In July, India’s best-selling electric scooter, Bajaj Auto’s Chetak, hit a big speed bump. A shortage of rare-earth metals had hit production plans, and the company was forced to almost halve its output. Bajaj manufactured just 10,824 units of the Chetak in July, as compared with 20,384 units during the same period last year, due to rare earth shortages. “The rare-earth magnet supply situation has been a constraint...

Manila says exercises with Australia, Canada in flashpoint maritime area demonstrates a ‘commitment’ to defence cooperation with ‘like-minded nations’. Published On 28 Aug 202528 Aug 2025 Australia, Canada and the Philippines have conducted joint exercises off a disputed shoal in the South China Sea claimed by Beijing, deploying three warships and military aircraft in air defence exercises. The Philippine military said on Thursday that the joint naval drills...

Pete Hegseth orders review after revelations Microsoft used Chinese contractors to manage sensitive cloud services. Published On 28 Aug 202528 Aug 2025 The United States has launched a review of Chinese nationals’ involvement in managing sensitive cloud services for the US military, Washington’s defence chief has said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that he had ordered an audit of Microsoft’s use of Chinese citizens...