Tribune | Asia

India's DRI Seizes 21 kg of Smuggled Gold in Crackdown

India's Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has seized around 21 kg of foreign-origin gold across two operations, with five persons arrested under the Customs Act, 1962. The haul forms part of a broader three-week enforcement drive netting approximately 123 kg of gold and around 10 kg of silver worth more than Rs 187 crore.

Taiwan Presses for UN Inclusion on Multiple Fronts

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is actively pursuing inclusion in United Nations processes and broadening its multilateral engagement, framing the effort as a matter of representation for its 23 million people. The ministry's outreach spans international health, trade, and diplomatic frameworks across a wide range of partner countries and institutions.

Taiwan Demands Vietnam Protect Its Nationals

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned violence against Taiwanese businesspeople caught up in Vietnamese protests over China's deployment of a drilling rig near the Paracel Islands. Foreign Minister David Y. L. Lin met with Vietnam's representative to Taiwan and demanded the immediate restoration of order and compensation for losses.

India's NHAI and Gujarat Water Body Sign Highway MoU

India's National Highways Authority and Gujarat's Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a simplified, time-bound approval framework for national highway, canal, and pipeline crossings in Gujarat. The agreement includes a mutual waiver of fees and charges and sets out standardised engineering practices aimed at reducing costs and accelerating project delivery.

Taiwan's MOFA navigates dense diplomatic web

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains an extensive network of formal and informal international contacts spanning trade offices, parliamentary groups, and intergovernmental engagements across dozens of countries. The ministry's public record reflects both the breadth of Taiwan's unofficial diplomacy and the complexity of sustaining international presence without full formal recognition.

U.S. Hails Vietnam's 81st National Day

The United States has extended congratulations to Vietnam on the occasion of its 81st National Day on September 2, reaffirming the value of bilateral ties under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Washington also highlighted Vietnam's role as a founding member supporting the Board of Peace.

US-Philippines Defense Treaty Turns 75

The United States has marked the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines, reaffirming its commitment to the alliance and to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The milestone coincides with the 80th anniversary of U.S.-Philippines diplomatic relations.

FAO Calls for Urgent Support to Safeguard Afghanistan's 2027 Wheat Harvest

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has issued an urgent appeal for assistance to protect Afghanistan's 2027 wheat harvest, warning that rising fertilizer prices are putting essential agricultural inputs out of reach for many Afghan farmers. The call comes ahead of a critical planting window.

South Korea Builds Smarter, More Open Governance

South Korea is quietly engineering one of the most ambitious governance transformations in the Asia-Pacific region. Driven by a public increasingly fluent in digital platforms and a civil society demanding greater accountability, the country's political institutions are evolving in ways that prioritize openness, civic participation, and administrative efficiency. What is emerging is a governance model that other middle-power democracies are watching with considerable interest.

Pakistan's Governance Reforms Reshape Public Trust

Across Pakistan, a steady and deliberate shift in governance philosophy is taking hold. Political institutions that were once viewed with skepticism by ordinary citizens are increasingly being reimagined around principles of transparency, civic participation, and service delivery. This evolution, years in the making, is now producing tangible results in how Pakistanis interact with government at every level.

Nepal's Governance Reform Quietly Reshaping the Nation

Across the Himalayan republic of Nepal, a quiet but consequential shift is reshaping the relationship between citizens and their government. Political institutions that once struggled with fragmentation and administrative inefficiency are increasingly embracing structural reforms that place transparency, local governance, and civic participation at their core. The transformation speaks to a broader ambition: building a state that works for all Nepalis, from the mountain communities of the high Himalayas to the bustling lowland cities of the Terai.

Mongolia's Governance Model Earns Global Recognition

Nestled between two of the world's largest powers, Mongolia has quietly developed a governance framework that increasingly draws the attention of political scientists, regional observers, and international development organizations. In recent months, the country's approach to institutional reform, civic participation, and transparent administration has positioned it as a noteworthy case study in democratic consolidation across the Asian continent.

Laos Reshapes Governance for a Modern Era

Across the landlocked nation of Laos, a measured but meaningful evolution in governance is taking shape. Political institutions that have long operated within a tightly structured single-party framework are increasingly embracing administrative modernization, community-level engagement, and transparency initiatives that reflect a broader ambition: to make the state more efficient, more accessible, and more attuned to the needs of a young and rapidly urbanizing population.

Asia's Road Safety Crisis: Why Traffic Deaths Remain the 'Silent Pandemic' Despite Global Commitments

Despite a United Nations declaration reaffirming a target to halve road traffic deaths by 2030, progress has been negligible — and Asia, home to the world's most populous and rapidly motorizing economies, sits at the center of the crisis. An examination of infrastructure gaps, enforcement failures, and uneven vehicle safety standards across the region reveals why the toll continues to mount.

Asia's Urban Reckoning: Housing Shortfalls and the Race to Build Sustainable Cities

With billions worldwide lacking safe, affordable housing and urban populations set to keep swelling, Asian nations sit at the center of a global urbanization crisis that will largely determine whether the world meets its 2030 sustainable development commitments. A United Nations mid-term review of the New Urban Agenda has laid bare both the scale of the challenge and the widening gap between agreed vision and on-the-ground reality.