Asia Sentinel

5 days ago | asiasentinel.com | Philip Bowring

Making sense of the world becomes ever more difficult. A Pakistani delegation visits the White House and within a day, the Pakistan government announces it is nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, notwithstanding his support for Netanyahu’s allegedly genocidal bombing campaign against Gaza and continued land grabs in the West Bank. The very next day, Trump launches a new war, the US v Iran.

2 weeks ago | asiasentinel.com | Philip Bowring

By: Philip BowringOf the many crazy aspects of the world in mid-2025, the one that reflects all the others is the price of gold. As in previous such periods of political and economic instability, the gold price is eagerly followed in the media as central banks follow the herd and show their own lack of faith in currencies by building up gold reserves.

3 weeks ago | asiasentinel.com | Majid Maqbool

By: Majid Maqbool Indian writer, activist and lawyer Banu Mushtaq’s short story collection Heart Lamp brings together 12 selected stories that explore the everyday lives and struggles of women and girls in the Muslim communities of southern India, particularly from her home state of Karnataka, and which recently made history by becoming the first short s… Keep reading with a 7-day free trial Subscribe to Asia Sentinel to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post...

3 weeks ago | asiasentinel.com | Philip Bowring

Occasionally, US President Donald Trump’s instincts may be right. Last month, he declared victory in ending a bombing campaign against Yemen’s Houthis that originally had been planned as a six-month-or-more intensive bombing campaign, but was shut down after just one month. The Houthis were said to have agreed to stop firing at US vessels in the region which supposedly would allow shipping to venture back into the Red Sea rather than take the long and expensive Cape route between Asia and Europe.

1 month ago | asiasentinel.com | Ainur Rohmah

By: Ainur RohmahA viral video that circulated widely earlier this year has ignited public outrage and forced authorities into action over a surge of extortion cases by members of seemingly upright civil society organizations. The footage, recorded secretly, captured individuals claiming to be representatives of the Cilegon branch of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) demanding Rp5 trillion (US$308.3 million) in non-tendered project allocations from a Chinese contractor.