Advertisement

Advertisement

Asia

This Week in Asia

Illustration: Mario Rivera

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.

3 hours agovideocam

Safety fears bloom in Japan as ageing cherry trees collapse in Tokyo parks

37 minutes agovideocam

Singapore’s Workers’ Party finishes probe into chief Pritam Singh’s conduct

1 hour ago

South Asia

Here comes the ‘Mounjaro bride’: Indian pre-wedding prep includes obesity drug

Many Indian marriages are arranged by families, often bringing expectations around physical appearance and financial status.

3 hours ago

Brides sit during a mass marriage ceremony in Mumbai. Photo: AFP

Politics

South Korea and Indonesia’s fighter jet is ready. But will it sell?

Only a handful of nations have ever built a supersonic fighter jet from the ground up.

3 hours ago

Politics

Softly, softly: why South Korea, France prefer diplomacy over force in Hormuz

Presidents Lee and Macron have agreed to cooperate on safety in the strait but they are likely to wade in only after the war, analysts say.

4 hours agovideocam

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

South Asia

Pakistan offers free public transport for 30 days following 40% petrol hike

The announcement of free travel for residents of Islamabad and Punjab came after people protested the steep rise in fuel prices.

3 hours agovideocam

Passengers board a government bus in Islamabad on Friday. Photo: AFP

People

New Zealand doctor invoices US embassy for rising fuel costs

Shane Dunphy asked the embassy to reimburse him for the US$1,600 spent on petrol vouchers for his staff so that they could travel to work.

3 Apr 2026 - 6:25PM

People

Malaysia drops appeal on abducted activist’s case, family still seeks answers

Rights group Suhakam says the police Special Branch was involved in the disappearances of Raymond Koh and another activist, Amri Che Mat.

3 Apr 2026 - 7:41PM

East Asia

‘I can’t breathe’: Korean Air sued over in-flight death of passenger

The lawsuit filed in the US alleged that the airline failed to provide oxygen to Porscha Tynisha Brown who died in 2024.

3 Apr 2026 - 11:40AM

A Korean Air plane takes off from South Korea’s Incheon International Airport on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Economics

Helium supply shock threatens Asian chipmakers as economic slowdown fears mount

Iranian attacks on Qatar’s LNG facilities are curbing the supply of helium, a crucial gas used in chipmaking.

3 Apr 2026 - 6:29PMvideocam

Samsung Electronics’ products displayed at an exhibition hall for the Apec summit in Gyeongju, South Korea in October. Photo: AP

Economics

Malaysia urged to take more aggressive action to tackle energy crisis

Analysts warn of escalating risks to Malaysia’s economy and call for adjusting the subsidy scheme to stop the government from ‘burning cash’.

3 Apr 2026 - 6:17PM

Politics

Indonesia and Malaysia require geo-tracking for civil servants working from home

As governments roll out work-from-home policies to cut fuel use, civil servants face location tracking and other productivity measures.

3 Apr 2026 - 4:44PMvideocam

Politics

From general to Myanmar president: Min Aung Hlaing’s ‘cosmetic’ rebrand

His transition from top general to president is a ‘veneer’ that poses a challenge for Asean, which has long shunned him, critics say.

3 Apr 2026 - 6:35PMvideocam

Myanmar’s parliament elected junta chief Min Aung Hlaing as president on Friday. Photo: AFP

Economics

Indonesia rebalances energy policy as Iran war spurs new projects

As oil prices surge, Indonesia aims to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and intensify the use of crude palm oil for diesel blending.

3 Apr 2026 - 2:20PM

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Tokyo on Tuesday. Prabowo has invited Japan to develop Indonesia’s nuclear and renewable energy. Photo: Kyodo

Politics

‘Defining truth’? Worry in Philippines over controversial anti-fake news bills

Critics warn the proposals risk turning legitimate reporting, public-interest speech and fast-moving online discussion into criminal exposure.

3 Apr 2026 - 6:32PMvideocam

People

‘Feels unreal’: Indonesian grandma freed from Malaysian death row flies home

Ani Anggraeni spent nearly 15 years in prison for drug trafficking before her death sentence was commuted and she was later pardoned.

3 Apr 2026 - 12:49PMvideocam

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

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.

3 hours agovideocam

Illustration: Mario Rivera

Health & Environment

Burning daylight: Asean’s power grid plans get an Iran war jolt

Oil is up, coal is back and so are fuel queues. As the Middle East burns, Southeast Asia dusts off an old plan to rewire its future.

3 Apr 2026 - 10:40PM

Health & Environment

Mortal combat: Southeast Asia fights fears of death to plan for the end

Birth rates are falling. Populations are ageing. In Southeast Asia, the business of dying has never been bigger.

23 Mar 2026 - 9:54AMvideocam

Politics

Graft and gridlock: in Anwar’s Malaysia, reformist cracks widen

Malaysia’s prime minister can’t pass his own reform bills. His coalition appears to be cracking – and time is running out.

14 Mar 2026 - 10:30AM

Illustration: Huy Truong

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Highlights from

THIS WEEK IN ASIA

Lifestyle & Culture

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

3 hours agovideocam

Illustration: Mario Rivera

Politics

South Korea and Indonesia’s fighter jet is ready. But will it sell?

3 hours ago

The first mass-produced KF-21 fighter jet is unveiled during a ceremony at the headquarters of Korea Aerospace Industries in Sacheon on March 25. Photo: Yonhap/EPA

Politics

Softly, softly: why South Korea, France prefer diplomacy over force in Hormuz

4 hours agovideocam

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (right) toasts with Emmanuel Macron during a luncheon for the French leader at the presidential office in Seoul on Friday. Photo: Yonhap/dpa

People

Malaysia drops appeal on abducted activist’s case, family still seeks answers

3 Apr 2026 - 7:41PM

Pastor Raymond Koh was abducted in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, on February 13, 2017. Photo: Raymond Koh’s family

People

New Zealand doctor invoices US embassy for rising fuel costs

3 Apr 2026 - 6:25PM

A petrol station in the village of Pauatahanui, in Wellington, New Zealand, on March 27. A surge in oil prices since the start of the Middle East war has sent fuel costs spiralling. Photo: AFP

MORE IN This Week in Asia

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Opinion | How America’s stumble in Iran upends East Asia’s security calculus

Wenran Jiang

3 Apr 2026 - 9:21PM

Opinion | Iran war is changing East Asia’s energy and strategic plays

Hao Nan

2 Apr 2026 - 9:44PM

Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa

Opinion | What the Iran war reveals about Nato’s appetite for conflict over Taiwan

Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa

1 Apr 2026 - 8:30PM

Opinion | How selective outrage over Iran war exposes the limits of realpolitik

1 Apr 2026 - 5:30AM

Richard Heydarian

Opinion | How US war in Iran is pushing Philippines closer to China

Richard Heydarian

31 Mar 2026 - 8:30PM

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

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

Advertisement

Advertisement

TRENDING TOPICS

South China Sea

The Philippines

Advertisement

Advertisement