Southeast Asia

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Singapore’s former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong (centre) launches “The Albatross File: Inside Separation” book on Sunday. Photo: Ministry of Digital Development and Information

Lee Kuan Yew’s pain and his deputy’s resolve in Singapore-Malaysia separation

A new book unveiled by ex-PM Lee Hsien Loong reveals how Goh Keng Swee shaped Singapore’s 1965 split from Malaysia.

5 hours ago

In race for tourists, Singapore pumps up appeal with push into fitness events

7 Dec 2025 - 2:30PM

Singapore launches book on Malaysia separation with declassified files

7 Dec 2025 - 4:11PM

Malaysians swap hotels for RVs to drive down holiday costs

Rentals are up 200 per cent, with families finding a six-berth campervan more affordable than booking seaside resorts.

7 Dec 2025 - 12:06PM

Malaysians are increasingly turning to campervans for cheaper and more adventurous holidays. Photo: SAIC

OnlyFans star Bonnie Blue arrested in Bali on pornography charges

The 26-year-old British content creator is accused of flouting Indonesia’s ‘morality’ laws.

7 Dec 2025 - 10:08AM

Air strike in central Myanmar kills at least 18

Two bombs were dropped on Tabayin township in Sagaing region on Friday evening, with one hitting a busy teashop, local officials said.

6 Dec 2025 - 10:30PMvideocam

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‘We’ll bring him home’: Thai family to end long wait for Gaza hostage return

Sudthisak Rinthalak, who was killed two years ago by Hamas militants, is among 47 hostages whose bodies will be returned under a ceasefire deal.

6 Dec 2025 - 9:10PM

On Rinthalak, 80, mother of deceased Thai hostage Sudthisak Rinthalak, sits next to his pictures at their house in Nong Khai province, Thailand, on Friday. Photo: Reuters

The Philippines

Probe links Philippines flood corruption to Pogo crypto schemes

Cybercrime officials have uncovered a ‘definite link’ between the massive graft scandal and laundering rings run by banned gaming operators.

6 Dec 2025 - 5:00PMvideocam

Indonesia’s flood death toll hits 908, hundreds still missing

The governor of hard-hit Aceh warns starvation has become the gravest threat to survivors in remote villages cut off by the devastation.

6 Dec 2025 - 7:23PMvideocam

Jakarta vs the internet: Indonesia’s gamble with digital freedom

As the government demands global tech firms like Cloudflare bend to its will, critics say it’s ‘burning the rice barn to kill the rats’.

6 Dec 2025 - 3:30PM

Young men play online games and surf the internet at a cyber cafe in Jakarta last month. Photo: AFP

‘We all knew’: is your job safe from the AI you are helping to train?

Asia makes the chips driving the AI boom, but the technology threatens to erase jobs and widen the region’s wealth gap, a new UN report says.

6 Dec 2025 - 3:54PM

A Thai engineer services AI-powered healthcare robots in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

The Philippines

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

Singapore organisers in limbo over work visa ban on foreign performers

A scheme allowing foreign performers to work up to six months at public entertainment outlets in Singapore will end, following ‘widespread abuse’.

6 Dec 2025 - 2:55PMvideocam

Malaysia under pressure to explain police shooting of trio as outcry mounts

Audio recording and forensic claims released by the men’s families appear to contradict police accounts of the confrontation.

5 Dec 2025 - 6:40PM

A village in Durian Tunggal, in Malaysia’s Melaka state. Three men were killed during a police operation in Durian Tunggal on November 24. Photo: Shutterstock

‘Better late than never’: Singapore parents laud curbs on phone use in schools

The city state is among countries that have stepped up measures to curb screen time and tighten social media restrictions for adolescents.

5 Dec 2025 - 5:47PM

Singapore is among countries that have stepped up measures to curb screen time and tighten social media restrictions for adolescents. Photo: TNS

Hong Kong fire: dead Indonesian helper found huddled with ward hailed as selfless

Her grieving husband says his wife would have survived had she fled first, as the flat where she worked was on the fourth floor.

5 Dec 2025 - 10:29PM

Bali mulls Airbnb ban to put a lid on revenue leak, overtourism

Airbnbs have emerged as a cheaper alternative to the sprawling resorts that dot the island, eroding tax revenue from hotels.

5 Dec 2025 - 3:41PMvideocam

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The Philippines

Anger boils in Philippines over official’s US$8.50 Christmas feast budget

Critics call the Philippine trade chief’s 500-peso Noche Buena price guide for a family of four a ‘fantasy’ that insults the poor.

5 Dec 2025 - 6:24PMvideocam

Philippine Trade Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque’s 500-peso budget tip for a family of four to spend on the coming Christmas Eve dinner has irked Filipinos as unrealistic. Photo: Facebook/DTISecretaryCrisRoque

‘Crowd is missing’: stronger ringgit keeps Singapore shoppers away from Johor

‘This is probably the worst year-end crowd we have seen since the Covid-19 pandemic,’ a business owner says.

5 Dec 2025 - 12:01PM

Are Singaporean Chinese the ‘least attractive’? Viral image stirs debate

Social media users said Singapore had no Vivian Chow or Edison Chen, but experts warned against warped beauty standards shaped by media.

5 Dec 2025 - 6:42PM

Chinese executive named as suspect in Indonesia radioactive contamination probe

PT Peter Metal director Lin Jingzhang faces investigation after domestic scrap caused caesium-137 contamination and US export recalls.

5 Dec 2025 - 3:15AM

Police officers inspect trucks and record vehicle registration numbers at the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate, where the radioactive isotope caesium-137 was detected in October. Photo: AFP

‘No longer contentious’: Malaysia to weigh Singapore’s water project plan

The two countries have disagreed over water supply for decades, such as the perceived low prices charged by Malaysia’s Johor.

5 Dec 2025 - 1:58PM

The border crossing connecting Singapore to the Malaysian southern city of Johor Bahru. The state of Johor supplies untreated water to Singapore daily. Photo: AFP

Chinese tourists pivot to South Korea, Thailand amid Japan travel ban

Spat began when Japan’s PM Sanae Takaichi suggested potential military intervention in Taiwan Strait, leading Beijing to issue a travel warning.

4 Dec 2025 - 5:06PM

In wake of Hong Kong blaze, Southeast Asia’s fire hazards come under scrutiny

Serious structural defects and inefficient bureaucracy tainted by corruption are common in the region, fire safety experts say.

4 Dec 2025 - 6:42PM

Penang set to scoop up Chinese tourists skipping Japan, Thailand’s Hat Yai

Penang anticipates a surge in year-end visitors, with events and food-driven itineraries boosting hotel bookings.

4 Dec 2025 - 4:02PMvideocam

Tourists visit George Town in Malaysia’s Penang state. Photo: Shutterstock

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