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This Week in Asia

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (centre) with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right) and European Council President Antonio Costa at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on January 27. Photo: European Council/dpa

Economics

India’s trade blitz seeks to keep a sinking global order afloat

‘Jolted out of its slumber’ by US tariffs, New Delhi is aggressively diversifying trade alliances to act as a bridge in a polarised world.

Hope for thaw? Seoul hints at ‘new progress’ in US-North Korea ties

Singapore Airshow: airlines ‘crying out loud’ for planes amid supply crisis

9

Politics

As Thailand prepares to vote, can election deliver the change it needs?

Whoever wins will become Thailand’s fourth prime minister in three years but face a daunting task to revive the economy and ease political gridlock.

Thailand’s caretaker prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Bhumjaithai Party leader and prime ministerial candidate, with his party’s supporters during an election rally in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 30. Photo: Reuters
Thailand’s caretaker prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Bhumjaithai Party leader and prime ministerial candidate, with his party’s supporters during an election rally in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 30. Photo: Reuters

People

Woman in India injured after gas-filled balloons explode in lift

A man who was carrying the balloons filled with hydrogen instead of the safer helium gas was also injured in the incident.

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Economics

Why gold still glitters in Asia despite volatility triggering ‘panic selling’

Investors are also looking to buy more silver despite the recent rush of funds towards the US dollar, analysts say.

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Politics

Malaysian minister’s use of ‘Alhamdulillah’ sparks PAS’ objections

Nga Kor Ming’s use of the Arabic phrase in parliament prompted a warning by a PAS MP that it could ‘confuse Muslims’.

Malaysian Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming delivering a speech as the president of the UN Habitat Assembly on World Cities Day last year. Photo: YouTube/UN Habitat Worldwide
Malaysian Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming delivering a speech as the president of the UN Habitat Assembly on World Cities Day last year. Photo: YouTube/UN Habitat Worldwide

People

Her husband was linked to Philippine flood scandal. Now she returns to limelight

Evangelista’s husband, ex-senate president Francis Escudero, is accused of receiving US$2.7 million in kickbacks from flood control projects.

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Health & Environment

In Japan, residents are bearing the brunt of the hay fever season. Here’s why

The extreme heat in Japan last summer has led to more pollen-producing male flowers blooming across the country.

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Politics

A new start for Pyongyang? Fears mount as US-Russia nuclear pact expires

The end of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty will be a blow to efforts to curb North Korea’s nuclear build-up, analysts say.

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A test-fire of a large-calibre multiple-rocket launcher system at an unknown location in North Korea on January 27. Photo: EPA/KCNA

Politics

Coupang data leak threatens South Korea-US ties amid tariff tensions

The breach, which has fuelled public anger, shows how a domestic corporate scandal can escalate into a diplomatic flashpoint.

Delivery trucks for e-commerce retailer Coupang leave a distribution centre in Seoul, South Korea. Coupang’s data leak last year exposed the personal information of 33.7 million people. Photo: Reuters
Delivery trucks for e-commerce retailer Coupang leave a distribution centre in Seoul, South Korea. Coupang’s data leak last year exposed the personal information of 33.7 million people. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Filipino activists decry loss of public trust over failed bid to impeach Marcos

Public attention is now turning to two separate impeachment complaints filed against Vice-President Sara Duterte.

Health & Environment

‘Bali is so dirty’: waste woes under scrutiny after Prabowo warning

Experts point to structural problems endemic to the issue, such as overtourism, lack of enforcement and insufficient education among locals.

People

Ex-actor Ian Fang to be deported from Singapore over underage sex offences

The Shanghai-born 35-year-old was jailed for 40 months after he pleaded guilty to three counts of sexually penetrating a girl, then 15.

Shanghai-born former actor Ian Fang met a 15-year-old girl at an entertainment event in Singapore in 2024 and proceeded to have underage sex with her on nine occasions. Photo: YouTube/The Celebrity Agency

Politics

‘Dominated by non-Malays’: study on elected Kuala Lumpur mayor spurs race debate

Critics slam the study as a ‘naive and misguided’ move by Minister Hannah Yeoh that would worsen the country’s ‘cultural war’.

Participants hold the national flag during Independence Day celebrations in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on August 31, 2025. Photo: EPA
Participants hold the national flag during Independence Day celebrations in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on August 31, 2025. Photo: EPA

Lifestyle & Culture

Outrage in South Korea over ‘importing virgins’ proposal to raise birth rate

Critics slammed a governor’s ‘crude’ suggestion to marry ‘Sri Lankan and Vietnamese virgins’ to local men as a fix for population decline.

Politics

Pakistan accuses ‘elements supported by India’ of organising Balochistan attacks

The attacks in recent days in the restive province caused the deaths of more than 250 civilians, security personnel and insurgents.

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Economics

India’s trade blitz seeks to keep a sinking global order afloat

‘Jolted out of its slumber’ by US tariffs, New Delhi is aggressively diversifying trade alliances to act as a bridge in a polarised world.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (centre) with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right) and European Council President Antonio Costa at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on January 27. Photo: European Council/dpa
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (centre) with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right) and European Council President Antonio Costa at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on January 27. Photo: European Council/dpa

Politics

‘Critical point’: can Thailand election pave way for national reset?

With the economy struggling and corruption rife, Thai voters will look to the February 8 election as a chance to turn the country around.

Politics

Malaysia’s Islamists preach ‘racial domination’ to woo young voters

They govern the north, dominate the opposition and claim to soon be the undisputed home of Malay nationalism. Is Putrajaya next for PAS?

6

Politics

Philippines enters its ‘hour of danger’ in Marcos vs Duterte clash

Analysts warn of a ‘very messy year’ ahead as coup fears swirl, the economy falters and political warfare rages out in the open.

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Effigies of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr (left) and Vice-President Sara Duterte are seen at a protest march in Manila. Photo: AFP
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LATEST Asia NEWS

Politics

Hope for thaw? Seoul hints at ‘new progress’ in US-North Korea ties

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump after their first meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 28, 2019. Photo: AP

Southeast Asia

Scripts, bank details and military rules: Cambodian scam compound secrets

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A Thai solider inspects a workstation inside a scam centre in O’Smach, Cambodia, on Monday. Photo: AP

Economics

India’s trade blitz seeks to keep a sinking global order afloat

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (centre) with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right) and European Council President Antonio Costa at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on January 27. Photo: European Council/dpa

East Asia

‘I won’t survive’: North Korean soldier caught by Ukraine dreads going home

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A North Korean prisoner of war who was captured by Ukrainian forces in 2025. Photo: AFP

South Asia

Epstein’s India link: tycoon Anil Ambani, books and a ‘tall Swedish blonde’

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Indian businessman Anil Ambani. Photo: AFP
MORE Asia NEWS
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OPINION
Julian Ryall

Opinion | Honking for votes: inside Japan’s tradition of election sound trucks

Julian Ryall
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III

Asian Angle | South China Sea: 6 risks facing Philippines, China as conflict threshold lowers

Lucio Blanco Pitlo III
Sophie Wushuang Yi

Asian Angle | ‘Old order is not coming back’: Trump’s US, not China, threatens status quo

Sophie Wushuang Yi
Alan Robles

Opinion | Marcos health problems call to mind past Philippine leaders’ woes

Alan Robles
William Choong,Joanne Lin

Asian Angle | What a US-China ‘grand bargain’ would mean for Southeast Asia

William Choong
Joanne Lin
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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
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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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