Malaysia in a shifting world order
Today, that dominance is increasingly challenged by emerging powers and shifting global alignments. The rise of competing powers, growing distrust of US intentions, and the resurgence of nationalist economic policies, particularly under Donald Trump's second term, are accelerating the fragmentation of global power.
In place of a US-led unipolar order, a multipolar world is emerging, one increasingly defined by the rivalry between the United States, an emerging axis of Russia-China-India (RCI), and a recalibrated European Union.
Trump's recent moves to impose tariffs on a wide swath of countries, including traditional allies like the European Union, Canada, South Korea, and India, mark a decisive...
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Malay Mail
28 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
US to reinstall Confederate general's statue in Washington, previously toppled by protesters, says Park Service
WASHINGTON, Aug 5 — The US National Park Service (NPS) announced yesterday that it will reinstall a statue in Washington of a Confederate general that was torn down amid the racial justice protests of 2020. Reinstalling the statue of Albert Pike supports two executive orders issued by President Donald Trump early in his second term, the NPS said in a statement: one 'on Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful' and another on 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.' The statue, which honors Pike's contributions to freemasonry, was the only memorial to a Confederate general in the US capital before it was toppled. Statues honoring the Confederacy—which seceded from the United States to preserve slavery, prompting the 1861-1865 Civil War—were a prime target of vandalism during the mid-2020 racial justice movement. Protests broke out nationwide in June 2020 following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis. Trump, who was president at the time, called the toppling of the Pike statue a 'disgrace.' 'The D.C. police are not doing their job as they watch a statue be ripped down & burn. These people should be immediately arrested,' Trump wrote on Twitter. The NPS said the Pike statue has 'been in secure storage since its removal and is currently undergoing restoration.' It aims to reinstall the statue by October 2025. After losing re-election later in 2020, Trump went on to run again in 2024, winning on pledges to harshly crackdown on illegal immigration and to reverse many of the social justice policies enacted in the wake Floyd's death. — AFP
The Sun
28 minutes ago
- The Sun
Australia to acquire 11 advanced Mogami-class frigates from Japan
SYDNEY: Australia will upgrade its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday. Australia is in the midst of a major military restructuring announced in 2023, turning towards long-range strike capabilities to better respond to China's naval might. It is striving to expand its fleet of major warships from 11 to 26 over the next 10 years. 'This is clearly the biggest defence-industry agreement that has ever been struck between Japan and Australia,' Marles said, touting the US$6 billion (Aus$10 billion) deal. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was awarded the tender over Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. 'This decision was made based on what was the best capability for Australia,' Marles said. 'We do have a very close strategic alignment with Japan.' Mogami-class warships are advanced stealth frigates equipped with a potent array of weapons. Marles said they would replace Australia's ageing fleet of Anzac-class vessels, with the first Mogami-class ship to be in service by 2030. 'The Mogami-class frigate is the best frigate for Australia,' said Marles. 'It is a next-generation vessel. It is stealthy. It has 32 vertical launch cells capable of launching long-range missiles.' Defence industry minister Pat Conroy said the frigates were capable of launching long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. - 'More lethal' - 'The acquisition of these stealth frigates will make our navy a bigger navy, and a more lethal navy,' he said. The first three Mogami-class frigates will be built overseas, Conroy said, with shipbuilding yards in Western Australia expected to produce the rest. Australia announced a deal to acquire US-designed nuclear-powered submarines in 2021, scrapping a years-long plan to develop non-nuclear subs from France. Under the tripartite AUKUS pact with the United States and the United Kingdom, the Australian navy plans to acquire at least three Virginia-class submarines within 15 years. The AUKUS submarine programme alone could cost the country up to US$235 billion over the next 30 years, according to Australian government forecasts, a price tag that has stoked criticism of the strategy. Major defence projects in Australia have long suffered from cost overruns, government U-turns, policy changes and project plans that make more sense for local job creation than defence. Australia plans to gradually increase its defence spending to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product -- above the two percent target set by its NATO allies, but well short of US demands for 3.5 percent. - AFP
Free Malaysia Today
30 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Stocks mostly rebound on US interest rate cut bets
Major US indices spent the entire day in positive territory, with the broad-based S&P 500 finishing up 1.5%. (AP pic) NEW YORK : Most stock markets bounced on Monday on hopes of US interest rate cuts after weak jobs figures raised concerns about the world's top economy. The broad gains followed a Wall Street sell-off on Friday in reaction to the jobs data and news that dozens of countries would be hit with US tariffs ranging from 10% to 41%. Major US indices spent the entire day in positive territory, with the broad-based S&P 500 finishing up 1.5%. 'Traders and investors have made a lot of money by deciding that tariffs won't matter, and they're not going to change that now,' said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. 'I think the bias that most of them have now is 'Let's not think about tariffs as being a problem until they actually prove that they are.'' European indices mostly started the week on the front foot, with Paris and Frankfurt both ending the day up more than one percent. 'Investors seem to be taking an optimistic view… betting on an increased likelihood of further monetary easing by the Fed after Friday's employment figures,' said John Plassard, head of investment strategy at Cite Gestion Private Bank. CME's FedWatch tool now has investors seeing a 94.1% chance of the Fed making a quarter-point cut in interest rates at the next meeting in September. Plassard noted, however, that 'uncertainty reigns' as US President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs are set to take effect on Thursday. Switzerland's stock market dropped around 2% at Monday's open, its first session as it returned from a holiday after a tough 39-percent US tariff rate was announced. But the index later pared most of its losses on hopes the Swiss government, which announced it would make an improved offer to Washington, could negotiate a reduction in the levy, which is steeper than that imposed on the European Union and Britain. London advanced, lifted by banking stocks after the sector was granted a reprieve from the worst of feared compensation claims over controversial car loans dating back to 2007. Lloyds Banking Group jumped 9% while Close Brothers, listed on the FTSE 250, soared more than 23%. Asian investors started the week mixed, with Hong Kong and Shanghai advancing while Tokyo fell. Stocks had struggled Friday as US jobs growth fell short of expectations in July, with revised data showing the weakest hiring since the Covid-19 pandemic – fuelling concerns that Trump's tariffs are starting to bite. Trump responded to the data by firing the commissioner of labour statistics, accusing her of manipulating employment data for political reasons. Markets reacted more favourably on Monday, as the hiring slowdown boosted hopes of Fed rate cuts to support the economy. Elsewhere, oil prices fell more than 2% after a sharp output increase by eight Opec+ countries, with markets anticipating abundant supply. However, they later trimmed their losses after Trump threatened to hike tariffs on Indian goods further over its purchases of Russian oil.
