President Trump has announced a major shift in U.S. policy toward Russia, threatening “crushing” tariffs if Moscow fails to end its war in Ukraine within 50 days. The move includes so-called “secondary tariffs” aimed at pressuring third countries that continue buying Russian oil, gas, or other exports. We break it down with Julia Roknifard, senior lecturer at the School of Law and Governance at Taylor's University.

Other stories we covered:

• Parliamentary Services Act granted royal assent: The new Act gives Parliament full control over staffing and finances, ending decades of executive dominance, since the law was repealed in 1992. We reached out to Wo Chang Xi, a research analyst from the Sustainable Development Solutions Network to ask what Parliament will prioritise once the Act is in place.

• No on-call pay hike for doctors: The Health Ministry confirmed there will be no increase in doctors’ on-call allowances, despite years of lobbying and proposed budget hikes. We asked MP Dr Kelvin Yii and Galen Centre CEO Azrul Khalib how this decision might impact morale and retention in the public healthcare system.

• Leaked calls of border disputes lead to ethics probe: Thailand’s PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra is facing an ethics probe after a leaked call with Cambodia’s Hun Sen raised concerns over national interests in the Preah Vihear border conflict. We reached out to Matt Wheeler of the International Crisis Group to ask why this dispute continues to stir political turmoil in Thailand.

• Chimps start grass-in-ear trend: Chimpanzees at a Zambian sanctuary are sticking grass in their ears and behinds, a behaviour scientists say resembles human fads. We discuss what this tells us about social learning, imitation, and culture among non-human primates.

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