AI companions are generative AI models that emulate empathy and emotional support. In this article, we explore the psychological impacts of AI companionship.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 (Bernama) - The April 2 tariffs unveiled by United States (US) President Donald Trump have shocked the world and represent a departure from the globalisation policy of previous US administrations.Tariffs are a tax imposed by a government on goods and services imported from another country.They can be used to raise revenue, affect trade flows or protect domestic industries. The Trump tariffs seek to do all three.Since the US is Malaysia’s third largest trading partner after Singapore and China, these new tariffs and their strategic implications need to be understood.First, Malaysia is not being singled out by the US. Nor is the US quibbling with any specific trade policy upheld by Malaysia or any other country.From April 5, 2025, the US will levy a minimum 10 per cent tariff on all countries, from allies such as the United Kingdom (UK) to the Heard and McDonald Islands off the coast of Antarctica, uninhabited except for penguins.From April 9, some 90 other countries, including Malaysia, are facing higher “reciprocal” tariffs. These are not reciprocating high tariffs that Malaysia levies on any US goods (most, in fact, are low).Rather, what the US is taking issue with is the existence of any trade deficit.

Malaysia chairs ASEAN for the fifth time in 2025, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the historic Bandung Conference of 1955, which marked Afro-Asian solidarity against colonialism and imperialism. Ironically, 2025 is also the year that the Trump administration unleashed its trade wars against the entire world (including remote islands inhabited by penguins), revealing the nakedness of the US-led colonial/imperial capitalist world-system.What does ASEAN neutrality mean in the age of naked imperialism?

This article explores how strategic trade controls, export governance and the ART influence Malaysia’s semiconductor ecosystem and its position as a trusted technology hub.