Advertisement
Advertisement
Asia
+ FOLLOW
Australasia
East Asia
Southeast Asia
South Asia
This Week in Asia
Economics
‘Getting worse each day’: why Southeast Asia is vulnerable to the fuel crisis
From Laos to Thailand, long queues are forming at petrol stations while residents are reeling from surging fuel prices.
23 Mar 2026 - 9:02PM
videocam
What does Iran war mean for China’s export machine?
6 hours ago
Indonesia will not pay US$1 billion fee for Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’: Prabowo
23 Mar 2026 - 3:50PM
Health & Environment
South Korea’s hurry-hurry spirit keeps killing its factory workers
Nine of the 14 people killed in Friday’s factory fire in Daejeon died in a room that did not officially exist.
23 Mar 2026 - 1:50PM
videocam
Heavy smoke billows from the blaze at a car parts factory in Daejeon, South Korea, on Friday. Photo: Yonhap/AFP
East Asia
BTS’ South Korea comeback crowd disappoints, triggering stock sell-off
The reunion concert drew 104,000 fans – less than half the 260,000 police had expected.
23 Mar 2026 - 8:13PM
videocam
4
Lifestyle & Culture
Should wives always obey? Most in Malaysia and Indonesia say yes
A new study also shows 64 per cent of respondents in Singapore agree that efforts to give women equal rights with men ‘have gone far enough’.
23 Mar 2026 - 11:07AM
5
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Politics
US eyes a Philippine ammo facility as opposition warns of ‘warmongering’
The Philippines has long been the closest US ally in Asia. Now Washington wants something more: a place to make bullets and shells.
23 Mar 2026 - 4:00PM
videocam
4
Philippine soldiers load ammunition into an Autonomous Truck Mounted Howitzer System (Armos) during a live-fire exercise in 2024. Photo: AFP
East Asia
Japanese national back home after Iran detention
While the person, detained last year, is now free, another Japanese national - said to be a journalist - has been in custody since January.
23 Mar 2026 - 5:09PM
videocam
People
‘I’ve never held my son’: the Rohingya families Malaysia keeps apart
More than 5,000 Rohingya languish in detention in Malaysia, leaving fathers like Farouk to watch their children grow through a screen.
23 Mar 2026 - 6:00PM
Politics
Can Japan offer Indonesia a ‘credible alternative’ to China on Prabowo’s visit?
Defence and minerals to dominate the agenda as Tokyo offers hi-tech warships and energy pacts to secure Indonesia as a ‘trusted partner’.
23 Mar 2026 - 9:20AM
Middle East
‘No immunity’: Iran war threatens energy crisis worse than 1970s oil shocks
The boss of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, spoke out as the war grinds into its fourth week.
23 Mar 2026 - 6:59PM
videocam
Smoke and flames rise at the site of air strikes on an oil depot in Tehran on March 7. Photo: via TNS
Southeast Asia
Malaysia’s fuel subsidy bill jumps to US$811 million amid Iran war
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said monthly fuel subsidies surged more than fourfold as the conflict chokes global supply routes.
23 Mar 2026 - 9:45AM
videocam
East Asia
North Korea reappoints Kim Jong-un as supreme leader
State media said the decision to re-elect Kim to the ‘top post’ reflected ‘the unanimous will and desire of all the Korean people’.
23 Mar 2026 - 5:20PM
videocam
Health & Environment
‘Super-aged’ Singapore’s secret to growing old well? Stay busy
Forget doing nothing. At the city state’s active hubs, the soundtrack to ageing is sewing machines, exercise bikes and guitar lessons.
23 Mar 2026 - 9:48PM
Economics
‘It’s really bad’: record fuel prices drive Filipinos off the road
With diesel in the triple digits amid the Iran war, Filipinos brace for a domino effect on rice, electricity and basic household necessities.
21 Mar 2026 - 1:30PM
videocam
7
Protesters hold signs opposing fuel price increases in Manila, the Philippines, on Friday. Photo: EPA
Global Economy
China cuts some hi-tech metals sent to Japan – but magnet exports rise. Why?
Exports of gallium and germanium have slowed, yet rare earth magnet shipments have increased amid strained ties.
23 Mar 2026 - 7:06PM
videocam
4
Economics
Malaysia wanted 43 million tourists this year. Then the Iran war happened
Malaysia’s reliance on Gulf hubs is exposed as long-haul fares soar, but 21 million annual arrivals from Singapore offer a buffer.
22 Mar 2026 - 8:00AM
videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
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 - 9:54AM
videocam
Illustration: Huy Truong
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
People
‘It’s inevitable’: Singapore’s workers brace for AI disruption
The city state wants 100,000 workers to become ‘AI bilingual’. But with entry-level roles already vanishing, time may not be on its side.
11 Mar 2026 - 12:24PM
videocam
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.
1 Mar 2026 - 8:00AM
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Highlights from
THIS WEEK IN ASIA
Economics
‘Getting worse each day’: why Southeast Asia is vulnerable to the fuel crisis
23 Mar 2026 - 9:02PM
videocam
People
‘I’ve never held my son’: the Rohingya families Malaysia keeps apart
23 Mar 2026 - 6:00PM
Politics
US eyes a Philippine ammo facility as opposition warns of ‘warmongering’
23 Mar 2026 - 4:00PM
videocam
4
Health & Environment
South Korea’s hurry-hurry spirit keeps killing its factory workers
23 Mar 2026 - 1:50PM
videocam
Lifestyle & Culture
Should wives always obey? Most in Malaysia and Indonesia say yes
23 Mar 2026 - 11:07AM
5
MORE IN This Week in Asia
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
OPINION
Nicholas Spiro
The View
|
War-induced interest rate shocks unlikely to upset Asia’s property markets
23 Mar 2026 - 4:30PM
Albert Bakhtizin
Opinion
|
Another war, another trade chokepoint crisis. Who is hit the hardest?
22 Mar 2026 - 9:30PM
Ian Storey
Opinion
|
Indonesia’s new aircraft carrier is more vanity project than war machine
22 Mar 2026 - 10:00AM
Anthony Rowley
Macroscope
|
Trump’s war is uniting the world, just not how he might have expected
21 Mar 2026 - 4:30PM
Syaza Shukri
Asian Angle
|
Malaysia’s LGBTQ crackdowns aren’t hypocrisy, they’re politics
21 Mar 2026 - 11:30AM
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
MULTIMEDIA
Video
Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters
03:09
Video
Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji
02:34
Video
Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport
02:02
Video
Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail
04:27
Advertisement
Advertisement
TRENDING TOPICS
Singapore
Malaysia
South China Sea
The Philippines
Indonesia
Advertisement
Advertisement