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This Week in Asia

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Politics
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People
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Health & Environment
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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

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.

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

Seoul residents up in arms over school for North Korean defectors

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.

People

Philippines urged to adopt Malaysia’s lasting tourism strategy

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

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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.

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad pays his last respects to his late wife, Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, during a prayer ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Photo: EPA
Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad pays his last respects to his late wife, Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, during a prayer ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Photo: EPA

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.

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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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

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.

A combination photo shows Nguyen Duc Thuan (left) and Tran Hiep. Photo: Viet Tan/dpa
A combination photo shows Nguyen Duc Thuan (left) and Tran Hiep. Photo: Viet Tan/dpa

Politics

India-Europe trade corridor gets Trump’s backing, but can it survive war?

Pitched as a rival to China’s Belt and Road, IMEC must bypass vulnerable Gulf chokepoints if it is ever to become operational, analysts say.

Politics

Philippine coastguard warns ‘we will run out of ships’ as budget cuts bite

Ronnie Gil Gavan says his agency is functioning at almost ‘90 per cent operational tempo’, leaving a very short time between overhauls.

Lifestyle & Culture

Singapore or bust: how Indonesian’s crowdfunding plea shows city’s desirability

A woman’s appeal for sponsors to fund her US$78,000 programme has drawn criticism but not dimmed her dream of studying in Singapore.

Tri Maira Pangestuti poses at the National University of Singapore. She graduated from a master’s programme in environmental management in August. Photo: Tri Maira Pangestuti

People

Mahathir ‘lonely’ as family and Malaysia mourn Siti Hasmah

Daughter reveals family are taking turns to stay with former PM after burial of his wife of 70 years, as tributes pour in.

Mahathir Mohamad is comforted by his granddaughter Meera Alyanna Mukhriz as he mourns for his late wife Siti Hasmah Mohamd Ali at her funeral on Monday. Photo: Bernama/dpa
Mahathir Mohamad is comforted by his granddaughter Meera Alyanna Mukhriz as he mourns for his late wife Siti Hasmah Mohamd Ali at her funeral on Monday. Photo: Bernama/dpa

People

Indonesian prison chief suspended over secret VIP compound for inmates

Inspectors found a hidden compound at Cibinong Prison, complete with villas and a pool reportedly reserved for paying inmates.

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Lifestyle & Culture

Inside the Philippines’ mounting ‘learning crisis’ and teacher shortage

Industry players call for transparency in the teacher hiring process and urge more concrete support for educators suffering from burnout.

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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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LATEST Asia NEWS

Global Economy

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

Workers produce Bing Dwen Dwen merchandise at a toy factory in Jinjiang, southeast China’s Fujian Province. Photo: Xinhua

Southeast Asia

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

Buildings in the background past the National Monument seen shrouded by haze in Kuala Lumpur on September 21. 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
MORE Asia NEWS
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OPINION
Zha Daojiong

Asian Angle | Southeast Asia faces a false binary in US-China mineral trade

Zha Daojiong
Alexey D Muraviev

Opinion | Why the Global South keeps its doors wide open to Russia

Alexey D Muraviev
Hoang Thi Ha,Pham Thi Phuong Thao

Asian Angle | Politics aside, young Vietnamese are warming to China

Hoang Thi Ha
Pham Thi Phuong Thao
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Soniya Rijal,Nader Naderpajouh

Asian Angle | After Nepal-Tibet floods, recovery depends on grass-roots solidarity

Soniya Rijal
Nader Naderpajouh
Donald Low

Opinion | Singapore’s blueprint for economic success: plan, but be prepared to adapt

Donald Low
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MULTIMEDIA
Video

Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters

Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters
03:09
Video

Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji

Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji
02:34
Video

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport
02:02
Video

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail
04:27
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Siti Hasmah, wife of Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad, dies aged 100