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This Week in Asia

Health & Environment

Lifestyle & Culture

Indian soldiers perform drills in Kargil, Ladakh, India, in July last year. The Indian army is increasing its use of green energy sources due to rising oil prices caused by the impact of the Iran war. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images

Economics

India’s military turns to green energy options as Iran war prompts new strategy

The Indian army is looking to green sources for its cooking, vehicles and installations due to surging oil prices.

7 May 2026 - 7:53PM

Indonesia posts fastest first-quarter growth in 3 years, but headwinds loom

7 May 2026 - 5:37PM

Myanmar’s military rulers hire Trump ally for US$50,000 a month to lobby Washington

7 May 2026 - 4:13PM

Lifestyle & Culture

How RedNote, WeChat are reviving Thailand’s Chinese tourism market

Thai businesses are asking online experts to help reel in young big spenders who prize authenticity over heavily advertised content.

7 May 2026 - 4:24PMvideocam

Diners tuck into “phad kaphrao” at Phed Mark, a Bangkok kitchen with a pop-up feel. Photo: Aidan Jones

Economics

Well-oiled diplomacy: Malaysian king visits Moscow as Anwar eyes Russian energy

Though Sultan Ibrahim’s visit is officially ceremonial, its timing coincides with the energy squeeze plaguing Malaysia and much of Asia.

7 May 2026 - 4:36PMvideocam

Politics

Trump’s last Japanese diehard fans lose faith as Iran war chaos spreads

Concerns in Japan are also mounting over the security ties between Japan and the US as Trump seeks to withdraw more troops from Europe.

7 May 2026 - 3:44PMvideocam

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Politics

North Korea drops reunification from constitution to formalise ‘two-state’ ties

Pyongyang has dropped references to ‘national reunification’ and redefined borders in its revised constitution.

7 May 2026 - 8:20PMvideocam

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un during an event in Pyongyang last month. Photo: dpa

Politics

Vietnam, India seek closer ties to hedge against dependence on superpowers

President To Lam’s agenda during his visit to New Delhi is expected to include a deal for Vietnam to buy India’s BrahMos missiles.

7 May 2026 - 4:35PM

People

‘I started crying’: Indonesian captain’s wife in agony over pirate attack

Captain Ashari Samadikun had sent a chilling warning to his wife before his fuel tanker was hijacked by pirates last month.

6 May 2026 - 7:49PMvideocam

Politics

What the BJP’s historic West Bengal victory means for Modi’s India

Narendra Modi’s ruling coalition now controls roughly 70 per cent of India’s state legislatures, giving him a historic grip on power.

6 May 2026 - 7:00PM

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets supporters as he arrives at BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Monday to celebrate that day’s election results. Photo: Reuters

Economics

Malaysia seeks to charge 2 over US$278 million Arm semiconductor deal

Ex-economy minister Rafizi Ramli, who is questioned by the MACC, previously pitched the deal as key to the Malaysian chip sector’s future.

6 May 2026 - 6:42PMvideocam

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Rene Haas, CEO of chip tech provider Arm attend an event where Anwar announced the multi-million deal with Arm in Kuala Lumpur in March last year. Photo: Reuters

Economics

Can Indonesia turn holiday island Bali into a global financial hub?

Having a financial centre on the island will help boost national economic competitiveness, officials say.

6 May 2026 - 5:42PM

Lifestyle & Culture

Japan’s hikikomori recluses are growing old. So are their carers

What happens to more than 1 million social recluses in the world’s fastest-ageing society when the last person who cared for them is gone?

6 May 2026 - 3:49PMvideocam

Lifestyle & Culture

Art of the steal: Malaysia unveils recovered 1MDB masterpieces

A Picasso and a Miro are among four works on show, representing a fraction of the US$4.5 billion looted from Malaysia’s 1MDB fund.

6 May 2026 - 1:53PMvideocam

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Azam Baki (second from right) inspects Joan Miro’s “Composition” (1953) at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya on Wednesday. Photo: Iman Muttaqin Yusof

Politics

Bound by anxiety: Japan and Australia deepen ties for an uneasy age

Shared concerns about trade coercion and energy shocks are driving the two middle powers to ‘institutionalise’ their partnership.

6 May 2026 - 12:25PM

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the signing of their Joint Declaration on Economic Security Cooperation in Canberra on Monday. Photo: AAP/dpa

People

South Korean judge in Kim Keon-hee’s appeals trial found dead days after verdict

Shin Jong-oh, who was found with severe injuries on the ground near the Seoul High Court, had a suicide note in his pocket, police say.

6 May 2026 - 1:10PMvideocam

Politics

Hiding from the ICC? Philippine senator’s 6-month paid absence draws fire

Ronald Dela Rosa has not appeared for work since reports of him being targeted by the ICC as a co-perpetrator in Duterte’s deadly drug war.

6 May 2026 - 11:13AMvideocam

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Politics

From Malaysia’s book bans to Iran war, Anwar’s reform agenda faces sternest test

Anwar’s government has tilted to the right in recent years in a move to win the support of Malay voters, analysts say.

2 May 2026 - 8:00AM

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim attends a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Putrajaya earlier in April. Photo: Bianca De Marchi/AAP/dpa

Economics

Mixed bag: Indonesia’s 8% growth dream hits a plastic ceiling

Soaring packaging costs amid the Iran war hint at a deeper malaise as the middle class contracts and growth hits a plateau.

26 Apr 2026 - 10:01AMvideocam

Health & Environment

Shock therapy: war forces oil-addicted Asia to finally go green

Burned by soaring energy prices, Southeast Asian nations are racing to future-proof themselves against the volatility of war.

18 Apr 2026 - 8:00AMvideocam

Politics

Japan’s Middle East oil habit gets an Iran war reality check

Almost all of Japan’s oil comes from the Middle East. A closed strait turned that dependence into a trap.

11 Apr 2026 - 8:00AMvideocam

Storage tanks are seen at an oil refinery in Yokohama, Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture, as Mount Fuji looms in the background. Photo: AFP

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LATEST Asia NEWS

Australasia

Islamic State-linked Australian women charged with keeping slave in Syria

15 minutes ago

Australian women returning from Syrian refugee camps where they have been staying since Islamic State’s demise walk past the media as they arrive at the airport in Melbourne on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Southeast Asia

Singapore isolates 2 residents linked to cruise ship hantavirus outbreak

7 May 2026 - 6:36PMvideocam

The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius leaves Praia, Cape Verde, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Economics

India’s military turns to green energy options as Iran war prompts new strategy

7 May 2026 - 7:53PM

Indian soldiers perform drills in Kargil, Ladakh, India, in July last year. The Indian army is increasing its use of green energy sources due to rising oil prices caused by the impact of the Iran war. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images

Economics

Indonesia posts fastest first-quarter growth in 3 years, but headwinds loom

7 May 2026 - 5:37PM

Buyers and sellers at the Al Mahira traditional market in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Monday. Increased spending during Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr-related travel boosted first-quarter growth, officials say. Photo: EPA

Southeast Asia

‘Why waste a crisis?’: AirAsia to launch new airline, defying high oil costs

7 May 2026 - 5:28PMvideocam

AirAsia planes stand on the tarmac at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. Photo: Reuters

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Asian Angle | Why Japan-China ties can benefit from promoting people-to-people exchanges

Akio Takahara

3 May 2026 - 9:00AM

Panarat Anamwathana

Asian Angle | A year after corporal punishment ban, Thailand needs to curb resurgence

Panarat Anamwathana

2 May 2026 - 12:00PM

Wesley Morgan,Ben Newell

Opinion | Trump’s oil crisis is accelerating the end of the fossil fuel era

Wesley Morgan

Ben Newell

26 Apr 2026 - 3:00PM

Michael Vatikiotis

Opinion | Blinding the world with lies makes peacemaking an impossible task

25 Apr 2026 - 11:00AM

Asian Angle | The Thucydides Trap is a lie created to justify a US-China war

Chandran Nair

19 Apr 2026 - 1:30PM

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Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters

Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters

Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji

Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail

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