Advertisement
Advertisement

This Week in Asia

Asia
Politics
Economics
People
Opinion
Health & Environment
Lifestyle & Culture
A woman shops for vegetables in Depok, Indonesia, earlier this month near a sign asking customers to bring their own shopping bags. Photo: Reuters

Economics

Mixed bag: Indonesia’s 8% growth dream hits a plastic ceiling

Soaring packaging costs amid the Iran war hint at a deeper malaise as the middle class contracts and growth hits a plateau.

videocam

Malaysia gets new anti-corruption chief as protests mount against outgoing head

India-Germany defence road map ‘good template’ for wider EU cooperation

Politics

Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt: the Middle East’s new power brokers?

‘Fear of US abandonment’ is helping forge a new Middle East – but don’t expect an Islamic Nato just yet.

(From left) Foreign Ministers Badr Abdelatty of Egypt, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Ishaq Dar of Pakistan and Hakan Fidan of Turkey meet to discuss regional de-escalation in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 29. Photo: Turkish Foreign Ministry/Reuters
(From left) Foreign Ministers Badr Abdelatty of Egypt, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Ishaq Dar of Pakistan and Hakan Fidan of Turkey meet to discuss regional de-escalation in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 29. Photo: Turkish Foreign Ministry/Reuters

Politics

3 killed in Japanese Type 10 tank blast that has military baffled

A round detonating inside a tank turret is virtually unheard of. The last time it happened in Japan was in 1979.

videocam
8

Politics

Chinese drone discovery sharpens focus on Asia’s undersea security race

Experts say India is playing ‘steady catch-up’ in boosting undersea surveillance, while Southeast Asian nations’ capabilities differ widely.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Politics

Robredo’s 2028 snub leaves Philippine opposition scrabbling for ‘saviour’

A March survey showed that the popularity gap between Leni Robredo and presidential front runner Sara Duterte-Carpio had narrowed.

Leni Robredo gives a post-election statement from her home in Magarao, Camarines Norte, on May 10, 2022. Photo: Office of the Vice President/AP)
Leni Robredo gives a post-election statement from her home in Magarao, Camarines Norte, on May 10, 2022. Photo: Office of the Vice President/AP)

Politics

Is Indonesia’s blasphemy law for religious protection or political purpose?

The law has come under the spotlight after complaints filed against a former vice-president over his comments on sectarian violence.

videocam

Politics

US slaps sanctions on Cambodian senator suspected of controlling scam centres

The sanction freezes all US assets linked to Senator Kok An and his named associates, and bars any American national from dealing with them.

videocam

Politics

‘We owe it to the world’: Philippines pushes for South China Sea code this year

Talks between Asean and China to agree on setting rules for maritime behaviour and crisis management under the code have stalled.

videocam
A Chinese coastguard vessel (right) fires its water cannon at the Philippine BRP Datu Pagbuaya near Philippines-occupied Thitu island, locally called Pag-asa island, at the South China Sea last October. Photo: Philippine coastguard via AP

Economics

Why US tanker blockades are raising risks for Southeast Asian strait controllers

The bigger risk is not of the Iran war spilling into their waters, but the strain of operating in more contested sea lanes, analysts say.

videocam
Guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy patrols the Arabian Sea during a maritime blockade on April 15. Photo: US Navy/AFP
Guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy patrols the Arabian Sea during a maritime blockade on April 15. Photo: US Navy/AFP

Lifestyle & Culture

Burger King in Japan dangles US$250,000 to lure rival franchisees

Meanwhile, Philippine fried chicken chain Jollibee has announced a record operating income and is accelerating its global expansion.

People

Bangladeshi YouTuber’s death sparks mourning amid Malaysia’s DUI crisis

Muzahid Millad was killed in a crash involving an allegedly drunk Malaysian soldier, prompting calls for justice and stricter laws.

Politics

A Delhi-Dhaka thaw? India opens door to Sheikh Hasina extradition talks

The former Bangladeshi leader and close Indian ally remains ‘a strategic asset for Delhi’, an analyst says.

videocam
Sheikh Hasina speaks to the media after casting her vote in Dhaka on January 7, 2024. Photo: AP

Politics

How fake job ads in Philippines led to alleged spy recruitment pipeline

The ads, some of which experts say were linked to China, aimed to get unsuspecting Filipino defence specialists to give up key information.

videocam
The Janes ads appeared to be part of efforts linked to China to draw unsuspecting Filipino defence specialists into giving up key information. Photo: Handout
The Janes ads appeared to be part of efforts linked to China to draw unsuspecting Filipino defence specialists into giving up key information. Photo: Handout

Lifestyle & Culture

This retiree in the Philippines downloaded an app. Then he lost his life savings

Industrial-scale malware is replacing ‘pig-butchering’ as Cambodia’s scam hubs pivot to high-speed digital heists.

videocam

Politics

Australia signs US$7 billion Japan warship deal to boost firepower against China

The formalised deal offers Canberra a strategic alternative to uncertain US defence ties, analysts say.

16
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Economics

Mixed bag: Indonesia’s 8% growth dream hits a plastic ceiling

Soaring packaging costs amid the Iran war hint at a deeper malaise as the middle class contracts and growth hits a plateau.

videocam
A woman shops for vegetables in Depok, Indonesia, earlier this month near a sign asking customers to bring their own shopping bags. Photo: Reuters
A woman shops for vegetables in Depok, Indonesia, earlier this month near a sign asking customers to bring their own shopping bags. Photo: Reuters

Health & Environment

Shock therapy: war forces oil-addicted Asia to finally go green

Burned by soaring energy prices, Southeast Asian nations are racing to future-proof themselves against the volatility of war.

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

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
Illustration: Mario Rivera
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
LATEST Asia NEWS

East Asia

‘I hope it rains’: Japan battles wildfires, thousands evacuate

videocam
Hundreds of firefighters are battling wildfires in the forests of northern Japan. Photo: AFP

Politics

Malaysia gets new anti-corruption chief as protests mount against outgoing head

Protesters against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) boss Azam Baki march through central Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. SCMP/Iman Muttaqin Yusof

Economics

Mixed bag: Indonesia’s 8% growth dream hits a plastic ceiling

videocam
A woman shops for vegetables in Depok, Indonesia, earlier this month near a sign asking customers to bring their own shopping bags. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt: the Middle East’s new power brokers?

(From left) Foreign Ministers Badr Abdelatty of Egypt, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Ishaq Dar of Pakistan and Hakan Fidan of Turkey meet to discuss regional de-escalation in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 29. Photo: Turkish Foreign Ministry/Reuters

Politics

India-Germany defence road map ‘good template’ for wider EU cooperation

Submarine U-34 is docked in a shipyard of warship maker TKMS in Kiel, Germany, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
MORE Asia NEWS
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
OPINION
Michael Vatikiotis

Opinion | Blinding the world with lies makes peacemaking an impossible task

Chandran Nair

Asian Angle | The Thucydides Trap is a lie created to justify a US-China war

Chandran Nair
10
Nilufer Oral

Opinion | Passage through the Strait of Hormuz is a right in war and peace

Nilufer Oral
5
Nguyen Khac Giang

Asian Angle | Who is Vietnam’s new Prime Minister Le Minh Hung?

Nguyen Khac Giang
Joseph Sipalan

Singapore’s refusal to negotiate over Hormuz creates waves in Malaysia

Joseph Sipalan
41
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
Advertisement
TRENDING TOPICS
Singapore
Malaysia
The Philippines
Indonesia
South China Sea
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
MOST POPULAR
1

Singapore tycoon wants banks to pay US$1 billion for Australian NewSat collapse

2

In Malaysia, unlicensed street photography becomes focus of crackdown

3

How an alleged Malaysian scammer vanished with US$25 billion in life savings

videocam
4

China begins building US$1 billion hydropower station in Cambodia

5

Singaporean man charged after viral Lucky Plaza assault on Filipino woman