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This Week in Asia

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People
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Health & Environment
Lifestyle & Culture
Sunset from Langkawi Island, Malaysia. Photo: Shutterstock

Health & Environment

How Malaysia’s island paradise became a haven for smugglers

Traffickers exploit Langkawi’s scattered geography and proximity to Thailand to smuggle drugs, fuel and migrants.

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Viral petition to expel Rohingya from Malaysia triggers hate speech warning

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Japan museum under fire for ‘rewriting history’ with Nanking ‘incident’ label

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Lifestyle & Culture

What does Singapore lose when the wrecking ball swings?

Relentless reinvention, long inevitable in the land-scare city state, puts pressure on beloved ‘third spaces’.

Murals adorn a wall at 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace in Singapore. Photo: Kolette Lim
Murals adorn a wall at 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace in Singapore. Photo: Kolette Lim

Politics

Japan prepares to drop its pacifist mask as the right rises

A right-wing parliamentary supermajority is paving the way for Tokyo to amend its post-war pacifist constitution.

Economics

Past failures haunt the Quad’s US$20 billion critical minerals push

The initiative aims to break China’s near-monopoly, but private-sector caution and a history of unfulfilled pledges stand in the way.

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Economics

Malaysia’s gas-guzzling data centre boom clashes with its clean energy goals

Across Malaysia, dozens of data centres hum around the clock, powered by electricity that increasingly comes from gas-fired turbines.

A gas-fired power plant in Melaka. Gas-fired power generation has surged in Malaysia, driven by data-centre growth, electrification, climate stress and electric-vehicle uptake. Photo: Shutterstock
A gas-fired power plant in Melaka. Gas-fired power generation has surged in Malaysia, driven by data-centre growth, electrification, climate stress and electric-vehicle uptake. Photo: Shutterstock

Politics

Why North Korea’s Kim is doubling down on nuclear might as Xi visit looms

Kim Jong-un has vowed to ‘exponentially’ strengthen North Korea’s nuclear arsenal during a recent visit to a production facility.

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People

‘We drank seawater’: a refugee’s journey from Myanmar to Malaysia

A Rohingya woman recalls her days adrift at sea and the legal limbo that has defined the 16 years since she reached Malaysia’s shores.

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Economics

Most Asia-Pacific firms use AI for tasks without cutting jobs: survey

About 74 per cent of companies surveyed across industries in the Asia-Pacific have deployed or piloted AI programmes.

A recent study shows that 74 per cent of 504 companies surveyed across industries in the Asia-Pacific region have deployed or piloted AI programmes. Photo: Shutterstock

Health & Environment

Asia’s marine pledges face credibility test at global ocean conference

Experts say even as momentum on ocean commitments grows in Asia, gaps in implementation and delivery remain.

A mangrove forest in Balikpapan, Indonesia. Photo: AFP
A mangrove forest in Balikpapan, Indonesia. Photo: AFP

Politics

Philippines’ UN defeat: a result of domestic ‘political circus’, close ties with US?

Kyrgyzstan won a seat on the UN Security Council due to perceptions of its neutrality and Central Asia’s under-representation, analysts say.

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Politics

How a pig farm dispute exposed fault lines in Malaysia’s multiracial politics

A pig farm ban in Selangor has turned the issue into a flashpoint involving royal influence, minority livelihoods and cultural sensitivity.

Politics

Quad’s proposed port project in Fiji risks being ‘another empty promise’

Analysts warn that a lack of commitment by the four-member bloc on the project could open the door for China to expand its economic clout.

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Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, India’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pose before a Quad meeting in New Delhi on May 26. Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Health & Environment

Deformed fish in river, pollution from rare earth mines in Myanmar fuel fears

Russian and Chinese firms are also competing to be the first to reach a tungsten mine in a conflict zone, sparking concerns of NGOs.

A drone view shows a gold mine in Shan State, Myanmar, as seen from Chiang Rai province, Thailand, last year amid increased rare earth and gold mining at the Kok River’s source in Myanmar. Photo: Reuters
A drone view shows a gold mine in Shan State, Myanmar, as seen from Chiang Rai province, Thailand, last year amid increased rare earth and gold mining at the Kok River’s source in Myanmar. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Second snap state poll in Malaysia signals cracks in Anwar’s coalition

The state’s snap poll follows Johor’s dissolution, exposing local rivalries that could undermine the prime minister’s federal coalition.

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Politics

Is US wielding new tariff threat to secure big bargain in India trade talks?

Additional 12.5 per cent levy over forced labour supply-chain concerns seen as leverage in negotiations, analysts say.

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Health & Environment

How Malaysia’s island paradise became a haven for smugglers

Traffickers exploit Langkawi’s scattered geography and proximity to Thailand to smuggle drugs, fuel and migrants.

videocam
Sunset from Langkawi Island, Malaysia. Photo: Shutterstock
Sunset from Langkawi Island, Malaysia. Photo: Shutterstock

Politics

Tariffs, war and broken trust: Southeast Asia’s Trump problem

Disillusioned by US unpredictability, the region is learning to diversify – while Trump treats allies as bargaining chips.

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Lifestyle & Culture

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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Politics

Beyond bamboo: Vietnam’s To Lam mounts a diplomacy offensive

The security chief turned paramount leader is chasing the markets and capital required to reach high-income status by 2045.

Vietnam’s To Lam waves after shaking hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on May 6. Photo: EPA
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LATEST Asia NEWS

Southeast Asia

Developing | 12 killed, 200 injured after magnitude 7.8 quake strikes Philippines

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A man walks near a collapsed building after a magnitude 7.8 quake in General Santos, Mindanao Island, the Philippines, on Monday. Photo: GenSan Dev/Reuters

Politics

Japan museum under fire for ‘rewriting history’ with Nanking ‘incident’ label

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People attend a memorial for the Nanking massacre victims in Nanjing, China’s Jiangsu province, last year. Photo: Xinhua

People

Viral petition to expel Rohingya from Malaysia triggers hate speech warning

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Bangladeshi security personnel stand guard beside Rohingya refugees rescued from a Malaysia-bound boat that sank off the coast of Teknaf in 2022. Photo: AFP

Australasia

Albanese plans major Australian migration cuts amid falling poll numbers

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese holds a press conference on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Politics

Japan prepares to drop its pacifist mask as the right rises

Japan Ground Self-Defence Force soldiers walk in front of a Type 88 surface-to-ship missile launcher during military drills in the Philippines on May 6. Photo: Reuters
MORE Asia NEWS
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OPINION
Max Lane

Opinion | Indonesia’s labour movement is deeply divided over political patronage

Max Lane
Francis E. Hutchinson

Opinion | Can Malaysia’s unity government survive a state poll fight?

Francis E. Hutchinson
Irna Nurlina

Asian Angle | Where Southeast Asians really want to live, work and travel

Irna Nurlina
Syaza Shukri

Asian Angle | Malaysia’s 3R catch-all risks turning every grievance into a threat

Syaza Shukri
Donghyun Park,Kwanho Shin

Asian Angle | Asia’s silver dividend can offset ageing’s economic toll

Donghyun Park
Kwanho Shin
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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
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Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport
02:02
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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