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Asia

This Week in Asia

Filipino call centre personnel attend to their US clients at a business process outsourcing office in Manila. Photo: AFP

Southeast Asia

Wake-up call: Philippines’ declining literacy risks outsourcing business

A three-year review of the country’s education system shows that nine in 10 children cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10.

35 minutes ago

Woman faces jail over Singapore crash that killed Indonesian girl in Chinatown

1 hour ago

Japan’s deportation drive strikes fear into asylum seekers, foreign residents

3 hours ago

Southeast Asia

Singapore minister: ‘right of passage’ through Hormuz non-negotiable

Vivian Balakrishnan says freedom of navigation is ‘of profound importance’ because it affects the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

3 hours agovideocam

Singapore-registered container ship Ever Apex (left) moors at the UK’s largest freight port in Felixstowe, on March 12, amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: AFP

Politics

Why Cambodia’s new law may do little to combat its scam centres

Analysts warn the lack of provisions addressing the role officials and networks play in enabling scams may limit the law’s effectiveness.

3 hours agovideocam

Southeast Asia

Ostrich escapes animal cafe, sprints down Thai highway

The six-month-old male ostrich was later returned safe to its enclosure at the animal-themed cafe.

7 Apr 2026 - 10:43PM

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Economics

Iran ‘does not forget its friends’ as Malaysia-linked ships pass through Hormuz

The move signals Tehran’s use of access to Hormuz as leverage, analysts say, while drawing scrutiny over Malaysia’s oil transfers.

7 Apr 2026 - 7:52PMvideocam

A tanker shown in an image posted by Iran’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur, which said it was the first Malaysian-linked vessel to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: x / iraninmalaysia

Politics

India kicks off crucial state elections for Modi’s BJP amid Iran war turmoil

The ruling BJP is looking to break into opposition strongholds, especially in West Bengal, and secure dominance across India.

7 Apr 2026 - 7:20PM

Economics

Singapore set to be hit by global energy crisis as it unveils countermeasures

Among the measures, the government announced an increase of US$155 to a cost-of-living cash payment to eligible Singaporeans.

7 Apr 2026 - 6:20PMvideocam

Politics

Most in Asean prefer China over US in survey, Trump cited as biggest concern

Support for China was stronger in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, according to the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute survey.

7 Apr 2026 - 6:08PM

US President Donald Trump greets Chinese President Xi Jinping before a bilateral meeting at the Gimhae International Airport terminal in South Korea in October. Photo: Daniel Torok/White House/dpa

Politics

Daim’s daughter pleads not guilty as Malaysia’s ‘Op Godfather’ probe widens

The charge against the daughter of late former finance minister Daim Zainuddin centres on an allegedly incomplete asset declaration.

7 Apr 2026 - 6:13PMvideocam

The Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) building in Putrajaya. Photo: EPA-EFE

Politics

Hidden meaning behind North Korea’s warm response to South’s drone apology

While North Korea praised the South’s actions as a ‘wise move’, it continues to rebuff any attempts at reconciliation dialogues.

7 Apr 2026 - 6:08PMvideocam

Southeast Asia

Filipino farmers leave crops to rot as fuel prices drive up cost of harvest

It costs farmers 30 US cents to produce a kilogram of cabbage, which sells for as little as 5 US cents.

7 Apr 2026 - 3:53PM

People

Singapore’s Shanmugam slams Bloomberg’s ‘venomous’ emails in defamation hearing

Cabinet ministers K. Shanmugam and Tan See Leng are suing Bloomberg over an article mentioning their personal property deals.

7 Apr 2026 - 6:12PM

Singapore ministers Tan See Leng (left) and K. Shanmugam are suing Bloomberg for defamation. Photo: Facebook/Handout

Economics

Why high fuel costs could accelerate the Philippines’ EV boom

Vietnam’s VinFast is seizing the moment by offering incentives for drivers to make the switch from petrol-powered vehicles to electric.

7 Apr 2026 - 8:00AM

A person on an electric scooter passes a jeepney at a transport terminal in Quezon City on March 19. The Philippines is grappling with a national energy emergency triggered by the war in Iran. Photo: EPA

People

Singapore’s Shanmugam slams ‘hypocrisy’ over deported blogger Amos Yee

The minister says Yee’s case shows how foreign media and rights advocates have mistaken an offensive repeat offender for a free-speech icon.

6 Apr 2026 - 8:20PMvideocam

Australasia

Decorated Australian soldier faces 5 murder charges in Afghan war crime probe

Roberts-Smith reportedly kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff and drank out of a prosthetic leg of a man who was gunned down.

7 Apr 2026 - 2:06PM

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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.

4 Apr 2026 - 9:50AMvideocam

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

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Highlights from

THIS WEEK IN ASIA

People

Woman faces jail over Singapore crash that killed Indonesian girl in Chinatown

1 hour ago

Sheyna Lashira Smaradiani died after she was hit by a car while visiting Singapore’s popular tourist area of Chinatown in February. Photo: Handout

People

Japan’s deportation drive strikes fear into asylum seekers, foreign residents

3 hours ago

The Tokyo Immigration Bureau. Japanese authorities have ramped up the Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan to cut the number of undocumented foreign residents. Photo: Shutterstock

Politics

Why Cambodia’s new law may do little to combat its scam centres

3 hours agovideocam

Computers and workstations seized by police during an online scam crackdown at a hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in March. Photo: Reuters

Economics

Iran ‘does not forget its friends’ as Malaysia-linked ships pass through Hormuz

7 Apr 2026 - 7:52PMvideocam

A tanker shown in an image posted by Iran’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur, which said it was the first Malaysian-linked vessel to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: x / iraninmalaysia

Politics

India kicks off crucial state elections for Modi’s BJP amid Iran war turmoil

7 Apr 2026 - 7:20PM

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to his supporters during an election meeting in Barpeta on Monday ahead of the Assam state election on Thursday. Photo: AFP

MORE IN This Week in Asia

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Bryanna Entwistle

Opinion | To beat Cambodia’s scam gangs, US must work with China – not blame it

Bryanna Entwistle

8 Apr 2026 - 5:30AM

Opinion | For Gulf states, geography is both a generous and treacherous patron

Winston Mok

7 Apr 2026 - 4:30PM

Opinion | In Asia-Pacific, the real maritime contest is over satellite surveillance

Yogi Putranto

7 Apr 2026 - 9:30AM

Muhammad Faizan Fakhar

Opinion | The danger in the Global South’s pursuit of AI as a magical cure

7 Apr 2026 - 5:30AM

Opinion | Global South nations are insulating themselves from the heat of US actions

Zhang Zhipeng

6 Apr 2026 - 5:30AM

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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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TRENDING TOPICS

South China Sea

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