This Week in Asia

Health & Environment

Lifestyle & Culture

Bangladesh’s then prime minister Sheikh Hasina speaking to the media in Dhaka in early 2024. She has been sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity by a Bangladeshi court. Photo: AFP

Politics

Are India and Bangladesh sidestepping Hasina’s exile to improve frayed ties?

A national security bilateral meeting and Narendra Modi’s message of support for Khaleda Zia signal that ties are on the mend.

11 minutes agovideocam

Japan’s English skills crash to record low, behind Laos and Vietnam

2 hours agovideocam

Brutal dog killing in Philippines sparks outrage, calls for tougher protections

11 Dec 2025 - 9:12PMvideocam

Lifestyle & Culture

Airbnb ban in Bali? Indonesia says no, but crackdown on illegal stays looms

Bali’s governor wants to ban the online platform but the island’s problems with illegal rentals go beyond Airbnb, critics say.

11 Dec 2025 - 10:51PMvideocam

An aerial view of Denpasar shows the many hotels and lodgings in the area. Photo: Shutterstock

Economics

‘We’re just trying to survive’: young Malaysians buckle under rising debt

The country has seen a nearly 60 per cent increase in bankruptcies among those under 30 amid rising living costs and access to easy credit.

11 Dec 2025 - 6:27PMvideocam

Lifestyle & Culture

As more department stores in Singapore struggle, can they adapt and survive?

The closure of more Isetan outlets comes in the wake of brands like Robinsons, Daimaru and SOGO that have ceased operations in Singapore.

11 Dec 2025 - 6:16PM

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Lifestyle & Culture

‘Wanted to make her ugly’: South Korean man arrested over scalding of partner

Police were called in after the couple went to hospital for treatment, raising suspicions of assault.

11 Dec 2025 - 5:47PM

The woman shown with gauze on her face on December 3 suffered second-degree burns. Photo: Nnutt Aaomsin

Economics

Rupee slump ‘a little relief’ for Indian exporters amid US trade talks

The lower rupee is helping Indian industries that have been absorbing tariff losses in the hopes of a US-India trade deal, analysts say.

11 Dec 2025 - 6:24PMvideocam

Health & Environment

South Korea to end cosmetic surgery tax break that fuelled medical tourism boom

The Korean Association of Plastic Surgeons warned that ending the VAT refund scheme could drive foreign patients to rival destinations.

11 Dec 2025 - 3:33PMvideocam

People

Philippines denies ex-mayor Alice Guo has received special treatment in prison

Officials refuted reports that Guo, who recently began serving a life sentence, possessed a phone and had received unauthorised visitors.

11 Dec 2025 - 2:06PMvideocam

Alice Guo, the former mayor of Bamban in Tarlac province accused of human trafficking and ties to Chinese organised crime, is escorted to a press conference in Manila on September 6, 2024. A Philippine court later sentenced her and seven others to life in prison on human-trafficking charges. Photo: AFP

Politics

‘Credible mediation’: Asean urged to help halt deadly Thailand-Cambodia clashes

Analysts urge Asean to take ‘urgent, coordinated action’ if it hopes to mediate an end to the Thailand-Cambodia conflict.

11 Dec 2025 - 5:50PMvideocam

A Thai villager inspects his house damaged during clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops, at a village in Surin province, Thailand, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Politics

South Korea’s threat to dissolve corrupt religious groups risks blowback

President Lee’s move comes as a widening Unification Church bribery scandal implicates lawmakers from both major parties.

11 Dec 2025 - 6:03PMvideocam

Health & Environment

Fur real? In Japan, rise in bear attacks spurs demand for robot wolf, AI cameras

Authorities in a prefecture have also deployed drones that mimic dogs barking and spark fireworks to scare off bears.

10 Dec 2025 - 8:00PM

Politics

South Korea vows ‘stern response’ in Liancourt Rocks dispute with Japan

A senior South Korean official says the islets are an ‘integral part of Korean territory historically, geographically and under international law’.

10 Dec 2025 - 6:45PM

Members of South Korean Marine Corps take part in a military exercise in remote islands called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese, in August 2019. Photo: South Korean Navy/Yonhap via Reuters

Politics

Prabowo’s push to end direct election for Indonesian regional heads stirs debate

The president says the move is to stop wasteful spending and vote buying, but critics warn that it risks a return to Suharto-era politics.

10 Dec 2025 - 6:30PMvideocam

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto greets flood survivors during his visit to Southeast Aceh on December 1. Photo: Indonesian Presidential Palace/AP

People

Malaysia’s ‘moral police’ slammed over dress code dispute

The skirt-wearing women were barred from entering a police station to report a car accident, which lawyers say is a ‘violation’ of constitutional rights.

11 Dec 2025 - 8:18AM

People

Thais attacked in South Korea as conflict with Cambodia spills over

Attackers reportedly asked ‘which country are you from?’ before hitting four men with bottles, leaving two with head injuries.

10 Dec 2025 - 5:21PM

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Health & Environment

6 cyclones, 5 weeks: Philippines can’t escape its endless cycle of disaster

Corruption, complacency and climate chaos conspire to turn the Philippines’ natural hazards into man-made tragedies.

6 Dec 2025 - 8:17AMvideocam

Satellite imagery shows Super Typhoon Fung-wong as it approaches the Philippines on November 9. Photo: NOAA/EPA

Politics

‘It’s time for us to rise’: India races to rebuild its lost maritime muscle

India is eyeing a future as a leading shipping and shipbuilding nation, backed by big investments – and expertise from South Korea and Japan.

30 Nov 2025 - 5:12PM

Politics

Malaysia’s poorest state prepares a poll shock for the prime minister

Decades of neglect and withheld resource revenue have left short-changed Sabah seething and primed for a political fight.

24 Nov 2025 - 5:02PM

Health & Environment

Climate collapse: Southeast Asia’s new normal?

With a 30th year of Cop climate talks under way in Brazil, for many of Asia’s most vulnerable populations, the crisis is already here.

21 Nov 2025 - 6:58AM

Illustration: Huy Truong

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LATEST Asia NEWS

Southeast Asia

Thai PM says he will return ‘power to the people’, setting stage for election

1 hour agovideocam

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s hasty call for a new election comes amid a raging border conflict with Cambodia. Photo: EPA

Lifestyle & Culture

Japan’s English skills crash to record low, behind Laos and Vietnam

2 hours agovideocam

Japanese schoolchildren cross a street in Tokyo. English proficiency is dropping in Japan, a fact that some critics are attributing to outdated teaching methods. Photo: AFP

Politics

Are India and Bangladesh sidestepping Hasina’s exile to improve frayed ties?

11 minutes agovideocam

Bangladesh’s then prime minister Sheikh Hasina speaking to the media in Dhaka in early 2024. She has been sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity by a Bangladeshi court. Photo: AFP

Lifestyle & Culture

Brutal dog killing in Philippines sparks outrage, calls for tougher protections

11 Dec 2025 - 9:12PMvideocam

A photo of Axle circulating on social media (left) and a screenshot from the viral video showing the moments before the dog was fatally beaten in Sadanga, Mountain Province. Photos: Handout

Lifestyle & Culture

Airbnb ban in Bali? Indonesia says no, but crackdown on illegal stays looms

11 Dec 2025 - 10:51PMvideocam

An aerial view of Denpasar shows the many hotels and lodgings in the area. Photo: Shutterstock

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Dien Nguyen An Luong

Asian Angle | Vietnam’s anti-drug police are speaking Gen Z, and it’s working

Dien Nguyen An Luong

7 Dec 2025 - 10:30AM

Surachanee Sriyai

Asian Angle | The Thai influencer bringing viral warfare to Cambodia’s border

Surachanee Sriyai

6 Dec 2025 - 11:00AM

Jared Bissinger

Opinion | Why China is succeeding in Myanmar while the West has been sidelined

30 Nov 2025 - 1:30PM

Nguyen Khac Giang

Asian Angle | The hidden domestic agenda behind Vietnam’s baffling foreign policy

Nguyen Khac Giang

29 Nov 2025 - 1:30PM

Opinion | Self-interest is now the main driver of Britain’s Asia policy

Bill Hayton

24 Nov 2025 - 9:21AM

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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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