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This Week in Asia

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Economics
People
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Lifestyle & Culture
Illustration: Huy Truong

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.

Friend to all, foe to none: Iran war tests India’s Middle East balancing act

‘Not going anywhere’: Thai workers in Israel refuse to flee despite Iran threat

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Economics

Asia’s main oil artery is all but blocked. What happens now?

Oil has surged by the most in four years. Tankers are fleeing the Gulf and up to 10 million barrels a day may be stripped from global supply.

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A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran. An estimated 20 million barrels of oil per day pass through the chokepoint. Photo: Reuters
A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran. An estimated 20 million barrels of oil per day pass through the chokepoint. Photo: Reuters

People

Viral clip of Malaysian man clinging to ex-wife’s moving car leads to arrest

Police said the man clung to the car for around 2km and that he tested positive for ketamine use.

Politics

Why US strikes on Iran just made North Korea less likely to play ball

Iran’s nuclear programme was aspirational. North Korea’s is not. That distinction explains everything, analysts say.

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Politics

Will Iran collapse without Khamenei or can its regime endure?

Experts see short-term stability, but warn that deeper structural strains could emerge once the immediate shock subsides.

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Government supporters mourn during a gathering after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Sunday. Photo: AP
Government supporters mourn during a gathering after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Sunday. Photo: AP

Politics

Indonesia is getting an aircraft carrier. The Philippines isn’t. Does it matter?

Indonesia wants to project power. The Philippines wants to deny it. In the South China Sea, one approach may matter more than the other.

Politics

Death of Iran’s Khamenei sparks outrage and calls for restraint in Asia

Protesters stormed the US consulate in Karachi as leaders, including Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim, condemned the killing and appealed for dialogue.

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Economics

India’s AI superpower dream: flush with cash, short on capacity

India’s AI ambitions could add half a trillion dollars to its economy or deepen inequality if cannot train up its workforce fast enough.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi poses with global tech leaders at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 19. Photo: India’s Press Information Bureau/Reuters

Lifestyle & Culture

Party sober? Asia’s bars and drink giants shift gears as Gen Z ditch alcohol

As young Asians turn more health-conscious and watch their spending, drinks giants and bars are planning more low- and no-alcohol options.

Funkytown, a cocktail bar in Bangkok, offers non-alcoholic versions of its signature cocktails, including Green Curry. Photo: Funkytown
Funkytown, a cocktail bar in Bangkok, offers non-alcoholic versions of its signature cocktails, including Green Curry. Photo: Funkytown

Lifestyle & Culture

‘Time for us’: the Malaysian rapper putting her country on the SXSW map

Zamaera is taking five Malaysian artists to Texas next month after asking herself a simple question: why doesn’t Malaysia have a stage yet?

Politics

‘Managed escalation’: Pakistan-Taliban stand-off enters dangerous new phase

With positions entrenched, mediation efforts by regional powers are unlikely to deliver a swift breakthrough, observers say.

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Economics

Trains through the Taliban: Central Asia’s plan to bypass Russia and Iran

The Soviet Union severed Central Asia’s ancient trade routes to the Indian subcontinent. The region’s modern-day leaders want them back.

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A Taliban guard walks along railway tracks near a TAPI pipeline construction site at the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border in 2024. Photo: AFP

Politics

Dress for succession? Why ‘twin look’ of Kim Jong-un, daughter is sparking talk

The appearance of the Kims in near-identical leather coats at a military parade is seen by some that Pyongyang’s succession plan is in place.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter, Ju-ae, attend a military parade at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, to mark the ninth congress of the ruling Workers’ Party. Photo: KCNA/YNA/dpa
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter, Ju-ae, attend a military parade at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, to mark the ninth congress of the ruling Workers’ Party. Photo: KCNA/YNA/dpa

Economics

India in limbo over Russian oil imports as talks with US on trade deal continues

Washington has previously tied lower tariffs on Indian exports to the US to New Delhi’s commitment to curb its purchases of Russian oil.

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Politics

Malaysia considers royal commission to probe anti-corruption agency allegations

The cabinet said it would decide after reviewing a taskforce report, as pressure mounts for MACC chief Azam Baki to step down.

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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.

Illustration: Huy Truong
Illustration: Huy Truong

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.

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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.

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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.

Thailand’s prime minister and Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul (second from right) greets people at a market during an election campaign at Chinatown in Bangkok on January 20. Photo: AFP
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LATEST Asia NEWS

Politics

Friend to all, foe to none: Iran war tests India’s Middle East balancing act

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a press conference on February 26. Photo: EPA

Southeast Asia

Myanmar convicts charged as ‘terrorists’ by junta freed in mass amnesty

Released prisoners look from a bus window outside Insein Prison in Yangon, Myanmar, on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Politics

Why US strikes on Iran just made North Korea less likely to play ball

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Smoke rises over Tehran following missile strikes on Sunday. The US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, killing the country’s supreme leader and top military leaders. Photo: AFP

People

‘Not going anywhere’: Thai workers in Israel refuse to flee despite Iran threat

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Rescue workers attend to a wounded man at a site struck by an Iranian missile in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday. Photo: AP

Economics

Asia’s main oil artery is all but blocked. What happens now?

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A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran. An estimated 20 million barrels of oil per day pass through the chokepoint. Photo: Reuters
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OPINION
David Lam

Asian Angle | Southeast Asia needs AI sovereignty – the Grok scandal proved it

David Lam
Stephen Olson

Opinion | Southeast Asia, do not mistake Trump’s tariff defeat for a reprieve

Stephen Olson
Alex Capri

Opinion | Who will save the world from a US-China AI arms race?

Alex Capri
Ivan Franceschini,Charlotte Setijadi,Ling Li

Opinion | Cambodia’s scam factory survivors find no escape in freedom

Ivan Franceschini
Charlotte Setijadi
Ling Li
Sharon Seah

Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

Sharon Seah
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MULTIMEDIA
Video

Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters

Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters
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Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji

Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji
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Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport
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Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail
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