Air travel across Southeast Asia is expected to rise at an estimated compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8 percent from 2016 to 2036. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) puts the projected number of passengers travelling in 2036 at 7.8 billion people.

Human trafficking in Southeast Asia is still rampant as revealed by the United States (US) State Department’s latest annual Trafficking in Persons report. Dubbed by the US State Department as the “the world's most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-human trafficking efforts,” the report shows that human trafficking is still a massive problem in Asia. In the report, countries are placed under different tiers based on their efforts in combating human trafficking.

In March this year, the world was rocked by the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The United Kingdom (UK) based data analytics and political consulting firm that worked on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign had obtained data from 87 million Facebook users worldwide without proper permission.

Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) schemes are widely acknowledged as one of the most effective ways of renewable energy (RE) procurement globally. Within member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), it is still relatively nascent as a primary renewable energy incentive with most countries preferring to offer tax breaks instead.

A unicorn has finally arrived in the Philippines. In October last year, Philippine-based startup Revolution Precrafted, a company that develops and designs prefabricated homes and hotels among others, raised its series B round of funding co-led by Singaporean venture capital firm K2 Global. The round of funding raised an undisclosed amount that brought the startup over the billion-dollar mark, making it the first unicorn to come out of the Philippines.

Today, diplomacy is still the preferred tool of international relations. Global multilateralism has seen the rise of regional intergovernmental organisations like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which has served as a vital diplomatic instrument in enhancing regional cooperation and fostering unity within the Asia Pacific. ASEAN has always been a mixed bag of sorts to diplomats and observers alike.

Estimates by the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA) and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) indicate that US$290 billion of total investment in renewable energy capacity will be necessary to attain the regional aspirational target of 23 percent primary energy from renewable energy by 2025. Hence, renewable energy investment would need to be substantially scaled up to an estimated US$27 billion annually.

The chandeliered halls of Vienna’s Hofburg palace will be the venue for the meeting between leaders of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as they decide on output policy amid calls by the major oil consuming economies of the United States (US), China and India to increase crude oil production and cool down oil prices.

Google’s latest move of investing in Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com reveals that the company is stepping up its game to make inroads in Asia. On Monday, tech conglomerate Google announced a strategic partnership with JD.com, China’s second-largest e-commerce company. Also known as Jingdong, JD.com generated over US$55 billion in revenue last year and currently boasts over 300 million active users. The company is currently the biggest competitor to Jack Ma’s Alibaba.

Last week, the world saw the new global order manifest itself in real time. On one hand, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) had a tense summit following United States (US) President Donald Trump’s announcement of imposing tariffs on European Union (EU) countries. On the other, China held a two-day regional security summit with notable attendees like Russia and Iran.Naturally, it was Trump and the G7 that managed to dominate headlines.