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This Week in Asia

A young orangutan during a rescue operation for the primates caught up in wildfires in Pemangkat village in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province on Tuesday. Photo: YIARI / AFP

Southeast Asia

Indonesia rescues 6 orangutans from forest fires in a week

The apes were saved from plantations in West Kalimantan province, where they got stuck after fires cut off access to their forest home.

4 hours ago

Malaysia to charge former minister over haj fund corruption

5 hours ago

Does North Korea’s Kim Ju-ae have a younger sibling? Seoul thinks so

6 hours ago

Lifestyle & Culture

Indonesia orders Netflix to pay US$4.3m in music royalties or face shutdown

Netflix has agreed to pay music royalties it owed in South Korea and faces a tax demand on its income in Australia, media reports say.

10 Sep 2026 - 3:58PM

Netflix has not paid music royalties since entering the Indonesian market in 2016, according to a government agency. Photo: Netflix

Politics

Palace plot in Malaysia’s Negeri Sembilan entangles Umno leaders

Umno president has questioned a fellow party member’s statement that he was forced to sign a document to remove the state’s ruler.

10 Sep 2026 - 5:46PM

Politics

‘Not for sale’: Thais take to streets in rare protest against Israel

The protest follows months of complaints about illegal landholding, cultural disrespect and proliferation of Israeli religious houses.

10 Sep 2026 - 4:39PM

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Politics

Japan’s protest over Russian soldier statue aggravates ‘summer of tension’

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is under pressure from conservatives to take firm action, including helping Ukraine in its war against Russia.

10 Sep 2026 - 4:03PMvideocam

The unveiling of a Soviet soldier smashing an imperial-era border marker bearing the emblem of the Japanese royal family in the Russian city of Khabarovsk has angered Tokyo. Photo: X/MFA Russia

Health & Environment

Wildfires threaten Indonesia’s new capital as carrier ordered in

The president has ordered water-bombing drones and an aircraft carrier to Kalimantan as 400 hectares burn near Nusantara.

10 Sep 2026 - 6:16PMvideocam

Politics

Singapore MPs back ministerial pay rise, but agree money alone won’t lure talent

PM Wong defended the new salary structure for leadership renewal while Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh sought more modest increases over time.

6 hours ago

Diplomacy

China ready to help Trump meet North Korea’s Kim

Donald Trump’s efforts to meet Kim Jong-un have received a boost from China even amid doubts about what such an encounter could achieve.

10 Sep 2026 - 5:10PM

US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un in June 2019. Photo: Reuters

Lifestyle & Culture

Grab Singapore apologises over microdrama ad that raised safety fears

The ride-hailing giant admits insensitivity over the romcom series following complaints that it trivialised driver harassment.

10 Sep 2026 - 2:22PMvideocam

A screenshot from the trailer for “I Fell In Love with My Grab Driver”, a new microdrama series by Grab Singapore. Photo: YouTube / GrabOfficialSEA

Politics

Is the Philippine military ‘massively underfunded’?

Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr has warned there could be no military recruits next year due to budget cuts.

10 Sep 2026 - 10:22AMvideocam

Politics

Malaysia’s PH restates anti-corruption pledge as Najib’s potential pardon looms

The Pardons Board is set to meet this week to discuss clemency for Najib, who is in jail for corruption, according to media reports.

9 Sep 2026 - 8:40PMvideocam

Southeast Asia

4 Chinese nationals charged over Singaporean’s airport kidnapping in Malaysia

If convicted, the suspects, including a woman, face a prison term of between 30 and 40 years.

10 Sep 2026 - 12:56PM

The suspects arrive at a court in Penang, Malaysia. Photo: The Star

Southeast Asia

Singapore’s DBS sued for US$1 billion in alleged 1MDB-linked claim

DBS has rejected the claim and says it will ‌fight it vigorously, but that the company has made no ⁠provision ⁠for the lawsuit.

10 Sep 2026 - 10:58AM

People use DBS automated teller machines in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

Southeast Asia

Philippines races to find survivors of ferry fire that killed at least 5

The MV June Aster had departed from Manila and was near a tourist hotspot in Palawan province when the blaze started.

5 hours agovideocam

Politics

Caught between US and Iran, South Korea weighs Hormuz role

Seoul is sending a fact-finding mission to the UAE as it balances Washington’s security requests with warnings of Iranian retaliation.

9 Sep 2026 - 6:47PM

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Health & Environment

Golden years: in ageing Southeast Asia, growing old is big business

From Singapore to Thailand, private operators and luxury resorts are cashing in, as more retirees seek care on their own terms.

10 Sep 2026 - 1:57PM

Illustration: Huy Truong

Economics

All a board: inside Thailand’s bid to wire the world’s AI boom

Malaysia has the chips. Vietnam has the assembly lines. But Thailand’s humble circuit boards help keep the AI boom alive.

29 Aug 2026 - 2:05PMvideocam

Politics

Malaysia’s Anwar traded reform for power. Now Umno wants it all

Back-to-back election losses and internal party rifts leave Malaysia’s prime minister clinging to a crumbling coalition.

22 Aug 2026 - 8:00AM

Lifestyle & Culture

Bling gamble: how Southeast Asia’s middle class is redefining luxury

Instalments and resales are helping customers from Bangkok to Jakarta bridge the gap between aspiration and affordability.

16 Aug 2026 - 11:17AM

Illustration: Kevin Wong

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Highlights from

THIS WEEK IN ASIA

Politics

Malaysia to charge former minister over haj fund corruption

5 hours ago

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission building in Putrajaya in March 2025. Photo: EPA

Health & Environment

Wildfires threaten Indonesia’s new capital as carrier ordered in

10 Sep 2026 - 6:16PMvideocam

A firefighter sprays water to extinguish a wildfire in East Kalimantan province, Indonesia, in September. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Palace plot in Malaysia’s Negeri Sembilan entangles Umno leaders

10 Sep 2026 - 5:46PM

The United Malays National Organisation (Umno) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: EPA-EFE

Politics

‘Not for sale’: Thais take to streets in rare protest against Israel

10 Sep 2026 - 4:39PM

Protesters holding signs attend a rally demanding an end to alleged land-grabbing by foreigners in Bangkok on Thursday. Photo: AP

Lifestyle & Culture

Indonesia orders Netflix to pay US$4.3m in music royalties or face shutdown

10 Sep 2026 - 3:58PM

Netflix has not paid music royalties since entering the Indonesian market in 2016, according to a government agency. Photo: Netflix

MORE IN This Week in Asia

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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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