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This Week in Asia

Health & Environment

Lifestyle & Culture

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim meet at a press conference in Putrajaya on Thursday. Photo: AAP/dpa

Economics

‘New normal’: Malaysia and Australia strike energy supply pledge amid Iran war

The deal creates a mutual spillover valve, allowing the partners to swap surplus energy once domestic demand is satisfied.

16 Apr 2026 - 7:32PMvideocam

Chinese drone exposes Indonesia’s ‘insufficient’ undersea capabilities

16 Apr 2026 - 7:24PM

Bali wants illegal rentals to be legitimate as operators flag red tape

16 Apr 2026 - 5:48PMvideocam

Lifestyle & Culture

7 French tourists arrested after viral Songkran clash with van driver in Phuket

Police said the group of revellers blocked traffic, sprayed water at the driver and ignored orders to disperse.

16 Apr 2026 - 3:20PM

Screenshots from a viral video showing Songkran festival revelers spraying a van driver in Patong. Photo: TikTok / littlepatong

Politics

Why Japan will remain the most trusted power in Asean despite military push

A survey by ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute shows respondents trusted Japan more as a power than the EU, the US, China and India.

16 Apr 2026 - 6:27PMvideocam

Economics

Petrol patrol: Malaysia sends police to guard border stations as fuel leaks rise

Malaysia is trying to prevent its heavily subsidised petrol and diesel from being siphoned across land and sea borders as the global energy crisis bites.

16 Apr 2026 - 12:48PMvideocam

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Economics

Desperate times, drastic measures? Filipinos call for fuel caps as crisis bites

The Philippines is one of the worst hit by the oil crisis, but its deregulation law prevents the government from capping fuel prices.

16 Apr 2026 - 5:51PMvideocam

A pump attendant uses adhesive tape to change figures of fuel prices in Quezon City on April 7. Photo: EPA

Politics

Japan backs a female emperor while Takaichi pushes conservative succession plan

A new poll shows most Japanese support a woman taking the throne, even as the prime minister moves to preserve male-line succession.

16 Apr 2026 - 8:00AMvideocam

Politics

Why Southeast Asian nations are skipping major US-Philippine Balikatan drills

Given the rivalry between Washington and Beijing, joining the annual military exercise may risk being seen as picking the US, analysts say.

15 Apr 2026 - 8:00PM

Lifestyle & Culture

Deepfakes, cloned voices: the new AI threat facing Malaysia’s creators

Experts question whether Malaysia’s laws are keeping pace with the harm spread by AI, and call for stronger legal protections for artists.

15 Apr 2026 - 7:37PM

Many creators in Malaysia have become newly vulnerable to the AI threat because they now have little choice but to put themselves online to make a living, experts warn. Photo: Shutterstock

People

Prabowo’s overseas trips draw scrutiny as Indonesia urges fuel restraint

Since his inauguration in October 2024, Prabowo has gone on 51 official visits, travelling to 28 countries and chalking up 99 days overseas.

15 Apr 2026 - 7:09PMvideocam

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto inspects the French Republican Guard upon arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Politics

Pakistan seeks to shield Gulf states as US-Iran talks set to resume

A senior official involved in Islamabad’s diplomacy says it is trying to defuse the crisis ‘in any way we can’.

15 Apr 2026 - 10:50PMvideocam

Politics

Singapore balances national interest with rising anti-US sentiment

Negative public sentiment does not immediately translate to worsening bilateral ties as the US remains an important partner, experts say.

15 Apr 2026 - 5:54PMvideocam

Economics

How India’s nuclear breakthrough could end reliance on energy imports

Success at the Kalpakkam prototype fast breeder reactor will allow India to generate energy using its abundant thorium reserves.

15 Apr 2026 - 4:07PMvideocam

Fishermen pull their boats to the shore near the Kalpakkam atomic power station in Tamil Nadu. Photo: AP

Politics

Leaked plan for US military overflights triggers sovereignty row in Indonesia

Internal warnings reveal a government split over risks that blanket access for US warplanes could drag Indonesia into foreign conflicts.

15 Apr 2026 - 8:52PM

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shakes hands with Indonesia’s Director General of Defence Strategy Major General Agus Widodo at the Pentagon on Monday. Photo: AFP

People

South Korea’s former first couple endure a frosty courtroom reunion

The hearing lasted all of half an hour. Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife, appearing as a witness, made eye contact only once.

15 Apr 2026 - 12:24PMvideocam

People

Jailed witness reveals Duterte plotted to oust Philippines’ Marcos

Ramil Madriaga claims Duterte had considered ‘assassinations or armed hits of several government officials’ to cause unrest and stage a coup.

15 Apr 2026 - 2:09PM

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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.

11 Apr 2026 - 8:00AMvideocam

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.

4 Apr 2026 - 9:50AMvideocam

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

Illustration: Huy Truong

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LATEST Asia NEWS

Southeast Asia

Philippines corruption scandal suspect Zaldy Co caught in Prague, Marcos says

4 hours ago

Fugitive Philippine lawmaker Zaldy Co (left) and President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. Photos: AFP

Economics

‘New normal’: Malaysia and Australia strike energy supply pledge amid Iran war

16 Apr 2026 - 7:32PMvideocam

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim meet at a press conference in Putrajaya on Thursday. Photo: AAP/dpa

Politics

Chinese drone exposes Indonesia’s ‘insufficient’ undersea capabilities

16 Apr 2026 - 7:24PM

A torpedo-like object, discovered by a fisherman near the Lombok Strait, is towed ashore onto a beach on Gili Trawangan, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, on April 6. Photo: AFP

East Asia

Stepfather tells Japanese police ‘there’s no doubt’ he killed missing boy

16 Apr 2026 - 2:14PM

A missing person poster for Yuki Adachi hangs on a wall in Nantan, Kyoto prefecture, on Monday. Photo: Kyodo

Lifestyle & Culture

Bali wants illegal rentals to be legitimate as operators flag red tape

16 Apr 2026 - 5:48PMvideocam

Tourists walk at a shopping area in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. Photo: EPA

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Nguyen Khac Giang

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

Nguyen Khac Giang

11 Apr 2026 - 1:00PM

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

Joseph Sipalan

9 Apr 2026 - 7:11PM

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

Joanne Lin

12 Apr 2026 - 12:00PM

Flavio Romero Macau

Opinion | Why the ‘Gate of Tears’ may yet make the whole world weep

5 Apr 2026 - 12:00PM

Asian Angle | Hormuz is sending Southeast Asia a warning – and we can no longer ignore it

Dicky Yordan

4 Apr 2026 - 12:00PM

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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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