secret life as a serial killer pleaded guilty on Wednesday to murdering seven women and admitted he killed an eighth in a string of long-unsolved crimes known as the Gilgo Beach killings...

Hong Kong authorities have proceeded to confiscate properties linked to crimes committed by former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, with a hearing scheduled in three months to address the court order. According to a court...