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This Week in Asia
Yoshitha Rajapaksa arrives at the Hulftsdorp Chief Magistrate’s Court in Colombo on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

South Asia

Sri Lanka arrests son of ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa for corruption

Yoshitha Rajapaksa is accused of tapping state funds for overseas training during his career as a naval officer.

Fifa invites South Korean YouTuber targeted by racist gesture to World Cup match

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Indonesia’s rupiah rebounds but rate rises threaten the middle class

Politics

Aid and diplomacy: US Navy’s renewed bid for Southeast Asian influence

Pacific Partnership 2026 aims to counter China’s rising influence in the region, amid growing doubts about US leadership, analysts say.

Captain Robert Reyes, mission commander of Pacific Partnership 2026, speaks to sailors assigned to the mission on Naval Air Station North Island, on May 26. Photo: Handout
Captain Robert Reyes, mission commander of Pacific Partnership 2026, speaks to sailors assigned to the mission on Naval Air Station North Island, on May 26. Photo: Handout

Asia

In cyberfriendly Asia, online crime dominates underworld: Interpol survey

Of the 18 Asian Interpol members that responded to the survey, more than half reported that cybercrime made up 30 per cent of all offences.

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Politics

3 killed, no apology: the strike straining India-US relations

Instead of showing remorse, Washington ordered New Delhi to obey its blockade, stoking public outrage.

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Economics

Costly Malaysia-Thailand seafood stand-off nears an end

Talks are advancing on resolving the dispute, but every day of delay is costing thousands of Thai shrimp farmers.

A Thai shrimp farmer holds a shrimp to the camera at his house in Samut Prakan province, Thailand. Photo: Reuters
A Thai shrimp farmer holds a shrimp to the camera at his house in Samut Prakan province, Thailand. Photo: Reuters

People

How 75 days trapped under fire in Hormuz broke these Indian sailors

As the Strait of Hormuz edges towards reopening, sailors who survived 75 days under fire count the psychological cost of someone else’s war.

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Lifestyle & Culture

Is the ‘Singapore brand’ losing its shine in China’s food scene?

Analysts say Singapore’s F&B firms can no longer rely on earlier strengths that made them stand out, given the growing competition.

People

Malaysian tourists in China scorned for calling locals ‘smelly’

The visitors also hurled insults at the locals, damaging the country’s national image amid booming Malaysia-China travel ties.

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Malaysian tourists have sparked outrage at home with viral videos mocking locals in China. Photo: Threads

Politics

Why Hormuz reopening hands South Korea a diplomatic problem at G7 summit

The G7 summit could revive pressure on Seoul to join international efforts to safeguard freedom of navigation through the strait.

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Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Politics

‘Not a single inch’: Philippines vows to block structures at Scarborough Shoal

Observers say Beijing could be using its ‘old playbook’ of deploying scientific activities to boost military presence in the South China Sea.

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Southeast Asia

Malaysia’s tax officials play their cards as collectible transactions boom

The Inland Revenue Board said turning hobby trading into a profit-driven activity may trigger income tax, urging collectors to keep records.

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Lifestyle & Culture

Lost in translation? Singapore wants Dear You film mostly in Mandarin, not Teochew

Linguists and the local Teochew community say watching the hit Chinese film in its original form can help sustain cultural diversity.

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A still from “Dear You”, the hit Chinese film shot in southern Teochew dialect. Photo: Handout

Economics

Free meals, political cost: why Indonesia is restructuring, not axing, scheme

As it was Prabowo’s signature campaign promise, dropping the programme could prove ‘embarrassing’ to the president, experts say.

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Students eat lunch provided by the Free Nutritious Meals programme in Bandung, West Java, on Friday. Photo: Xinhua
Students eat lunch provided by the Free Nutritious Meals programme in Bandung, West Java, on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

Why Japan is trying to get in on Europe’s flagship drone programme

Analysts say Japan can bring precision manufacturing to the European project aimed at building a home-grown alternative to US-made drones.

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Lifestyle & Culture

‘Everything in it relates’: school bullying K-drama hits home in Malaysia

The Netflix hit is resonating in a country still reckoning with the death of 13-year-old schoolgirl Zara Qairina Mahathir.

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Politics

Asean at 60: peace, prosperity and polite paralysis

Non-interference bought decades of stability, but now breeds inaction. Is Asean due an overhaul?

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Illustration: Huy Truong
Illustration: Huy Truong

Health & Environment

How Malaysia’s island paradise became a haven for smugglers

Traffickers exploit Langkawi’s scattered geography and proximity to Thailand to smuggle drugs, fuel and migrants.

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Politics

Tariffs, war and broken trust: Southeast Asia’s Trump problem

Disillusioned by US unpredictability, the region is learning to diversify – while Trump treats allies as bargaining chips.

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Lifestyle & Culture

Southeast Asia is chasing the AI boom, but at what cost?

A regional dash for digital dominance risks running headlong into an energy crunch and an existential threat to jobs.

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Illustration: Huy Truong
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Highlights from
THIS WEEK IN ASIA

People

Fifa invites South Korean YouTuber targeted by racist gesture to World Cup match

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South Korean YouTuber Inocat at a Fifa World Cup match in Mexico. Photo: Instagram/inocat_t

Economics

Indonesia’s rupiah rebounds but rate rises threaten the middle class

An Indonesian rupiah banknote pictured next to a US dollar banknote at a currency exchange office in Jakarta. Photo: AFP

Politics

Aid and diplomacy: US Navy’s renewed bid for Southeast Asian influence

Captain Robert Reyes, mission commander of Pacific Partnership 2026, speaks to sailors assigned to the mission on Naval Air Station North Island, on May 26. Photo: Handout

Politics

3 killed, no apology: the strike straining India-US relations

videocam
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a meeting with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during his visit to New Delhi on May 26. Photo: AP

Economics

Costly Malaysia-Thailand seafood stand-off nears an end

A Thai shrimp farmer holds a shrimp to the camera at his house in Samut Prakan province, Thailand. Photo: Reuters
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