Advertisement
Advertisement

This Week in Asia

Asia
Politics
Economics
People
Opinion
Health & Environment
Lifestyle & Culture
A woman shops for vegetables in Depok, Indonesia, earlier this month near a sign asking customers to bring their own shopping bags. Photo: Reuters

Economics

Mixed bag: Indonesia’s 8% growth dream hits a plastic ceiling

Soaring packaging costs amid the Iran war hint at a deeper malaise as the middle class contracts and growth hits a plateau.

videocam

At Malaysia’s arms bazaar, drone dealers chase Southeast Asian market share

videocam

Singapore’s answer to school bullying? The cane … and counselling

videocam

Lifestyle & Culture

Iconic South Korean district on the brink in divisive urban renewal fight

Conservationists worry that reshaping Seoul’s Sewoon District risks erasing both heritage and livelihoods.

Sewoon Plaza in Seoul. Built in 1968, the plaza was South Korea’s first mixed-use residential and commercial complex. Photo: David D. Lee
Sewoon Plaza in Seoul. Built in 1968, the plaza was South Korea’s first mixed-use residential and commercial complex. Photo: David D. Lee

Politics

Will South Korea or Japan develop a nuclear deterrent of their own?

Seven in 10 South Koreans tell pollsters they want the bomb. Japan’s PM refuses to rule it out. Is ‘friendly proliferation’ next?

videocam

Politics

Malaysia gets new anti-corruption chief as protests mount against outgoing head

Former High Court judge Abdul Halim Aman takes the reins of MACC from Azam Baki amid scandals.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Politics

India-Germany defence road map ‘good template’ for wider EU cooperation

Deeper defence ties are expected to boost India’s maritime modernisation efforts and Europe’s security role in the Indo-Pacific, experts say.

Submarine U-34 is docked in a shipyard of warship maker TKMS in Kiel, Germany, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Submarine U-34 is docked in a shipyard of warship maker TKMS in Kiel, Germany, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt: the Middle East’s new power brokers?

‘Fear of US abandonment’ is helping forge a new Middle East – but don’t expect an Islamic Nato just yet.

Politics

3 killed in Japanese Type 10 tank blast that has military baffled

A round detonating inside a tank turret is virtually unheard of. The last time it happened in Japan was in 1979.

videocam
11

Politics

Chinese drone discovery sharpens focus on Asia’s undersea security race

Experts say India is playing ‘steady catch-up’ in boosting undersea surveillance, while Southeast Asian nations’ capabilities differ widely.

South and Southeast Asian nations are stepping up capabilities to boost undersea surveillance and defend deep-sea cables, analysts say. Photo: Shutterstock

Politics

Robredo’s 2028 snub leaves Philippine opposition scrabbling for ‘saviour’

A March survey showed that the popularity gap between Leni Robredo and presidential front runner Sara Duterte-Carpio had narrowed.

Leni Robredo gives a post-election statement from her home in Magarao, Camarines Norte, on May 10, 2022. Photo: Office of the Vice President/AP)
Leni Robredo gives a post-election statement from her home in Magarao, Camarines Norte, on May 10, 2022. Photo: Office of the Vice President/AP)

Politics

Is Indonesia’s blasphemy law for religious protection or political purpose?

The law has come under the spotlight after complaints filed against a former vice-president over his comments on sectarian violence.

videocam

Politics

US slaps sanctions on Cambodian senator suspected of controlling scam centres

The sanction freezes all US assets linked to Senator Kok An and his named associates, and bars any American national from dealing with them.

videocam

Politics

‘We owe it to the world’: Philippines pushes for South China Sea code this year

Talks between Asean and China to agree on setting rules for maritime behaviour and crisis management under the code have stalled.

videocam
A Chinese coastguard vessel (right) fires its water cannon at the Philippine BRP Datu Pagbuaya near Philippines-occupied Thitu island, locally called Pag-asa island, at the South China Sea last October. Photo: Philippine coastguard via AP

Economics

Why US tanker blockades are raising risks for Southeast Asian strait controllers

The bigger risk is not of the Iran war spilling into their waters, but the strain of operating in more contested sea lanes, analysts say.

videocam
Guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy patrols the Arabian Sea during a maritime blockade on April 15. Photo: US Navy/AFP
Guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy patrols the Arabian Sea during a maritime blockade on April 15. Photo: US Navy/AFP

Lifestyle & Culture

Burger King in Japan dangles US$250,000 to lure rival franchisees

Meanwhile, Philippine fried chicken chain Jollibee has announced a record operating income and is accelerating its global expansion.

People

Bangladeshi YouTuber’s death sparks mourning amid Malaysia’s DUI crisis

Muzahid Millad was killed in a crash involving an allegedly drunk Malaysian soldier, prompting calls for justice and stricter laws.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Economics

Mixed bag: Indonesia’s 8% growth dream hits a plastic ceiling

Soaring packaging costs amid the Iran war hint at a deeper malaise as the middle class contracts and growth hits a plateau.

videocam
A woman shops for vegetables in Depok, Indonesia, earlier this month near a sign asking customers to bring their own shopping bags. Photo: Reuters
A woman shops for vegetables in Depok, Indonesia, earlier this month near a sign asking customers to bring their own shopping bags. Photo: Reuters

Health & Environment

Shock therapy: war forces oil-addicted Asia to finally go green

Burned by soaring energy prices, Southeast Asian nations are racing to future-proof themselves against the volatility of war.

videocam

Politics

Japan’s Middle East oil habit gets an Iran war reality check

Almost all of Japan’s oil comes from the Middle East. A closed strait turned that dependence into a trap.

videocam
4

Lifestyle & Culture

Cultural capitals: Southeast Asia seeks soft power to outlast the buzz

The region’s creators are going global, but the structures to sustain them are still catching up.

videocam
Illustration: Mario Rivera
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
LATEST Asia NEWS

East Asia

Wildfires in Japan’s north worsen, 1,400 firefighters deployed

A convoy of fire trucks make their way to the fire in the town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northern Honshu, Japan on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Southeast Asia

2 US citizens killed in raid on Philippines communist stronghold

Masked protesters during a rally to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, near the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, Philippines, in 2018. Photo: AP

China Economy

Chinese travellers flock to Central Asia as flight bookings soar by 120%

videocam
Ground staf and crew members for the inaugural flight of China Eastern Airlines from Shanghai to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, pose for a group photo. A new direct passenger air route connecting the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai and the Uzbek capital of Tashkent was launched in March. Photo: Xinhua

Lifestyle & Culture

Singapore’s answer to school bullying? The cane … and counselling

videocam
Illustration: Huy Truong

Economics

At Malaysia’s arms bazaar, drone dealers chase Southeast Asian market share

videocam
Malaysian army officers visit the booth of Special Technology Control, a Russian developer of unmanned systems, at the Defence Services Asia exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
MORE Asia NEWS
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
OPINION
Wesley Morgan,Ben Newell

Opinion | Trump’s oil crisis is accelerating the end of the fossil fuel era

Wesley Morgan
Ben Newell
Michael Vatikiotis

Opinion | Blinding the world with lies makes peacemaking an impossible task

Chandran Nair

Asian Angle | The Thucydides Trap is a lie created to justify a US-China war

Chandran Nair
10
Nilufer Oral

Opinion | Passage through the Strait of Hormuz is a right in war and peace

Nilufer Oral
5
Nguyen Khac Giang

Asian Angle | Who is Vietnam’s new Prime Minister Le Minh Hung?

Nguyen Khac Giang
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
MULTIMEDIA
Video

Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters

Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters
03:09
Video

Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji

Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji
02:34
Video

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport
02:02
Video

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail
04:27
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
TRENDING TOPICS
Singapore
Malaysia
The Philippines
Indonesia
South China Sea
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
MOST POPULAR
1

Singapore tycoon wants banks to pay US$1 billion for Australian NewSat collapse

2

How an alleged Malaysian scammer vanished with US$25 billion in life savings

videocam
3

In Malaysia, unlicensed street photography becomes focus of crackdown

4

China begins building US$1 billion hydropower station in Cambodia

5

Singaporean man charged after viral Lucky Plaza assault on Filipino woman