Asia

This Week in Asia

A crowd gathers at the mansion of Cambodian tycoon Sok Kong to receive red envelopes filled with money ahead of the Lunar New Year, in Phnom Penh. Photo: AFP/Fresh News

Southeast Asia

4 people die in Cambodia in Lunar New Year gift crush

The crowd had gathered at a local tycoon’s home to receive Lunar New Year red envelopes filled with money.

5 hours ago

Rubio says US committed to Philippines but could Trump change course?

1 hour agovideocam

‘I do’ … at last: LGBTQ couples in Thailand marry as same-sex unions legalised

4 hours agovideocam

Australasia

Thousands in Australia queue for plant’s ‘amazing’ stink of death

The corpse flower exudes a fragrance evoking gym socks and rotting garbage, in the 24 hours that it blooms.

4 hours ago

The rare and endangered corpse flower, nicknamed Putricia, blooms at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. Photo: EPA-EFE

Global Economy

Philippine official ‘positive’ on trade with China despite political friction

Trade official says his country can still be a ‘platform’ for China trade, even as US President Donald Trump threatens transshipment tariffs.

4 hours ago

Politics

Last laugh? Muslim comedian faces backlash over ham joke in Malaysia

Harith Iskander’s joke about ham sap kopi – a coffee drink – offended some Muslims, leading to police reports and calls for his social media suspension.

57 minutes ago

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East Asia

South Korea orders budget carriers to tighten safety screw after Jeju Air crash

The transport ministry instructed nine low-cost carriers to improve safety standards and avoid prioritising cost-cutting.

6 hours agovideocam

The wreckage of the crashed Jeju Air jet lies at Muan airport in South Korea on December 30. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Philippines ‘blindsided’ by mounting security woes amid fresh espionage claims

Officials ‘connecting the dots’ between arrest of alleged Chinese spy, underwater drones and Pogos as analysts call for stronger legal frameworks.

23 Jan 2025 - 12:58PMvideocam

Politics

South Korea’s prosecution asked to charge Yoon Suk-yeol over martial law order

The development comes after the country’s anti-corruption agency was unable to grill Yoon Suk-yeol over his failed martial law bid.

3 hours agovideocam

Southeast Asia

US moves missile system that angered China to new Philippine site

The redeployment aims to enhance the system’s survivability and mobility during potential conflicts.

23 Jan 2025 - 2:46PMvideocam

Soldiers prepare a reload fixture of the Typhon system during a drill in the Philippines in 2024. Photo: US army

East Asia

For the first time in a decade, Asia’s lowest birth rate is on the rise

South Korea has the world’s lowest fertility rates, but an uptick in pandemic-postponed marriages has sparked optimism for family growth.

22 Jan 2025 - 1:54PMvideocam

Fathers hold their newborn babies at a hospital in Goyang, near Seoul, South Korea, on January 1. Photo: Yonhap/EPA-EFE

East Asia

Sex scandal-hit Japan TV star Masahiro Nakai retires from showbiz

Nakai’s decision came following reports that he engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with a woman that led to a settlement with the victim.

23 Jan 2025 - 2:09PMvideocam

Southeast Asia

Man accused of raping wife in Singapore, threatening to stab her with rod

It’s the first case since the city state repealed marital immunity for rape in 2020.

23 Jan 2025 - 1:20PM

Politics

Malaysia’s Anwar faces heat over ‘absurd’ rules on anti-corruption rally

Civic groups and the prime minister’s supporters berate him for imposing strict conditions on the march in a bid to obstruct the event.

23 Jan 2025 - 12:41PM

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has come under fire for imposing restrictions on an anti-corruption rally in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: EPA-EFE

People

Japanese mum hopes Trump will get Kim to release her daughter after 48 years

The family of Megumi Yokota, who was 13 when she was abducted by North Korean agents in 1977, met the US president previously in Tokyo.

23 Jan 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

Megumi Yokota, then 13, pictured at an undisclosed location in North Korea after her abduction from Japan. Photo: AP

Australasia

New Zealand takes a page from Singapore’s investment playbook to spur growth

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said a new agency will be set up to provide tailored support to foreign investors.

23 Jan 2025 - 11:00AM

Economics

Asia’s energy markets may stay volatile over Trump’s oil ambition and sanctions

Benchmark oil prices have experienced wild swings after the US and the UK imposed sanctions targeting the supply of Russian oil.

1 hour ago

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Economics

China’s Himalayan mega dam deepens India’s water worries

Just as ties seemed to be on the mend, a US$137 billion hydropower behemoth on the Yarlung Tsangpo River threatens to muddy the waters.

18 Jan 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in Tibet. Photo: AFP

Politics

Tariffs, turmoil and Trump: untangling Malaysia’s Asean chair to-do list

Can Anwar Ibrahim’s diplomatic finesse help Malaysia steer Asean through the storm of rising trade tensions and regional crises?

11 Jan 2025 - 8:00AM

Politics

‘We are a frontline state’: how the Philippines is preparing for a US-China war

The US treaty ally is spending billions to arm itself for a conflict over Taiwan or the South China Sea it hopes will never come.

4 Jan 2025 - 8:16AMvideocam

Economics

Thailand’s hi-tech utopia starts to take shape – but will it deliver?

At its launch seven years ago, the Eastern Economic Corridor was marketed as a solution to Thailand’s economic malaise. But concerns persist.

3 Jan 2025 - 12:30PM

Thailand’s once-thriving economy, which grew an average of 5 per cent annually in the early 2000s, has been battered by two decades of political turmoil and coups. Image: Huy Truong

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Highlights from

THIS WEEK IN ASIA

Politics

India’s bet on AI-enabled warships needs boost to counter China, experts say

5 minutes ago

Crew members onboard the naval combatant INS Surat, a stealth guided missile destroyer of the Indian Navy. Photo: AFP

Politics

Rubio says US committed to Philippines but could Trump change course?

1 hour agovideocam

US and Philippine Marines fire Howitzer artillery during a live-fire exercise as part of the joint US-Philippines annual military Balikatan drills in Laoag on Luzon island’s northwest coast in May 2024. Photo: AFP

Lifestyle & Culture

‘I do’ … at last: LGBTQ couples in Thailand marry as same-sex unions legalised

4 hours agovideocam

LGBTQ+ couple Chatchai Aunthaya, 40, and Nitinai Buathong, 32, pose for photos after they receive official marriage certificates in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Last laugh? Muslim comedian faces backlash over ham joke in Malaysia

57 minutes ago

Malaysian comedian Harith Iskander performs. Photo: Facebook/Harith Iskander

Politics

South Korea’s prosecution asked to charge Yoon Suk-yeol over martial law order

3 hours agovideocam

South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol attends his impeachment trial in Seoul on Thursday. Photo: AFP

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Yoon’s martial law case referred to South Korean prosecutors

Thai PM uses AI to ‘speak’ Mandarin

Thailand’s same-sex marriage law takes effect

How Wynn is transforming Macau

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TRENDING TOPICS

South China Sea

The Philippines

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