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People visit the Blue House in Seoul in 2022. Photo: AP

Shaman rumours resurface as South Korea returns to Blue House

After Yoon Suk-yeol wasted millions on a move critics linked to fortune-tellers, the presidential office is returning to its historic home.

6 hours agovideocam

Gotta pay ’em all: Singapore Pokemon card bust sparks Malaysia customs warning

9 Dec 2025 - 5:21PM

South Korea torn as crime-fighting actor quits over criminal past

9 Dec 2025 - 5:19PM

‘Like a market’: Chinese marriage brokers hunt for brides in Nepal

China’s bachelor crisis meets Nepal’s poverty in a trade that blurs the lines between arranged marriage and coercion.

9 Dec 2025 - 2:36PM

A screenshot of a WeChat account that posts videos of Nepali girls and hosts live streams. Photo: Handout

AI-powered hunt for manga pirates as Japan seeks to recover wind in its sales

Piracy costs publishers an estimated US$55 billion a year, forcing a hi-tech shift to protect a sector aiming to rival car exports by 2033.

8 Dec 2025 - 1:13PM

Japan’s youth are now the most hostile to immigration, survey finds

Observers say daily exposure to overcrowding and disruptive behaviour in urban centres has made young adults the most resistant to change.

8 Dec 2025 - 5:09PMvideocam

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‘Everyone gets a cut’: why Southeast Asia’s scam industry refuses to die

Authorities are seizing assets and raiding compounds, but analysts warn the clumsy crackdown is merely scattering syndicates to new hideouts.

8 Dec 2025 - 9:51AMvideocam

A woman counts US dollars and Japanese yen banknotes in Phnom Penh. Scam money’s reach extends far beyond the Mekong. Photo: AFP

In race for tourists, Singapore pumps up appeal with push into fitness events

High-octane competitions like Hyrox and the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon are helping drive more visitors to the city state.

7 Dec 2025 - 2:30PM

Malaysians swap hotels for RVs to drive down holiday costs

Rentals are up 200 per cent, with families finding a six-berth campervan more affordable than booking seaside resorts.

7 Dec 2025 - 12:06PM

Can Japan find space for Muslim burials? Not if right-wing rhetoric prevails

A viral video showing a Sanseito MP telling foreign residents to cremate their dead or ship them home spotlights discomfort with diversity.

7 Dec 2025 - 8:00AMvideocam

Muslim residents of Japan gather for a Friday service at Japan’s largest mosque in Tokyo in 2015. Photo: AFP

Jakarta vs the internet: Indonesia’s gamble with digital freedom

As the government demands global tech firms like Cloudflare bend to its will, critics say it’s ‘burning the rice barn to kill the rats’.

8 Dec 2025 - 10:17AM

Young men play online games and surf the internet at a cyber cafe in Jakarta last month. Photo: AFP

One-Punch Man and the human cost of Japan and South Korea’s soft power

Behind the multibillion-dollar export boom lies a hidden crisis of low wages, 60-hour work weeks and unliveable pressure on invisible staff.

6 Dec 2025 - 12:00PM

Singapore organisers in limbo over work visa ban on foreign performers

A scheme allowing foreign performers to work up to six months at public entertainment outlets in Singapore will end, following ‘widespread abuse’.

6 Dec 2025 - 2:55PMvideocam

‘Better late than never’: Singapore parents laud curbs on phone use in schools

The city state is among countries that have stepped up measures to curb screen time and tighten social media restrictions for adolescents.

5 Dec 2025 - 5:47PM

Singapore is among countries that have stepped up measures to curb screen time and tighten social media restrictions for adolescents. Photo: TNS

The Philippines

Anger boils in Philippines over official’s US$8.50 Christmas feast budget

Critics call the Philippine trade chief’s 500-peso Noche Buena price guide for a family of four a ‘fantasy’ that insults the poor.

5 Dec 2025 - 6:24PMvideocam

Philippine Trade Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque’s 500-peso budget tip for a family of four to spend on the coming Christmas Eve dinner has irked Filipinos as unrealistic. Photo: Facebook/DTISecretaryCrisRoque

Are Singaporean Chinese the ‘least attractive’? Viral image stirs debate

Social media users said Singapore had no Vivian Chow or Edison Chen, but experts warned against warped beauty standards shaped by media.

5 Dec 2025 - 6:42PM

Japan weighs plan to punish sex buyers, but will it be enough?

Experts warn the sex industry will find ways to circumvent new rules and the problem needs to be tackled from various angles simultaneously.

5 Dec 2025 - 7:08PMvideocam

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‘Relive the magic’? K-drama dating service probed for sex crimes in Brazil

The KDramaDate platform offers curated outings with Korean men, including one of an ‘intimate experience’ at a motel or client’s home.

4 Dec 2025 - 5:05PM

Fans of “Squid Game” in Seoul, South Korea. The hallyu wave has spread to countries far and wide, including Brazil in Latin America. Photo: Reuters

Oxford slammed for not naming Indonesian researchers in rare flower find

After an uproar over the perceived snub, the university named the Indonesian researchers involved in Rafflesia’s rediscovery on social media.

5 Dec 2025 - 7:39AM

In Japan, public opinion turns against Trump’s ‘terrible, stupid’ US

A new survey reveals approval for US ties has hit near-record lows amid political turmoil, punitive tariffs and shock at Trump’s agenda.

6 Dec 2025 - 10:22AM

Japan sympathises as 79-year-old kills mother, 100, out of exhaustion

Two cases of victims aged 100 and 102 killed by their children aged above 70 have highlighted the challenges faced by elderly carers.

3 Dec 2025 - 11:19AMvideocam

Elderly people at the Sugamo Jizodori shopping street in Tokyo. Photo: Shutterstock

‘Malaysian promoting Singapore’: viral video sparks debate over talent use

Social media users question why Malaysian tourism authorities have not engaged local talent effectively to promote the country.

2 Dec 2025 - 4:31PM

Two shots from the short film produced by Malaysian VFX artist Mohamad Sofian Abdullah, better known as Sofyank, in collaboration with the Singapore Tourism Board. Photos: Instagram / sofyank96

‘Looming crisis’: why US universities are cutting critical Japanese studies

Academics bemoan the myopic approach after a recent report calls dropping Japan-focused subjects a ‘looming crisis in US-Japan relations’.

1 Dec 2025 - 3:41PMvideocam

Last frontier: Nepal slashes pricey permit, but will it boost tourism, economy?

Upper Mustang residents worry that they will not be able to reap the benefits from the cheaper permit and instead be like ‘animals in a zoo’.

30 Nov 2025 - 4:25PM

Singapore becomes Plan B for Chinese travellers giving Japan a wide berth

Beijing’s call to boycott Japan after Sanae Takaichi’s remarks is benefiting Southeast Asian countries, travel agents say.

30 Nov 2025 - 9:30AM

Tourists take photos with the Merlion statue in Singapore. Chinese visitors say the city state is an “easy and comfortable” travel destination. Photo: Reuters

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