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This Week in Asia
Indonesian students and activists try to tear down a gate in front of the parliament building in Jakarta during a protest against the revision of the country’s military law on March 20, 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE

Southeast Asia

Acid attack on Indonesian activist raises fears for democracy under Prabowo

Andrie Yunus, who had previously received threats for his activism, was rushed to hospital with burns to 24 per cent of his body.

Trump tells South Korea he is only leader who can break North Korean deadlock

‘Farmers bear the cost’: Iran war knocks out Thai Mideast rice exports

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Economics

Beyond Pax Silica: Japan, France and Canada seek rare earth autonomy

Wary of both Beijing’s grip and Washington’s whims, three G7 allies are charting their own independent critical mineral course.

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hand with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Paris, France, last year. Photo: EPA-EFE
French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hand with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Paris, France, last year. Photo: EPA-EFE

East Asia

Japanese man gets 14 years for deadly tequila-fuelled rape attempt

The victim died from acute alcohol poisoning after Hiroki Itaya forced her to drink 32 tequila shots at a bar in Nagoya.

Southeast Asia

Singapore contests US claim of trade surplus amid excess capacity probe

The Ministry of Trade and Industry also rejected the USTR’s suggestion that the city state was contributing to global manufacturing overcapacity.

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Health & Environment

‘Death is a release’: Indian parents win right to grant son a dignified death

Harish Rana was comatose and bedridden for over a decade. Now, the Supreme Court has ruled that his ‘endless misery’ can finally end.

Harish Rana, an engineering student, has been in a vegetative state for the last 13 years after falling from the fourth floor of his hostel. Photo: Handout
Harish Rana, an engineering student, has been in a vegetative state for the last 13 years after falling from the fourth floor of his hostel. Photo: Handout

Middle East

Iran lets 2 India-flagged gas tankers sail through Strait of Hormuz: insiders

India, which gave safe harbour to 183 Iranian ‌sailors, has asked for exemptions from Iran’s blockade of the key waterway.

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Southeast Asia

Malaysian businessman releases photo to show officers drew guns during raid

Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency has denied that its officers pointed a weapon at Albert Tei’s head during his arrest.

Politics

Australia walks ‘very fine line’ with Gulf deployment amid Iran war

Analysts say the defensive deployment reflects Canberra’s attempt to balance alliance pressure with fears of deeper involvement in the conflict.

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A Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft (top left) flying over airspace in the Northern Territory of Australia. Photo: Australian Defence Force/AFP

Economics

Malaysia’s fuel subsidy bill to rise more than fourfold as Iran war drags on

The government will spend about US$812.8 million a month to maintain the price of subsidised petrol and diesel in the short term.

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A man fills his vehicle with diesel at a petrol station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: EPA-EFE
A man fills his vehicle with diesel at a petrol station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Southeast Asia

Vietnam records world-highest trade surplus with US, surpassing Mexico, China

Vietnam’s exports to the US rose 53 per cent to exceed US$20 billion in January from a year earlier, official data ‌shows.

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Economics

Cable thefts at key Malaysian train lines soar amid copper’s red-hot demand

Such cases have disrupted services between Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, with offenders thinking of more creative ways to cut cables.

Health & Environment

‘Quite severe’: coastal erosion threatens future of Bali’s famed Kuta Beach

Experts warn extreme weather and decades of coastal development on the resort island have worsened the situation.

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Tourists relax on Kuta Beach in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2025. Officials say the erosion on Kuta Beach is “quite severe”. Photo: EPA

People

250 men went down with a WWII ‘hell ship’. Now the US is coming back for them

Eight decades after the Oryoku Maru was sunk by American bombs, specialist divers are returning to retrieve the 250 men still trapped inside.

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Hundreds perished when the Japanese “hell ship” Oryoku Maru was sunk in 1944. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Hundreds perished when the Japanese “hell ship” Oryoku Maru was sunk in 1944. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Politics

Philippines’ bid for UN Security Council seat sidesteps maritime row

As a potential council member, the Philippines is expected to address broader global security issues and be a ‘responsible middle power’.

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People

Iranian women’s football team in Malaysia as video fuels new asylum claims

The video shows a man saying three Iranian players told Malaysian police they wanted to remain in the country. The claim has not been independently verified.

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People

‘It’s inevitable’: Singapore’s workers brace for AI disruption

The city state wants 100,000 workers to become ‘AI bilingual’. But with entry-level roles already vanishing, time may not be on its side.

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Illustration: Huy Truong
Illustration: Huy Truong

Politics

Build fast, grow rich: To Lam’s blueprint for a rising Vietnam

Vietnam’s Communist Party chief is staking his legacy on 10 per cent growth, domestic megaprojects and an overseas charm offensive.

Economics

Philippines’ AI reckoning puts millions of jobs on the line

The US$30 billion outsourcing sector is fighting to adapt, leaving millions of workers with a stark choice: upskill or be left behind.

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Economics

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

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

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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
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Highlights from
THIS WEEK IN ASIA

Economics

Beyond Pax Silica: Japan, France and Canada seek rare earth autonomy

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hand with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Paris, France, last year. Photo: EPA-EFE

Health & Environment

‘Death is a release’: Indian parents win right to grant son a dignified death

Harish Rana, an engineering student, has been in a vegetative state for the last 13 years after falling from the fourth floor of his hostel. Photo: Handout

Economics

Malaysia’s fuel subsidy bill to rise more than fourfold as Iran war drags on

videocam
A man fills his vehicle with diesel at a petrol station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Health & Environment

‘Quite severe’: coastal erosion threatens future of Bali’s famed Kuta Beach

videocam
Tourists relax on Kuta Beach in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2025. Officials say the erosion on Kuta Beach is “quite severe”. Photo: EPA

Economics

Cable thefts at key Malaysian train lines soar amid copper’s red-hot demand

Malaysia’s Mass Rapid Transit Putrajaya Line train. Photo: Shutterstock
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