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This Week in Asia

Health & Environment

Lifestyle & Culture

An election worker counts ballots at a counting station in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 8. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

Will Thailand’s election be voided? Bar code blunder sparks ballot secrecy fears

With counting errors forcing revotes this Sunday, the reformist opposition is seizing on irregularities to demand a fresh election.

3 hours ago

Where is Kim Ju-ae? Succession question hangs over North Korea’s ruling congress

6 hours ago

Bangladesh faces daunting post-election challenges in economy, garment sector

20 Feb 2026 - 8:29PM

Lifestyle & Culture

Why Indonesia’s president wants clay roofs on all homes

The president says tourists are put off by Indonesia’s ‘rusty zinc’ roofs, and its image would improve with wider use of clay tiles.

20 Feb 2026 - 5:33PM

Zinc roofs on top of a house in Walatungga village, Sumba Island, Indonesia. Photo: AP

Politics

‘Plan B is war’: Gaza truce faces late April test despite Trump’s peace push

Observers say the unresolved question of Hamas’ disarmament leaves the fragile truce vulnerable to collapse.

20 Feb 2026 - 4:57PMvideocam

People

Malaysian police arrested over crypto extortion of Chinese nationals

Officers allegedly stormed a Selangor bungalow, seized laptops and forced a Chinese national to fork over US$51,000 in digital assets.

20 Feb 2026 - 12:58PM

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Politics

Japan’s Takaichi pushes to scrap food tax, ignoring economists’ warnings

The newly reappointed prime minister is gambling 5 trillion yen a year on a popular election promise that could backfire badly.

20 Feb 2026 - 9:30AM

A shopper visits a supermarket in Tokyo last month. Japan currently applies an 8 per cent consumption tax to most food and drink purchases. Photo: Kyodo

Politics

Why plan by US and Japan to relocate Okinawa airbase is hitting turbulence

The US does not intend to vacate the current airbase for now due to disagreement over runway length at a replacement site, a report says.

20 Feb 2026 - 5:15PM

People

No proof of any Singaporean fighting for Israel in Gaza, government says

Two Singapore passport holders were among the close to 200 Southeast Asians who fought for Israel, according to two media reports.

19 Feb 2026 - 8:42PM

Politics

US missile deployments in Philippines signal deeper strategic shift in region

Analysts said the move bolsters the First Island Chain strategy and deepens Manila’s role in regional defence planning.

19 Feb 2026 - 6:58PMvideocam

A US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, fires during the Balikatan joint military exercises at a naval station in Zambales province, northern Philippines, on April 26, 2023. Photo: AP

Lifestyle & Culture

Is Singapore’s plan to regulate blind boxes ‘paternalistic’ or ‘harm reduction’?

The mystery surrounding the purchase of blind boxes has prompted concerns of gambling-style risks faced by consumers, especially minors.

19 Feb 2026 - 7:25PM

Blind boxes sold in a store in Tampines 1 mall, Singapore. Photo: Kolette Lim

Economics

India-Europe trade corridor gathers pace as Modi, Macron pledge port partnership

The India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor is seen as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

19 Feb 2026 - 5:38PM

People

South Korea’s ex-president Yoon sentenced to life in prison for insurrection

Yoon Suk-yeol is the first democratically elected South Korean leader to be convicted of the crime.

19 Feb 2026 - 7:46PMvideocam

People

‘Rude and ignorant’: OnlyFans model slammed for Bali bikini theft

Gemma Doyle, 26, says she stole the US$21 swimsuit ‘for fun’, but has now paid more than US$1,100 to avoid a stint in Indonesian prison.

19 Feb 2026 - 2:13PM

Australian OnlyFans model Gemma Doyle, 26, apologised and admitted to shoplifting a bikini from a boutique in Bali after she was caught on CCTV. Photo: Instagram/gem.doyle

Politics

Wall and words: Thailand and Cambodia fight for the world’s ear over border row

While Cambodia takes its border grievances to Trump’s Board of Peace, Thailand rejects its ‘false’ claims and threatens a border wall.

19 Feb 2026 - 4:16PMvideocam

Thailand’s national flag flutters on a hillside in northeastern Sisaket province, as viewed from Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province on February 12. Photo: Reuters

People

‘Enormous failure’: naked man exposes gaps in Japan’s royal security

Princess Kako reportedly witnessed the chaos firsthand as a shrieking intruder stripped off and scaled a barrier below the royal balcony.

19 Feb 2026 - 8:05AM

Politics

India, France elevate defence ties in push for strategic autonomy

The deal reflects India’s shift from ‘transactional defence buying’ amid expanding security engagement with Europe, analysts say.

18 Feb 2026 - 8:39PM

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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.

14 Feb 2026 - 4:03PMvideocam

Image: Kevin Wong

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.

10 Feb 2026 - 8:54PM

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.

31 Jan 2026 - 8:08AM

Politics

Malaysia’s Islamists preach ‘racial domination’ to woo young voters

They govern the north, dominate the opposition and claim to soon be the undisputed home of Malay nationalism. Is Putrajaya next for PAS?

24 Jan 2026 - 8:00AM

Supporters of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) wave flags during a rally in Kedah in 2012. Photo: AFP

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LATEST Asia NEWS

Southeast Asia

US to remove Vietnam from tech export control list, Hanoi says

2 hours ago

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right) and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung shake hands in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Politics

Will Thailand’s election be voided? Bar code blunder sparks ballot secrecy fears

3 hours ago

An election worker counts ballots at a counting station in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 8. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

Where is Kim Ju-ae? Succession question hangs over North Korea’s ruling congress

6 hours ago

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae inspect a newly completed music shop in the Hwasong area of Pyongyang on Wednesday. Photo: KCNA/KNS/AFP

Southeast Asia

#SEAbling: the hashtag uniting Southeast Asia against South Korea

4 hours ago

A meme circulating on social media under the hashtag #SEAbling. Photo: X/sna_zizah17

Lifestyle & Culture

Why Indonesia’s president wants clay roofs on all homes

20 Feb 2026 - 5:33PM

Zinc roofs on top of a house in Walatungga village, Sumba Island, Indonesia. Photo: AP

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Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters

Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters

Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji

Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail

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