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Francesco Guarascio, ReutersVietnam is increasingly edging closer to China's model of governance, tightening state control while embracing Chinese technology and regulation as its most powerful leader in decades heads to Beijing this week, according to
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Peter Magyar's landslide victory in Sunday's Hungarian election has handed his centre-right Tisza party a sweeping mandate that will give it a free hand to enact reforms, bolster the rule of law and potentially unlock
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During my growing up days, All India Radio was the only source of entertainment for me. I would tune in to Bollywood songs on the radio. I am talking about the early 90s. I must
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There is no doubt that the young kid, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, is devastating and proving to be destructive against the world-class bowlers during the ongoing IPL 2026 season.He has already tamed world-class bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah,
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More than a decade ago, when I first watched the documentary ‘Schooling the World,’ I realised that the constructs of Western cities are not culturally neutral; rather, they carry values of industrialisation, consumerism, individualism, and
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Australia is reinforcing links with its northern neighbours to secure fuel supplies and bolster defence ties as a US administration grows increasingly preoccupied with the conflict in the Middle East.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his senior ministers have been hitting the phones and travelling across Asia to ensure key trading partners maintain shipments of diesel and gasoline amid global supply disruptions. Albanese went to Singapore to meet Prime Minister Lawrence Wong last Friday and is expected to travel to Brunei soon.The visit to Singapore was earlier than planned and came after the two leaders spoke in March on ensuring continued energy flows. After the meeting, they announced a new agreement to support the stable supply of essential goods, including energy and food, according to a joint statement, with Wong emphasising that this mutual support would strengthen energy security of both nations.The burst of diplomatic activity not only secured essential energy supplies but also underscored the Albanese government’s reorientation of foreign policy toward its region — both to limit China’s sway and boost Australia’s influence. The shift has gained greater significance during the Trump administration, when US commitment to traditional alliances appears more tenuous.Albanese said trusted ties with Singapore help to “deliver energy security for both of our nations.” He said his government’s efforts to build links with the region meant the country was better placed to deal with shocks, pointing to relations built through repeated meetings with leaders such as Wong.The two sides also discussed deepening defence co-operation, including allowing Australian naval vessels to use Singapore’s port, Albanese said.That linkage of trade and security can be seen elsewhere. Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles travelled to Tokyo this week for last-minute talks on the fallout from the Middle East conflict, regional security challenges and deeper defence co-operation with Japan.Meanwhile, Australian diplomats in Indonesia appear to have convinced Jakarta to guarantee supplies of fertiliser and its component urea, which is critical for farmers planting winter crops, the Australian newspaper reported.“The Albanese government’s foreign policy has been quite smart in prioritising its own neighbourhood,” said Bryce Wakefield, head of the Australian Institute of International Affairs and an expert on Japanese foreign policy. It has also meant Australian officials can pick up the phone and reach an agreement, he added.The focus on Southeast Asia and the broader region is paying off in a series of security deals with Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and others, and in Canberra’s success in ensuring nations continue exporting fuel to Australia despite worsening regional shortages.Albanese pointed to his centre-left government’s record last week, arguing that Australia had cemented ties with North Asia trading partners such as South Korea and Japan, while maintaining links with “traditional partners” the US and the UK.The Marles trip to Tokyo is another example. Australia had already secured Japan’s agreement to keep shipping energy as normal, but the defence minister’s fifth meeting with his counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi underscored the serious security challenges facing the Asia-Pacific.Even with China, which has mostly banned exports of refined fuels, Canberra was able to secure a promise to “increase government-to-government communication so that Australia and China are both working in support of regional energy security,” although it remains to be seen whether that leads to trade resuming.Part of the Albanese government’s success has been linking Singapore and other suppliers’ continued exports to their need for Australian coal and liquefied natural gas.“Australia is a very reliable distributor of LNG,” Assistant Trade Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said last month. “We’ve got that advantage in that we can work with our neighbours in the Asia-Pacific to ensure that they have access to their energy needs and we get access to ours.”Looking ahead, there are other strengths that the government can build on, according to the AIIA’s Wakefield. “Food security is a huge issue in the region, and it’s one where Australia is positioned to be a reliable supplier.” — Bloomberg
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Ukraine welcomed with relief the defeat of its harshest EU foe, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an outcome which paves the way for a 90bn euro ($105bn) loan that Kyiv urgently needs to fund the war with Russia. But the winner of Hungary’s election, Peter Magyar, is no outspoken ally of Ukraine and some other leaders in the European Union remain sceptical about stronger backing for Kyiv, particularly its efforts to join the EU, analysts said. Magyar’s centre-right Tisza party won a landslide victory on Sunday, ending Orban’s 16-year rule and winning the two-thirds majority it needs to enact constitutional reforms. Orban — a nationalist who maintained warm ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin — systematically opposed Brussels’ efforts to support Ukraine, most recently obstructing the two-year EU loan over accusations that Kyiv had deliberately halted Russian oil flows across its territory via the Druzhba pipeline. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Druzhba was damaged by a Russian strike in January and that repairs should be completed in the spring - though he has urged Europe to stop buying Russian oil. “One should not call Magyar pro-Ukrainian - he isn’t - but he is not anti-Ukrainian, unlike Orban, and that’s already great,” said Oleksiy Honcharenko, a Ukrainian lawmaker with the European Solidarity Party. “Putin has lost his main ally in Europe.” In his first news conference after the election, Magyar said Ukraine was the victim in the war with Russia and he pledged to diversify Hungary’s energy sources. But he also said Budapest would maintain “pragmatic” ties with Moscow and that repairing relations with Kyiv depended on the restoration of the rights of the Hungarian ethnic minority in western Ukraine - a long-running source of tension. Officials and analysts expect Magyar to drop Hungary’s veto on the loan and on a 20th round of sanctions against Russia after he takes office, probably in mid-May. Magyar is keen to unlock EU funds earmarked for Hungary that were suspended amid accusations of democratic backsliding by Orban’s government. But the timeframe is tight. Ukraine is reliant on Western financial support, four years into the war. It needs $52bn this year and economists say it could start to run out of money next month. “Hungary’s vetoes on EU financial support for Ukraine will likely cease, improving EU decision-making capacity,” said Zsuzsanna Vegh, analyst at the German Marshall Fund think tank, adding Hungary itself would still not provide funding. “Tisza is unlikely to embrace expansive military support.” In Kyiv, residents greeted Hungary’s election outcome with cautious optimism. “This is very positive because it gives us a chance to improve relations with Hungary,” said Yehor Vasylchencko, a 33-year-old IT specialist. But, noting that Magyar is a former member of Orban’s nationalist Fidesz party, he added: “I have some doubts about whether Magyar will be an improvement. Time will tell.” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said “meticulous, pragmatic, and calm work” was needed to find common ground with Hungary’s new leadership. Volodymyr Fesenko, director of the Penta think tank, said that, as Ukraine looks to reset relations with Hungary, restarting Druzhba could be an olive branch. After years of anti-Ukraine rhetoric in Hungarian media, however, much of the Hungarian population is wary of closer ties with Kyiv. In Monday’s news conference, Magyar restated his opposition to fast-track EU entry for Ukraine. Elsewhere in central and eastern Europe, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, a critic of EU sanctions on Russia, and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis are Ukraine-sceptics. Both publicly backed Orban ahead of Sunday’s vote. In Bulgaria, another proponent of improving relations with Moscow — former President Rumen Radev — leads in polls ahead of a parliamentary election next Sunday. But Yehor Cherniev, a lawmaker for Ukraine’s ruling Servant of the People party and deputy chair of the national security, defence and intelligence committee, said any dramatic shift in European support was unlikely. “A miracle isn’t going to happen,” Cherniev said. “Magyar will be obviously less hostile than Orban was,” said Orsolya Raczova, analyst at Eurasia Group. “But, with Magyar as prime minister, Hungary will basically join the mainstream opposition to speedy EU accession for Ukraine.”
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Ukraine and Russia accused each other on Sunday of violating a truce in place for Orthodox Easter thousands of times, as the war dragged on into its fifth year. Both sides had agreed to observe
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The war launched on Iran on Feb.28 by the US and Israel has no victor, no vanquished. And, no end. Ceasefire talks held on Saturday in Islamabad marked a pause in the conflict but were
