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This Week in Asia /

Lifestyle & Culture

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K-pop, Mandopop and other Asian pop
Asia travel
Fame and celebrity
Yili, a RedNote content creator from China, says she is seeing “more and more Chinese bosses” in Malaysia. Photo: RedNote/Yili
Malaysia

For those caught in China’s ‘involution’, RedNote offers a solution: Malaysia

Besides Malaysia’s education system, the influencers say the widespread use of Mandarin in the country is a big draw for Chinese visitors.

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North Korea

Tears in North Korea as Kim meets footballers after historic title win

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Vietnam

Vietnam detains Australian man who trashed Da Nang cafe

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Malaysia

Malaysia bars under-16s from social media as new rules come into force

Malaysia’s roll-out of strict age-gating rules follows on the heels of Australia and Indonesia in the push to protect children online.

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A young boy plays with a phone inside a mosque in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Photo: AFP
A young boy plays with a phone inside a mosque in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

Jakarta deploys troops against muggers, stirring dark memories

While residents welcome tougher action on street crime, rights groups fear a return to authoritarian-era security crackdowns.

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India

Reel politik: India tells filmmakers to drop ‘China-bashing’ as ties warm

India’s diplomatic thaw with China is causing films about the 2020 Galwan Valley clash to be retitled, reshot or shelved entirely.

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Thailand

Badly behaving visitors push Thailand to remove 60-day visa entry

Only 54 countries and territories will get a 30-day visa exemption as authorities aim to curb illegal activities involving foreign tourists.

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Tourists visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. Thailand has announced the removal of the 60-day visa-free entry for tourists. Photo: Peerapon Boonyakiat/SOPA Images
Tourists visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. Thailand has announced the removal of the 60-day visa-free entry for tourists. Photo: Peerapon Boonyakiat/SOPA Images
Artificial intelligence

Southeast Asia is chasing the AI boom, but at what cost?

A regional dash for digital dominance risks running headlong into an energy crunch and an existential threat to jobs.

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Malaysia

Malaysia’s tourism-dependent Langkawi fears rising costs are deterring visitors

Businesses ranging from boat operators to restaurants are seeing a drop in international visitors to the island.

Thailand

Thailand’s Singha beer dynasty rocked by sexual abuse allegations

The kingdom’s most-watched family scandal in years has prompted a sacking, a televised confessional – and a warning from media regulators.

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The Singha and Leo brands of the Bhirombhakdi family’s Boon Rawd Brewery account for roughly two-thirds of Thailand’s beer market. Photo: Shutterstock
South Korea

Reality deficit: how South Korea lost the plot on AI

A viral ‘baseball goddess’, a wolf that never was and a deepfake epidemic. Generative AI is rewriting South Korea’s reality.

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A screenshot of the "baseball goddess" from an AI-generated video. Photo: X/kangminlee
A screenshot of the "baseball goddess" from an AI-generated video. Photo: X/kangminlee
Singapore

Human intelligence remains critical in AI era: Singapore minister

Foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan cautions against overdependence on large-language models to solve every problem.

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Japan

Japan’s ‘ibasho’ sense of belonging helps disaster survivors heal, study finds

Research into the 2011 earthquake and tsunami shows fostering social connection and purpose helps survivors rebuild and staves off dementia.

Indonesia

Why Indonesia is expanding under-16 social media ban to e-commerce

The plan aims to protect children from online scams and impulse buying, but experts say it could be a major compliance test for platforms.

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Indonesia’s social media ban for children has been effective since March 28. Photo: AP
South Korea

‘Like whale bones’: South Korea’s war memorial sparks conflict over symbolism

Critics argue the Korean war memorial should not be in a space in Seoul long associated with pro-democracy protests and its imperial past.

A row of 23 stone monuments in central Seoul representing South Korea and 22 other countries that fought alongside one another during the 1950-53 Korean war. Photo: Park Chan-kyong
A row of 23 stone monuments in central Seoul representing South Korea and 22 other countries that fought alongside one another during the 1950-53 Korean war. Photo: Park Chan-kyong
Singapore

Singaporeans refute lack of hunger stereotype, warn of ‘self-fulfilling bias’

A recruiter’s comment on Singaporean workers supposedly lacking drive has sparked a fierce debate on evolving career goals and pay.

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Japan

Divorced from reality? Japan’s joint custody reform divides parents

Critics call the legal change a ‘cosmetic’ fix for a system that still allows one parent to simply disappear.

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South Korea

‘She was just a human’: the world forgot K-pop’s suicides. These fans never did

Years after three high-profile K-pop suicides shook South Korea’s idol machine, the grief – and guilt – remains.

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Tearful K-pop fans gather to mourn their idol at a hospital in Seoul in 2017. Photo: AFP
Tearful K-pop fans gather to mourn their idol at a hospital in Seoul in 2017. Photo: AFP
The Philippines

‘Foreigner won’: Filipinos divided over pageant winner’s US roots

Some social media users have questioned Bea Millan-Windorski’s win, while others say being Filipino is about ‘culture, history and belonging’.

Thailand

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.

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Japan

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?

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A Japanese government survey estimated that 1.46 million people were living as shut-ins as of 2023. Photo: Shutterstock
Malaysia

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.

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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
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
Japan

Japan army unit’s gun-toting AI-generated elephant logo gets trampled by critics

Officers created the logo using ChatGPT based on the ‘elephant’, ‘cool’, ‘blue flame’, and ‘mammoth’ keywords, a media report says.

Malaysia

Penang’s cemetery tours spur interest in pioneers, colonial history

While the state receives millions in conservation funding, it faces challenges in preserving the Protestant cemetery due to its climate.

Thailand

The cost of cute: how ‘petfluencers’ are driving Asia’s wildlife crime

Thailand is a key pipeline in a lucrative global trade that animal activists warn risks spreading zoonotic diseases and erasing biodiversity.

Indian star tortoises confiscated from a woman attempting to travel with them at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok on Wednesday. Photo: Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation / AFP
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