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This Week in Asia

Health & Environment

Lifestyle & Culture

Tourists walk at a shopping area in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. Photo: EPA

Lifestyle & Culture

Bali wants illegal rentals to be legitimate as operators flag red tape

Authorities want to help unregistered accommodation providers secure permits to plug the tax collection gap.

1 hour agovideocam

7 French tourists arrested after viral Songkran clash with van driver in Phuket

3 hours ago

Why Japan will remain the most trusted power in Asean despite military push

21 minutes agovideocam

Economics

Petrol patrol: Malaysia sends police to guard border stations as fuel leaks rise

Malaysia is trying to prevent its heavily subsidised petrol and diesel from being siphoned across land and sea borders as the global energy crisis bites.

6 hours agovideocam

A man fills his car with RON95 petrol at a station in Malaysia on March 25. Photo: EPA

Economics

Desperate times, drastic measures? Filipinos call for fuel caps as crisis bites

The Philippines is one of the worst hit by the oil crisis, but its deregulation law prevents the government from capping fuel prices.

57 minutes agovideocam

Politics

Japan backs a female emperor while Takaichi pushes conservative succession plan

A new poll shows most Japanese support a woman taking the throne, even as the prime minister moves to preserve male-line succession.

16 Apr 2026 - 8:00AMvideocam

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Politics

Why Southeast Asian nations are skipping major US-Philippine Balikatan drills

Given the rivalry between Washington and Beijing, joining the annual military exercise may risk being seen as picking the US, analysts say.

15 Apr 2026 - 8:00PM

Philippine Navy Colonel Dennis Hernandez (left) looks on as United States Marines Colonel Robert Bunn speaks during a Balikatan briefing on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Lifestyle & Culture

Deepfakes, cloned voices: the new AI threat facing Malaysia’s creators

Experts question whether Malaysia’s laws are keeping pace with the harm spread by AI, and call for stronger legal protections for artists.

15 Apr 2026 - 7:37PM

People

Prabowo’s overseas trips draw scrutiny as Indonesia urges fuel restraint

Since his inauguration in October 2024, Prabowo has gone on 51 official visits, travelling to 28 countries and chalking up 99 days overseas.

15 Apr 2026 - 7:09PMvideocam

Politics

Pakistan seeks to shield Gulf states as US-Iran talks set to resume

A senior official involved in Islamabad’s diplomacy says it is trying to defuse the crisis ‘in any way we can’.

15 Apr 2026 - 10:50PMvideocam

US Vice-President J.D. Vance (centre) walks with Pakistan’s Field Marshall Asim Munir (left) and Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after arriving for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad on Saturday. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Politics

Singapore balances national interest with rising anti-US sentiment

Negative public sentiment does not immediately translate to worsening bilateral ties as the US remains an important partner, experts say.

15 Apr 2026 - 5:54PMvideocam

A banner at a protest in Singapore’s Hong Lim Park on Saturday shows past and present US presidents with horns on their heads. Photo: Instagram/sgacadboycott

Economics

How India’s nuclear breakthrough could end reliance on energy imports

Success at the Kalpakkam prototype fast breeder reactor will allow India to generate energy using its abundant thorium reserves.

15 Apr 2026 - 4:07PMvideocam

Politics

Leaked plan for US military overflights triggers sovereignty row in Indonesia

Internal warnings reveal a government split over risks that blanket access for US warplanes could drag Indonesia into foreign conflicts.

15 Apr 2026 - 8:52PM

People

South Korea’s former first couple endure a frosty courtroom reunion

The hearing lasted all of half an hour. Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife, appearing as a witness, made eye contact only once.

15 Apr 2026 - 12:24PMvideocam

A combination photo shows South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol (left) exiting court in January and his wife, former first lady Kim Keon-hee, arriving at the special prosecutor’s office in Seoul in August last year. Photos: EPA/AFP

People

Jailed witness reveals Duterte plotted to oust Philippines’ Marcos

Ramil Madriaga claims Duterte had considered ‘assassinations or armed hits of several government officials’ to cause unrest and stage a coup.

15 Apr 2026 - 2:09PM

Rodrigo Duterte (left) and Ferdinand Marcos Jnr in 2022. Photo: AP

Lifestyle & Culture

Japan’s Narita Airport expansion revives row over forced land sales

Authorities are considering forcing the sale of land owned by holdout farmers, recalling disputes that sparked violence during the 1960s.

15 Apr 2026 - 4:22PM

Politics

Philippines rejects China’s claim it ‘staged’ cyanide evidence at disputed shoal

Manila said tests found cyanide in bottles seized near the Second Thomas Shoal, rejecting Beijing’s claim that the evidence was manufactured.

14 Apr 2026 - 9:16PMvideocam

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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

Lifestyle & Culture

Cultural capitals: Southeast Asia seeks soft power to outlast the buzz

The region’s creators are going global, but the structures to sustain them are still catching up.

4 Apr 2026 - 9:50AMvideocam

Health & Environment

Burning daylight: Asean’s power grid plans get an Iran war jolt

Oil is up, coal is back and so are fuel queues. As the Middle East burns, Southeast Asia dusts off an old plan to rewire its future.

3 Apr 2026 - 10:40PM

Health & Environment

Mortal combat: Southeast Asia fights fears of death to plan for the end

Birth rates are falling. Populations are ageing. In Southeast Asia, the business of dying has never been bigger.

23 Mar 2026 - 9:54AMvideocam

Illustration: Huy Truong

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LATEST Asia NEWS

Lifestyle & Culture

Bali wants illegal rentals to be legitimate as operators flag red tape

1 hour agovideocam

Tourists walk at a shopping area in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. Photo: EPA

Politics

Why Japan will remain the most trusted power in Asean despite military push

21 minutes agovideocam

Japan’s National Defence Academy students participate in a parade in Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture on April 5. Photo: AFP

Lifestyle & Culture

7 French tourists arrested after viral Songkran clash with van driver in Phuket

3 hours ago

Screenshots from a viral video showing Songkran festival revelers spraying a van driver in Patong. Photo: TikTok / littlepatong

East Asia

Stepfather tells Japanese police ‘there’s no doubt’ he killed missing boy

5 hours ago

A missing person poster for Yuki Adachi hangs on a wall in Nantan, Kyoto prefecture, on Monday. Photo: Kyodo

Economics

Petrol patrol: Malaysia sends police to guard border stations as fuel leaks rise

6 hours agovideocam

A man fills his car with RON95 petrol at a station in Malaysia on March 25. Photo: EPA

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Nguyen Khac Giang

Asian Angle | Who is Vietnam’s new Prime Minister Le Minh Hung?

Nguyen Khac Giang

11 Apr 2026 - 1:00PM

Singapore’s refusal to negotiate over Hormuz creates waves in Malaysia

Joseph Sipalan

9 Apr 2026 - 7:11PM

Asian Angle | Doubts about Trump strain Southeast Asia’s US-China balancing act

Joanne Lin

12 Apr 2026 - 12:00PM

Flavio Romero Macau

Opinion | Why the ‘Gate of Tears’ may yet make the whole world weep

5 Apr 2026 - 12:00PM

Asian Angle | Hormuz is sending Southeast Asia a warning – and we can no longer ignore it

Dicky Yordan

4 Apr 2026 - 12:00PM

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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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