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This Week in Asia
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (centre, front) walks down the stairs to pose for a photo session with members of her cabinet in Tokyo on February 18. Photo: EPA

East Asia

80 years on, gender gap persists in Japanese politics

New research shows there has been little change since women in Japan first exercised their right to vote nearly 80 years ago.

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Iran war oil shock accelerates Southeast Asia’s EV revolution

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‘It’s inevitable’: Singapore’s workers brace for AI disruption

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Politics

Nepal election: rapper-turned-politician Balen Shah beats former prime minister

The 35-year-old former Kathmandu mayor’s defeat of K.P. Sharma Oli means he is on track to head the next government.

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Balendra Shah, 35, receives his victory certificate on Sunday after defeating former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in Nepal’s parliamentary election. Photo: AP
Balendra Shah, 35, receives his victory certificate on Sunday after defeating former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in Nepal’s parliamentary election. Photo: AP

Health & Environment

Singapore’s ban on caged lorries revives debate over migrant worker transport

The government says the move improves workers’ safety, but advocacy groups say the wider transport risks remain.

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Economics

Singapore real estate giants feel the heat amid China’s property woes

Analysts say Singaporean companies are still likely to bet on China’s massive market, but could now adopt a more selective investment approach.

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Economics

Indonesia’s US trade deal faces a sovereignty reckoning at home

Nearly 80 civil groups and 65 academics have signed a petition urging parliament to block ratification of the ‘shameful’ deal.

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto (left) and US President Donald Trump at a summit in Egypt last year. Photo: AFP
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto (left) and US President Donald Trump at a summit in Egypt last year. Photo: AFP

Politics

Pakistan imperils its IMF rescue as Afghanistan border violence rages

Without an IMF bailout, ‘Pakistan won’t survive’, one economist says. But financial collapse wouldn’t just be Islamabad’s problem.

Lifestyle & Culture

Why Vietnam’s Da Nang is a hit with South Korean tourists

South Koreans are now the second-largest group of foreign visitors to Vietnam, and Da Nang is one of their favourite destinations.

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Australasia

Australia complains to China after encounter between military helicopters

Australia says the Chinese aircraft made an ‘unsafe’ manoeuvre, while China called the statement ‘distortions of facts’.

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The incident is the latest ‌in a series ‌of military encounters involving China that Australia has called out publicly in similar terms. Photo illustration: Shutterstock

East Asia

Seoul’s missile shield vs Iranian barrage: the fight to protect UAE’s skies

Abu Dhabi wants faster Cheongung-II missile battery deliveries from Seoul amid 96 per cent interception success against Iranian attacks.

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A Cheongung-II surface-to-air missile is launched towards a simulated target during a drill in the Yellow Sea area in 2024. Photo: South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff
A Cheongung-II surface-to-air missile is launched towards a simulated target during a drill in the Yellow Sea area in 2024. Photo: South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff

Politics

Indonesia to ban under-16s from ‘high-risk’ social media platforms

Minister Meutya Hafid said the restrictions would protect children from online harms, but experts warned enforcement might prove difficult.

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People

DNA confirms mutilated remains found on Bali beach belong to kidnapped Ukrainian

Ihor Komarov, a 28-year-old Ukrainian national, was reported abducted in mid-February while riding a motorcycle with a friend in Jimbaran.

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South Asia

‘Not biased’: Sri Lanka takes control of Iranian ship, brings crew to shore

‘Every life is as precious as our own,’ said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, amid transfer of over 200 sailors after distress call.

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A Sri Lanka Navy vessel approaches an Iranian ship during a rescue operation off Sri Lanka’s coast on Friday. Photo: Handout via Reuters

Economics

Qatar’s LNG halt exposes Asia’s energy vulnerability

Analysts say the turmoil underscores Asia’s need to shift to renewable energy, as nations scramble for alternatives amid the disruption.

QatarEnergy’s liquefied natural gas production facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar, on Monday. Photo: Reuters
QatarEnergy’s liquefied natural gas production facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar, on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Politics

How far could the war with Iran spread beyond the Middle East?

From Turkey and the Caucasus to South Asia, analysts warn the war could ignite new flashpoints along regional fault lines.

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Economics

Is Indonesia’s fuel subsidy sustainable as Iran war continues?

Higher oil prices would mean bigger fuel subsidies, piling on the pressure on a budget that is already under investor scrutiny.

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Politics

Build fast, grow rich: To Lam’s blueprint for a rising Vietnam

Vietnam’s Communist Party chief is staking his legacy on 10 per cent growth, domestic megaprojects and an overseas charm offensive.

Illustration: Huy Truong
Illustration: Huy Truong

Economics

Philippines’ AI reckoning puts millions of jobs on the line

The US$30 billion outsourcing sector is fighting to adapt, leaving millions of workers with a stark choice: upskill or be left behind.

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Economics

India’s trade blitz seeks to keep afloat a sinking global order

‘Jolted out of its slumber’ by US tariffs, New Delhi is aggressively diversifying trade alliances to act as a bridge in a polarised world.

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Politics

‘Critical point’: can Thailand election pave way for national reset?

With the economy struggling and corruption rife, Thai voters will look to the February 8 election as a chance to turn the country around.

Thailand’s prime minister and Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul (second from right) greets people at a market during an election campaign at Chinatown in Bangkok on January 20. Photo: AFP
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Highlights from
THIS WEEK IN ASIA

Lifestyle & Culture

Iran war oil shock accelerates Southeast Asia’s EV revolution

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Electric cars inside BYD’s first EV factory in Thailand. Observers say this year has proved a turning point for EV uptake across Southeast Asia. Photo: Reuters

People

‘It’s inevitable’: Singapore’s workers brace for AI disruption

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Illustration: Huy Truong

Politics

Nepal election: rapper-turned-politician Balen Shah beats former prime minister

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Balendra Shah, 35, receives his victory certificate on Sunday after defeating former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in Nepal’s parliamentary election. Photo: AP

Health & Environment

Singapore’s ban on caged lorries revives debate over migrant worker transport

videocam
Migrant workers ride in the back of an open lorry in Singapore on Dec 6, 2025. The government is moving to ban the use of caged lorries to transport workers as part of efforts to improve transport safety. Photo: Kyodo

Lifestyle & Culture

Why Vietnam’s Da Nang is a hit with South Korean tourists

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A couple runs along the seafront next to the beach in Da Nang, central Vietnam, last year. Photo: AFP
MORE IN This Week in Asia
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OPINION
Donald Rothwell

Opinion | Australia needs to make its stance on the Iran attacks known

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Ren Yan

Being Chinese | In China, some of us are keeping elderly care in the family – for now

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Jawad Khalid

Opinion | Pakistan’s forever war and the politics of exhaustion

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Opinion | Fatigue is rewriting the US-China soft power contest, starting in Asean

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Rob York

Opinion | Kim Jong-un’s daughter may well become North Korea’s first female leader

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MULTIMEDIA
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Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters

Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters
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Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji

Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji
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Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport
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Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail
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