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This Week in Asia
A North Korean guard post and military fences in the border county of Gaepung is seen from a South Korean observation deck at Aegibong Peace Ecopark in Gimpo on July 1. Photo: AFP
A South Korean military guard post near the DMZ in Paju. Photo: AFP
Visitors look towards North Korea from South Korea’s Odusan Unification Observatory near the DMZ on September 12. Photo: AFP

Politics

Border mine blasts show why both Koreas urgently need to restore communication

With North Korea stepping up fortification works along the border, constant contact is needed to avoid accidental clashes, experts say.

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Has the US-China tariff deal eroded Southeast Asia’s edge as a factory hub?

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Kuala Lumpur is world’s most polluted city due to haze, Singapore third

Lifestyle & Culture

Indonesia targets free public schooling amid funding concerns

Education experts question where the money will come from, and urge the government to focus on improving the quality of learning.

Pupils take part in a routine ceremony on the first day of school at an elementary school in Banda Aceh, Indonesia on July 15, 2024. Photo: AFP
Students during a break at a high school in Jakarta, Indonesia, in January 2024. Photo: AP

Economics

Southeast Asia faces ‘sleeper’ food crisis from Hormuz fertiliser bottleneck

The Middle East shipping gridlock risks a regional hunger crisis unless Asean resists export controls and pushes a US-Iran deal, experts say.

People

Seoul residents up in arms over school for North Korean defectors

Opposition from residents in Gangseo district has led the principal of Yeomyung School to kneel and beg for acceptance.

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Lifestyle & Culture

Can India curb childhood obesity by banning junk food near schools?

The proposal will not be effective on its own, parents and experts say, calling for more comprehensive measures.

Packets of snacks hang at a grocery shop in Bhubaneswar, India, on September 17. Photo: Reuters
Traditional and prepacked snacks are sold at a shop in Mumbai on September 20. Photo: Reuters

People

Behind closed doors, fatal beating exposes Malaysia’s secret school dorm rules

The fatal beating of a 14-year-old student reveals how informal disciplinary rules continue to operate behind closed boarding school doors.

Politics

Malaysia’s Mahathir in hospital for observation a day after wife’s death

The former prime minister’s office says it is waiting for the diagnosis from his doctors.

People

Philippines urged to adopt Malaysia’s lasting tourism strategy

Senators say changing national taglines with every election wastes resources and dilutes global recognition.

A “Love The Philippines” tourism sign at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City in March. Photo: Wikipedia

Lifestyle & Culture

From Ed Sheeran to Massive Attack: Gaza rows spark Southeast Asia backlash

With global acts also touring Asia, UK star Ed Sheeran’s concert fallout in the US raises the question of how the saga would play out regionally.

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Pro-Palestinian protesters gather near the venue of pop star Ed Sheeran’s concert after rapper Macklemore was cut from the musical line-up over his “free Palestine” remarks, near Lincoln Financial Field, in Philadelphia on September 19. Photo: Reuters
Pro-Palestinian protesters gather near the venue of pop star Ed Sheeran’s concert after rapper Macklemore was cut from the musical line-up over his “free Palestine” remarks, near Lincoln Financial Field, in Philadelphia on September 19. Photo: Reuters

East Asia

US users urge Koreans to unmask Cornell sexual assault suspect Winston Lee

The online hunt for information about Lee’s education and military service intensifies across borders.

Southeast Asia

‘A vile act’: Singapore jails man for slapping preschooler hard at bus stop

Muhammad Firdhaus was also ordered to pay US$133 in compensation to the mother of the boy, who suffered lasting trauma from the incident.

People

Can pay-as-you-earn funding fix Southeast Asia’s higher education debt problem?

A Singapore scheme linking tuition to graduate income is testing if private finance can fill the ‘missing middle’ in regional student loans.

Graduates attend the National University of Singapore graduation ceremony. Photo: Handout

Lifestyle & Culture

Sell family jewels for latest iPhone? In India, craze dials up debate

The new iPhones might not make sense financially in India, but the desire for one is not always rational, analysts say.

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A man checks his wallet at an Apple store in Mumbai, India, on June 29. Photo: Reuters
A man checks his wallet at an Apple store in Mumbai, India, on June 29. Photo: Reuters

East Asia

‘I won’t be using it again’: the hidden cost of free BitTorrent porn in Japan

Adult content users face summonses and hefty penalties for downloading clips as copyright holders widen IP-based enforcement.

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People

Vietnam charges 3 men with terrorism as abduction claim emerges

Viet Tan says the pair, who hold Norwegian and Australian citizenship, entered Cambodia legally and planned to leave four days later.

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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

Politics

Border mine blasts show why both Koreas urgently need to restore communication

videocam
A North Korean guard post and military fences in the border county of Gaepung is seen from a South Korean observation deck at Aegibong Peace Ecopark in Gimpo on July 1. Photo: AFP

Lifestyle & Culture

Indonesia targets free public schooling amid funding concerns

Pupils take part in a routine ceremony on the first day of school at an elementary school in Banda Aceh, Indonesia on July 15, 2024. Photo: AFP

Economics

Southeast Asia faces ‘sleeper’ food crisis from Hormuz fertiliser bottleneck

A digital display tracks shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz in May. The choke point carries about one-third of the world’s seaborne fertiliser trade, where ongoing conflict has driven supply bottlenecks and price surges. Photo: AFP

People

Seoul residents up in arms over school for North Korean defectors

Young North Korean defectors study in a classroom of Yeomyung School in Seoul, South Korea in November 2005. Photo: AP

Lifestyle & Culture

Can India curb childhood obesity by banning junk food near schools?

Packets of snacks hang at a grocery shop in Bhubaneswar, India, on September 17. Photo: Reuters
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