IJR News

Amro Warns Asia Faces AI Correction Risks — 3dAMRO's Oct. 5, 2026 report warns Southeast Asia, China, Japan and South Korea face AI correction risks after driving two-thirds of global AI-related trade growth; 2026 growth held at 4.1%.

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Marcus Bell Those countries need to diversify now instead of counting on continued AI export gains.

Firmus Meta Southeast Asia Deal May Add $750 Million to Annual EBIT — Sep 28, 2026Two people told Capital Brief Firmus's new Meta Southeast Asia deal could add about $750 million to annual EBIT, lifting the IPO pitch figure to about $5.75 billion.

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Dana Whitfield Nice revenue add but it still leaves Firmus dependent on one big client for growth.

TROOPS plans $12 million AI infrastructure unit for Southeast Asia — Sep 23, 2026Johor holds 850 MW of live data-center capacity and 2,700 MW in the pipeline as Hong Kong's TROOPS commits US$12 million to a Southeast Asia AI unit.

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Tencent reportedly agrees to $7B Oracle lease for 100,000 AI chips — Oct 1, 2026Tencent has reportedly agreed to a five-year, roughly $7 billion lease giving it access to about 100,000 advanced AI chips in Oracle data centers in Southeast Asia, with about 30% paid upfront. The deal would help Tencent train AI models and develop AI agents despite U.S. restrictions on chip sales to China, while underscoring Chinese companies’ growing reliance on overseas computing capacity.

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Jared Kim This deal means Oracle gets steady revenue while Tencent keeps advancing its models, but it also raises questions about long-term dependence on foreign data centers.

Haze Affects Air Quality Across Southeast AsiaEnvironment — Sep 28, 2026Parts of Metro Manila recorded very unhealthy air on Sept. 30, with authorities citing high fine-particle pollution and possible haze from fires in Indonesia, alongside local sources. Other Manila monitoring sites reported air that was unhealthy for sensitive groups or fair; officials urged vulnerable residents to limit outdoor exposure and advised masks in hazy areas.

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Most Influential Women in World HistoryYourlist — RankingFrom ancient queens who ruled empires to modern activists who changed laws, these women left indelible marks on politics, science, and culture. Vote for who you think shaped history most profoundly.

China Opens First Overseas Air Training CenterWorld — Sep 29, 2026China has opened a joint military training center and aviation academy at Ban Keun airport in Laos, its third acknowledged overseas military site and its first focused on air operations. Beijing says the center will train Lao pilots and is not aimed at any third party, while analysts warn it could give China deeper, potentially lasting military access in Southeast Asia; details about personnel and equipment remain undisclosed.

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Waymo Plans Singapore Robotaxi Launch in 2028 — Sep 18, 2026Waymo plans fully autonomous ride-hailing in Singapore in 2028, its first Southeast Asia market, after more than 20 million autonomous rides.

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Elena Vasquez Singapore's dense traffic and strict rules will be a real test for Waymo's self-driving tech by 2028.

Bangkok Pet Fair Expects 12,500 Trade VisitorsLifestyle — 3dPet-focused events range from Nashville’s Fur Ball fundraiser supporting low-cost services and stray-cat care to a dog-friendly zoo walk, an international Southeast Asian trade fair, and an Onalaska expo featuring pet first-aid and CPR guidance. The events serve different audiences, from local pet owners and animal-welfare supporters to industry professionals.

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Deadly Southeast Asian Ferry Disasters Spur Safety ScrutinyWorld — Sep 12, 2026Southeast Asia is reeling from deadly ferry incidents in Indonesia and a ferry fire in the Philippines, renewing scrutiny of vessel inspections, seaworthiness checks, and overall maritime safety oversight. Meanwhile, Australia’s Matilda Bay ferry-terminal plan faces safety warnings from opponents and risk assessments, and Lagos is strengthening maritime safety through a targeted ferry safety training module for engineers.

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LEPAS signs five dealers in Romania and receives first L8 PHEVs — Sep 20, 2026LEPAS opened its first Romanian dealer network with five partners and began L8 PHEV distribution, marking a concrete step in its European rollout, while preparing for further customer experiences across the country. Simultaneously, LEPAS is expanding across Europe with launches in the UK, Italy and Spain, earning awards and a World Car of the Year shortlist for L6 and L8, while continuing deliveries in Southeast Asia.

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Jared Kim LEPAS expanding into the UK and Italy while earning that World Car shortlist shows real momentum beyond just Southeast Asia deliveries.

Saima Wazed resigns as WHO regional director amid fraud probes — Sep 9, 2026Saima Wazed, the WHO Southeast Asia regional director and daughter of ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned amid fraud and forgery investigations by the WHO and Bangladeshi authorities after being placed on unpaid leave, denying the allegations and citing a loss of trust in leadership and untenable financial strain. The charges include financial fraud related to travel to China, misrepresentation of credentials, and an alleged land purchase, with Wazed insisting the issues were resolved or predated her WHO tenure.

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Chris Dalton Her family ties to the ousted prime minister make the credential issues look even more suspicious.

New York Pizza vs Chicago Deep DishYourlist — VS BattleThe foldable slice versus the fork-and-knife casserole — America's longest-running food fight.

Nvidia Plans 2GW Australian AI Expansion — Sep 10, 2026Nvidia is expanding Australia’s AI compute capacity to as much as 2 GW by 2027 through partnerships with local cloud and data-centre providers, leveraging its DSX platform to boost domestic innovation and support power-generation projects. Across Southeast Asia, Zankore plans an initial 100 MW of NVIDIA DSX AI infrastructure in Indonesia, with a longer-term goal of up to 1 GW, while Sharon AI in Australia scales to 68,000 GPUs under DSX to deliver sovereign, gigawatt-scale AI compute for startups, research and enterprises.

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Jared Kim Scaling Sharon AI to 68,000 GPUs under DSX looks like a solid step toward keeping our data and research sovereign.

Black Titan Plans Indonesia, Singapore ExpansionBusiness — Jul 21, 2026Black Titan Corporation (BTTC) outlines a Southeast Asia–focused growth strategy funded by cash reserves, expanding operations in Indonesia and strengthening its Singapore commercial hub with additional hiring, product diversification, and investment in staff development to scale its HCM and ERP offerings. The company emphasizes disciplined capital deployment and maintaining working capital to support regional expansion as it positions itself for long-term growth across Southeast Asia.

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Pope Francis Urges U.S. Catholics To Choose ‘Lesser Evil’ In Presidential Election‌ ‌ — Sep 15, 2024Pope Francis Blasts Both Harris And Trump, Tells US Catholics To ‘Choose Lesser Evil’. RELIGION UNPLUGGED. “> Following his historic 12-day trip to Southeast Asia, Pope Francis chimed in on the upcoming U.S…

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ZTE Summit Opens in Kuala Lumpur, Drawing 500 LeadersTech — Sep 8, 2026ZTE capped a week of global events with its 15th Global Summit and related forums in Southeast Asia, co-locating with GSMA M360 ASEAN for the first time and drawing hundreds of officials and industry partners to chart AI-enabled, digital-value networks. The company outlined a roadmap tying connectivity to computing, AI-driven services, and tokenomics while showcasing multi-layer air-based AI-native upgrades and a digital-intelligent ecosystem across Asia-Pacific partnerships.

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Can you actually read a map?Quizie — QuizFifteen world-geography questions. Most people miss at least three — the AI grades you and names your traveler rank.

UNODC: Asia-Pacific online scams hit US$114BWorld — Jul 21, 2026A UNODC report says victims of transnational online scams in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand lost up to US$114.1 billion in 2025, more than triple 2023, with Cambodia and Myanmar identified as regional hubs for fake romance and cryptocurrency investment schemes; authorities, including the United States, Britain and China, are cracking down and have extradited scam bosses from Cambodia, as the broader illicit economy becomes increasingly integrated across multiple markets. China, South Korea and Taiwan recorded the largest losses among regional victims, signaling a widened and more sophisticated cybercrime landscape.

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VinFast, Gowa Motor plan Indonesia EV JV — Aug 15, 2026VinFast and Gowa Motor Group signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture aimed at expanding VinFast’s EV dealership network in Indonesia, targeting at least 30 showrooms and service centers as part of VinFast’s Southeast Asia expansion. The collaboration combines VinFast’s EV tech and ecosystem with Gowa’s local market know-how, while VinFast continues to operate more than 40 showrooms and plans to add over 150 in the coming years.

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India Diet Coke price hike amid Iran war — Jul 24, 2026The US-Israeli war on Iran disrupted aluminum-can supplies to India, triggering Diet Coke shortages and a wave of “Diet Coke parties,” before Coca-Cola raised prices by over 10% and switched to more costly, larger cans from Southeast Asia as supply chains remain stressed by Hormuz disruptions. Some bottlers are also testing alternative packaging like 200-ml glass bottles, underscoring persistent packaging shortages and price inflation in India's beverage market.

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4,000-Year-Old Portable Austronesian Art Found on Wetar — Aug 17, 2026Archaeologists have uncovered a 4,000-year-old portable painted plaque from Wetar Island in eastern Indonesia, marking the first known portable example of Austronesian Painting Tradition art and providing a securely dated reference for the iconic red sun-ray motif. The find suggests Austronesian symbolic art traveled with seafaring communities—potentially playing a role in their rapid dispersal from Taiwan through Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific—and predates pottery, highlighting ideology as a driver of one of humanity’s greatest migrations.

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Thailand To Lower Taxes And Increase US Imports — Apr 8, 2025Thailand’s finance minister has announced there will be an increase of U.S. imports into the Southeast Asian nation, as well as the implementation of lower taxes on American goods. According to Reuters , the…

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Trump Builds Diplomatic Momentum Securing Peace, Trade Deals Ahead Of Looming Meeting With China — Oct 27, 2025President Donald Trump signed a pair of trade deals with southeast Asian countries and oversaw a peace deal ending a major border dispute in the region Sunday, building diplomatic momentum ahead of Trump’s anticipated…

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KMD Brands Plans $1.04B FY26 Sales, Divests FacilityBusiness — Jul 21, 2026KMD Brands’ FY26 trading update shows Kathmandu delivering solid growth of 4.8% in direct-to-consumer sales while Rip Curl faces softer Australian demand and Oboz returns to growth, with group sales guided around NZ$1.04–1.44 billion and EBITDA expected NZ$38–41 million. Net debt is forecast to rise to NZ$63–66 million due to higher working capital and inventory, as the company proceeds with the phased divestment of its Southeast Asian manufacturing facility to strengthen the balance sheet.

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