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This Week in Asia
Hana* (left) embraces her mother outside their home in a village near Kota Bharu, Malaysia’s Kelantan state. Photo: Iman Muttaqin Yusof

People

In Malaysia, a mother’s love offers her trans daughter refuge

For transgender Muslims in Kelantan, quiet family acceptance at home contrasts with growing fear of sharia crackdowns.

After EU-Philippines trade breakthrough, is Asean-wide deal next?

Thailand has had enough of foreign tourists behaving badly

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Politics

Why Pakistan’s endless war on militants fails to break the cycle

Tactical wins and retaliatory strikes have not delivered peace, even as two separate insurgencies appear to be converging.

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People gather at site of a bomb attack in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, on September 18. Photo: Xinhua
Security officers inspect the blast site following an attack on a mosque in Kohat district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on September 19. Photo: EPA
Security personnel fortify a police post with Ukraine-style mesh barriers, as a new line of defence against militant drone and aerial attacks, at Bara in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in August. Photo: AFP
Residents inspect a damaged house following an air strike in a village in Nurgal district of Kunar province, Afghanistan, on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

India’s ‘cockroach’ movement targets election chief in political pivot

The Gen Z group that forced out an education minister is demanding the election chief’s resignation over alleged voter roll irregularities.

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Health & Environment

Philippines’ short-lived Discord ban exposes cracks in online safety strategy

The abrupt ban following recent school shootings has drawn backlash over ‘performative governance’ and free speech risks.

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Health & Environment

Bangkok declares flood disaster across city as thousands flee from homes

Rains have pounded the city since Wednesday, with no respite forecast until late Sunday as waters rise to at least two feet.

People walk past abandoned vehicles on a flooded Petchaburi road in Bangkok on Saturday. Photo: AFP
A man uses a large plastic tube to wade through floodwaters in the Bang Bua district of Bangkok on Saturday. Photo: AFP
People walk past abandoned vehicles on a flooded Petchaburi road in Bangkok on Saturday. Photo: AFP

South Asia

Suicide bombing at police checkpoint in Pakistan kills at least 11

About 30 others were wounded in the attack, for which the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility.

Economics

Indonesian coal deal fuels doubts over production quota approvals

The sale of a stake in Bayan came as the coal miner was facing a delay in getting approval for three subsidiaries’ production quotas.

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Politics

Malaysia’s Najib ‘has no money’ to pay fine for house arrest, lawyer says

The ex-prime minister’s legal team also dismisses a ‘stupid question’ about ‘the billions’ donated by the Saudi royal family.

A supporter of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak gesture as she gathers outside his residence in Kuala Lumpur last Friday. Photo: AP

Economics

From Suzhou to AI: Singapore, China eye new playbook for economic ties

Both countries should explore cooperation in new areas such as AI and the green economy, says Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong.

Staff members work at a semiconductor company at the Suzhou Industrial Park in Suzhou, China’s Jiangsu province. Photo: Xinhua
Staff members work at a semiconductor company at the Suzhou Industrial Park in Suzhou, China’s Jiangsu province. Photo: Xinhua

People

Negeri Sembilan royal crisis: veteran Malaysian politician charged with sedition

Rais Yatim is accused of making remarks backing Tunku Nadzaruddin and urging others to be loyal to the rival claimant to the state throne.

Politics

‘So happy’: Philippines pardons death row inmate repatriated from Indonesia

Mary Jane Veloso is expected to be freed after the clemency since there are no other active cases against her.

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Health & Environment

Japan’s cut-price morgues cash in on legal loopholes as lonely deaths rise

One Tokyo-based company is offering to do everything from body collection up to ash internment for just US$1,040.

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An undertaker bows after putting a casket in a morgue in Tokyo in 2017. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Ukraine’s POW transfer reveal deals propaganda blow to North Korea

Zelensky’s UN disclosure punctures Pyongyang’s soldier-loyalty narrative, but risks damaging ties with Seoul and endangering POW families.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. Photo: EPA
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Politics

Najib Razak’s fundraising in Malaysia draws 1 sen donations, mockery

Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, claims that supporters from Singapore, Brunei, Italy and Canada are willing to contribute to the fund.

South Asia

‘Stooping low’: furore over UK university professorship for tycoon Ambani’s son

The university awarded a sustainability role to tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s son, who is linked to the controversial wildlife centre in India.

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Economics

Thailand has had enough of foreign tourists behaving badly

Viral misbehaviour, crimes and foreign-ownership scandals are exhausting the patience of a country famous for its hospitality.

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Illustration: Kevin Wong
Illustration: Kevin Wong

Economics

South Korea wants free ‘AI for All’. Is society ready?

Seoul’s roll-out of free, unlimited AI is set to shake up classrooms, careers and crime – for better or worse.

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Health & Environment

Up in smoke: why Southeast Asia failed to halt the haze

Asean was going to eliminate transboundary haze by 2020. What happened?

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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.

Illustration: Huy Truong
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Highlights from
THIS WEEK IN ASIA

Economics

Thailand has had enough of foreign tourists behaving badly

videocam
Illustration: Kevin Wong

People

In Malaysia, a mother’s love offers her trans daughter refuge

Hana* (left) embraces her mother outside their home in a village near Kota Bharu, Malaysia’s Kelantan state. Photo: Iman Muttaqin Yusof

Economics

After EU-Philippines trade breakthrough, is Asean-wide deal next?

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr gestures to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a visit to Manila in 2023. She is expected to return next year to sign a trade pact. Photo: AFP

Health & Environment

Bangkok declares flood disaster across city as thousands flee from homes

People walk past abandoned vehicles on a flooded Petchaburi road in Bangkok on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Politics

Why Pakistan’s endless war on militants fails to break the cycle

videocam
People gather at site of a bomb attack in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, on September 18. Photo: Xinhua
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