Advertisement
Advertisement

Asia

Australasia
East Asia
Southeast Asia
South Asia
This Week in Asia
A Vietjet Airline airplane in front of a Vietnam Airlines airplane, at Noi Bai International Airport, in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 28, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Global Economy

Asia air travel faces turbulence as Iran war exposes jet fuel vulnerability

Airlines are cutting flights, as dependence on Middle Eastern fuel hits operators from Pakistan to New Zealand.

videocam

Malaysian bust spotlights shadow fleet oil trade in Southeast Asia

videocam

Japan’s Trump tariff deal faces climate backlash over projects’ 20% carbon surge

videocam

Economics

Malaysia faces energy emergency amid Trump’s Hormuz blockade

With six tankers carrying up to 6 million barrels of oil potentially stranded, analysts say Malaysia is on a collision course with crisis.

videocam
The skyline of Kuala Lumpur seen on Friday. Malaysia has leaned heavily on domestic natural gas production and costly subsidies to mitigate the fallout from the Iran war. Photo: EPA
The skyline of Kuala Lumpur seen on Friday. Malaysia has leaned heavily on domestic natural gas production and costly subsidies to mitigate the fallout from the Iran war. Photo: EPA

Politics

What Pakistani jets in Saudi Arabia mean for Gulf security in Iran war

Analysts say the Pakistani air force’s presence ‘will complicate Iran’s targeting calculus’ and force it to reconsider its attack strategy.

videocam

Lifestyle & Culture

Songkran is here. So is Thailand’s worst energy crisis in years

Soaring costs for fuel and ice fail to dampen the mood as a wave of ‘revenge travel’ provides a much-needed economic boost.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

South Asia

Minister says Pakistan ‘committed’ to repay US$3 billion loan from UAE

Finance Minister Aurangzeb said the government was exploring a ‘combination of many sources’ to pay back the amount.

videocam
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. Photo: Reuters
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. Photo: Reuters

Lifestyle & Culture

Solo in Seoul? South Korean capital offers helpers for US$4 an hour

The city’s ‘companion service’ aims to help single-person households move house or visit hospital.

videocam

People

In Malaysia, some laud car driver’s arrest over ‘world’s most expensive petrol’

The driver of a Singapore-registered vehicle faces a US$252,600 fine, jail or both if he is found guilty of pumping subsidised RON95 petrol.

videocam

Lifestyle & Culture

Japan’s rural rail crisis hits new low as JR East cuts toilet paper service

JR East’s decision to remove toilet paper at some unmanned stations underscores the financial pressures on rural rail services.

Oshikiri station in Japan’s Niigata prefecture no longer has toilet paper service. Photo: Handout

East Asia

South Korean president’s Holocaust remarks spark Israel outcry

Lee Jae Myung’s comparing military action against Palestinians to the Holocaust comes as Israel remembers the 6 million Jews killed by Nazis.

videocam
5
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a press conference in Seoul on Monday. Photo: via EPA
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a press conference in Seoul on Monday. Photo: via EPA

Politics

‘Not a reliable ally’: Japan eyes Nato as Trump erodes faith in US guarantees

Tokyo and the transatlantic security alliance have a shared problem: what happens if the US walks away?

10

Economics

Manila vs Hong Kong: the 2 sides of Asia’s housing affordability crisis

Asia is home to 60 per cent of the world’s slum dwellers and some of the planet’s most expensive real estate.

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
Storage tanks are seen at an oil refinery in Yokohama, Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture, as Mount Fuji looms in the background. Photo: AFP

Economics

Singapore’s robotaxi drive revs up with help from Chinese AV leaders

The city state is working with Chinese companies like WeRide and Pony.ai to test and deploy shuttle taxi services on public roads.

videocam
A passenger’s view from inside an autonomous vehicle in Punggol, Singapore. Photo: Jean Iau
A passenger’s view from inside an autonomous vehicle in Punggol, Singapore. Photo: Jean Iau

Politics

UAE pulls US$3.5 billion from Pakistan after Iran war mediation

As Abu Dhabi signals its displeasure with Islamabad, analysts say other indebted partners will be watching closely.

videocam
8

Health & Environment

‘Alarming’ film poster sparks debate on child mental health in Indonesia

Psychologists warn provocative posters like the ones for ‘I Must Die’ can trigger suicidal ideation amid rising mental health struggles.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

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
Storage tanks are seen at an oil refinery in Yokohama, Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture, as Mount Fuji looms in the background. Photo: AFP
Storage tanks are seen at an oil refinery in Yokohama, Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture, as Mount Fuji looms in the background. Photo: AFP

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

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.

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.

videocam
Illustration: Huy Truong
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Highlights from
THIS WEEK IN ASIA

Economics

Malaysian bust spotlights shadow fleet oil trade in Southeast Asia

videocam
The Penang Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency intercepted an alleged illegal transfer of more than 700,000 litres of diesel in waters off Bagan Ajam on Saturday. Photo: Facebook / Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia

Health & Environment

Japan’s Trump tariff deal faces climate backlash over projects’ 20% carbon surge

videocam
US President Donald Trump met Japan’s economic revitalisation minister Ryosei Akazawa and his delegation in Washington on April 16, 2025. The meeting came as Tokyo sought relief from US tariff pressure. Photo: Reuters

Politics

What Pakistani jets in Saudi Arabia mean for Gulf security in Iran war

videocam
Pakistan Air Force’s JF-17 fighter jets fly past during a multinational naval exercise near Karachi in February 2025. Photo: AFP

People

In Malaysia, some laud car driver’s arrest over ‘world’s most expensive petrol’

videocam
A man holds a nozzle at the petrol station in Negri Sembilan in March. Malaysia is taking tougher action against the possible abuse of a fuel subsidy meant for locals. Photo: EPA

Economics

Malaysia faces energy emergency amid Trump’s Hormuz blockade

videocam
The skyline of Kuala Lumpur seen on Friday. Malaysia has leaned heavily on domestic natural gas production and costly subsidies to mitigate the fallout from the Iran war. Photo: EPA
MORE IN This Week in Asia
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
OPINION
Jawad Khalid

Opinion | Pakistan has the world’s attention. Now it must focus inwards

Jawad Khalid
Nicholas Spiro

The View | Others in Asia would love to have Singapore’s housing market problems

Nicholas Spiro
Sheheryar Bilal

Opinion | AI pessimism is a luxury the Global South cannot afford

Sheheryar Bilal
Joanne Lin

Asian Angle | Doubts about Trump strain Southeast Asia’s US-China balancing act

Joanne Lin
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
TRENDING TOPICS
Singapore
Malaysia
South China Sea
The Philippines
Indonesia
Advertisement
Advertisement