US president's visit to Malaysia puts spotlight on Southeast Asian country's efforts to walk a fine line between great powers. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia When US President Donald Trump lands in Malaysia for Southeast Asia's headline summit this weekend, he will be delivering Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim a diplomatic coup. US presidents rarely visit Malaysia, a multiracial nation of 35 million people sandwiched between Thailand and Singapore, which for decades has maintained a policy of not picking sides in rivalries between great powers.
Data analysed by the The Last Beach Cleanup, a US group campaigning to halt plastic pollution, showed that the increase in UK exports in the first half of 2025 was mainly to Indonesia (24,006 tonnes in 2025, up from 525 tonnes in 2024) and Malaysia (28,667 tonnes, up from 18,872 tonnes in 2024). Total plastic waste exports remained relatively high in the first half of 2024 and 2025, at 319,407 and 317,647 tonnes respectively.
A Malaysian F/A-18D Hornet caught fire on Thursday night as it was taking off, the country's air force said. Malaysia's air force, which owns eight of the US-made fighter jets, said in a statement that the aircraft had been involved in an "accident" at 9:05 p.m. local time. The statement said the take-off incident happened at Kuantan Air Base, roughly 110 miles east of the capital of Kuala Lumpur.
"In the states PAS governs, such as Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis, it has been pushing for policies aligned with its conservative Islamic ideology, including efforts to implement hudud (Islamic criminal law)."
When he took office, Mr. Abdullah initially rode a wave of popularity after replacing Mahathir Mohamad, a domineering, sharp-tongued leader known for his semi-authoritarian rule lasting 22 years.