Keeping a nationalist election promise made during the campaign, Anutin’s government has scrapped the 2001 agreement (which never got off the ground) for the joint exploitation of energy reserves in disputed maritime areas. This signals how tensions remain high despite the ceasefire in place since December. Cambodia is concerned about the intensification of Thai naval patrols.
The pro-democracy leader has no direct access to her family or lawyers, even after she was moved to a specially built residence. Myanmar’s opposition and human rights groups are calling it yet another sham operation by General Min Aung Hlaing to gain international legitimacy. In the new house, she reportedly met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi a few days ago during his visit to Myanmar.
To bypass the blockade of both the Gulf and conflict-ridden Afghanistan, a new land corridor is emerging, starting from the port of Karachi on the shores of the Arabian Sea and reaching as far as Tashkent via Iranian territory. A long and arduous route which, for Pakistan today, is the only way to access the Central Asian market, home to almost 80 million people.
Today’s headlines: New flashpoints in the conflict between the US and Iran in the Gulf, with missiles and drones targeting the UAE; Singapore’s Education Minister says caning as a disciplinary measure should be used when other options are “ineffective”; Record electricity production in India, with further peaks expected in summer linked to El Niño; Turkey and Armenia have reached an agreement on the restoration of the historic Ani Bridge.
The level of state control over what citizens say and write in Moscow today is now greater than it was in the Soviet Union before Gorbachev. Every police officer, traffic warden or judge adheres to this line; everyone understands that one can no longer speak of politics or criticise those in power, and even the most innocuous expressions are monitored.
In China's Silicon Valley, the number of cases handled in 2025 jumped considerably over the previous year, far above the national average. Court guidelines in Shenzhen stress that artificial intelligence should not replace judges, but the lack of uniform national standards could accentuate inequalities between various parts of China.
