This Week in Asia /

People

Related Topics:
Anwar Ibrahim
Xi Jinping
Narendra Modi
Christians attend the Christmas Eve mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on December 24, 2024. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

Calls in Indonesia to curb religious intolerance after Christian groups attacked

Attacks are rooted in systemic discrimination against religious minorities in Indonesia and undermine freedom of worship, analysts say.

South Korea

South Korea’s Yoon claims ‘human rights abuse’ after questioning attempt fails

videocam
Thailand

Singaporean tourist arrested in Thailand for flying drone amid nationwide ban

Malaysia

Malaysia’s king enthuses over ‘dream meeting’ with Putin

On the first-ever state visit to Russia by a Malaysian monarch, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar praised Putin’s ‘strength, vision and resilience’.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim at the Kremlin in Moscow on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim at the Kremlin in Moscow on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

Forgive and forget? Prabowo’s pardons divide Indonesia

As Indonesia’s president pardons former political foes Thomas Lembong and Hasto Kristiyanto, is it about unity or consolidating power?

videocam
South Korea

Teen in South Korea arrested over mall bomb threat, 4,000 evacuated

After confirming the threat was a hoax, the Shinsegae store says it is seeking damages from the boy over its US$431,000 business loss.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Malaysia

Malaysian politician under fire for comparing women to cows

The PAS official defended his bizarre cattle analogy as ‘art of the Malay language’, even as his own coalition joined the criticism of it.

A photo of cows that Muhammad Salman Al Farisi shared on Facebook to illustrate his post. His comments about women were immediately condemned as “demeaning” and “outdated”. Photo: Facebook/Salman Al Farisi Muhammad
A photo of cows that Muhammad Salman Al Farisi shared on Facebook to illustrate his post. His comments about women were immediately condemned as “demeaning” and “outdated”. Photo: Facebook/Salman Al Farisi Muhammad
South Korea

‘I apologise’: South Korea’s ex-first lady faces public grilling over scandals

With her husband already in custody, Kim is now being questioned over her role in gift and stock scandals – and a surprise trip to Ukraine.

videocam
Japan

All talk, no paper: Japan’s US tariff deal hits a snag

A lack of clarity has left Japan’s crucial vehicle sector in limbo, with the political future of its embattled PM tied to the deal’s success.

videocam
Indonesia

Bali immigration officers helped Russians run violent extortion scheme: police

The two officers were arrested alongside the Russians and are likely to lose their jobs, pending the outcome of disciplinary processes.

Tourists walk at a shopping area in Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia, on August 1. Bali officials and residents warn that unchecked mass tourism and lax enforcement are creating fertile ground for organised syndicates. Photo: EPA
Malaysia

‘Deeply regressive’: sanitary pad protest stirs outrage in Malaysia

The DAP’s stunt came days after a new report detailing how menstrual stigma affects Malaysian girls’ school attendance and mental well-being.

A member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, holds a sanitary pad at Sunday’s protest. Photo: Facebook
A member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, holds a sanitary pad at Sunday’s protest. Photo: Facebook
Indonesia

Indonesians fly anime pirate flag in Independence Day protest

The flag from Japanese anime One Piece has become an unlikely symbol of defiance in Indonesia, prompting warnings of ‘criminal consequences’.

Malaysia

Cover-up or tragic fall? Malaysia wants answers after student’s death

Rumours of a cover-up have spread like wildfire online. But for Zara Qairina Mahathir’s grieving family, the questions are all too real.

Singapore

F1 tycoon Ong Beng Seng admits guilt in Singapore minister gifts scandal

The 79-year-old businessman pleaded guilty on Monday to one charge of abetting obstruction of justice. His sentencing is set for August 15.

Ong Beng Seng at the Marina Bay Street Circuit last year during a practice for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. Photo: Reuters
Bangladesh

‘Did we really win?’: Bangladeshis weigh progress a year after uprising

Momentum for reform has been stymied by a hostile bureaucracy and political fragmentation, as disillusionment grows on the streets.

A Bangladeshi man walks past anti-government wall murals along a road in Dhaka. Bangladesh on July 1, 2025, marks one year since students launched protests that culminated weeks later in the overthrow of the government. Photo: AFP
A Bangladeshi man walks past anti-government wall murals along a road in Dhaka. Bangladesh on July 1, 2025, marks one year since students launched protests that culminated weeks later in the overthrow of the government. Photo: AFP
Singapore

How Singapore’s economic architect Goh Keng Swee shaped its state-linked giants

As Singapore’s first finance minister, colleagues say he built state firms with the rigour of a businessman and vision of a nation-builder.

videocam
Thailand

Is Thailand’s conflict-hit economy running out of luck?

As conflict with Cambodia compounds decades of political turmoil, analysts warn ‘Teflon’ Thailand may have lost its ability to bounce back.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Singapore

How ghost stories helped launch the career of one of Singapore’s pioneer leaders

Before becoming Singapore’s first social affairs minister, Othman Wok thrilled readers with horror tales that revived a struggling magazine.

videocam
Othman Wok – Singapore’s first minister for social affairs and a key advocate for multi-racialism. Photo: People’s Action Party
Othman Wok – Singapore’s first minister for social affairs and a key advocate for multi-racialism. Photo: People’s Action Party
Malaysia

Strangulation murder of 6-year-old boy stuns Malaysia

The father of the boy was arrested after the victim’s body was discovered in a shallow grave by a roadside in Pahang.

The Philippines

Marcos has promised gifts galore. Can the Philippines afford them?

Experts contend the vast cost of delivering on Marcos’ State of the Nation Address pledges would risk ‘bankrupting’ the government.

North Korea

Nuclear no-go: North Korea signals denuclearisation-era’s end with twin warnings

In rare twin statements, Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister dismissed the idea of US outreach and demanded ‘nuclear weapons state’ recognition.

A North Korean missile launch is seen in 2023, which state media said was simulating a tactical nuclear attack. Photo: KCNA/KNS/AFP
Singapore

Singapore sinkhole rescue sparks calls for migrant worker safety reforms

Their heroic rescue has reignited debate over the controversial issue of labourers being transported in the backs of lorries.

A still from a social media video shows a submerged car after it fell into a sinkhole in Singapore on Saturday. Photo: X/HaggerDarren
A still from a social media video shows a submerged car after it fell into a sinkhole in Singapore on Saturday. Photo: X/HaggerDarren
The Philippines

Chicken run: Philippine police chief floors Duterte’s son in phantom fight

Sebastian ‘Baste’ Duterte’s viral public challenge against police chief Nicolas Torre fizzled into farce after he left the country.

Malaysia

Anwar’s chief justice pick tests Malaysia’s faith in the courts

As ex-Umno insider Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh takes his seat at the apex of the judiciary, he inherits not merely a bench but a burden.

Thailand

Gunboats deployed as Thailand-Cambodia conflict spirals with 33 dead

Thailand said its navy joined the army in repelling Cambodian attacks on Saturday, the third day of deadly border clashes.

videocam
17
HTMS Chang (front) and HTMS Chakri Naruebet of the Royal Thai Navy. It is unclear which ships were deployed to patrol the coast. Photo: Royal Thai Navy
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW