Asia

This Week in Asia

The foster father, 63, was jailed for a year and a month on Thursday after he earlier pleaded guilty to committing an indecent act with a child. Photo: AFP

Southeast Asia

Singapore jails man for indecent act with foster son

The man, 63, pretended he had to ‘check’ the boy’s body before allowing him to use the computer.

8 May 2025 - 7:46PM

Thailand suspends 2 doctors over ex-PM Thaksin’s hospital stay

8 May 2025 - 7:14PM

Making treble: South Korean town battles North’s eerie broadcasts with noise map

8 May 2025 - 6:37PMvideocam

Economics

‘Junta in the way’: Myanmar quake crisis worsens amid air strikes, scarce UN aid

Myanmar’s junta is conducting air strikes after a deadly earthquake, despite a ceasefire, while a US$275 million UN aid appeal has received only US$34 million.

8 May 2025 - 6:00PMvideocam

People are seen at a shelter in a makeshift tent camp near a railway track, following a strong earthquake in Amarapura township, Myanmar. Photo: Reuters

People

‘Because of a few rotis?’: Indian wedding fight leads to deaths of 2 teenagers

Police said the confrontation began with an argument over who was next in line to receive a serving of the flatbread.

8 May 2025 - 4:55PMvideocam

Politics

India-Pakistan clash: ‘far from neutral’ Russia and China step in with arms

The arms provided by Russia to India and China to Pakistan come even as Moscow and Beijing want tensions in South Asia to ease, analysts say.

8 May 2025 - 4:55PMvideocam

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Politics

Backed by Chinese arms, Pakistan readies for retaliation after India’s strikes

Both countries can claim victory in the tit-for-tat clash, depending on how they frame their arguments, experts say.

8 May 2025 - 4:28PMvideocam

Fragments of Indian missiles are displayed near damaged buildings in Muridke, a town near Lahore, Pakistan, on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

Fujian gang photos cast shadow on lead-up to Singapore cabinet reveal

The city state awaits Prime Minister Wong’s government line-up amid controversy over images of Ong and Chee with a convicted money-launderer.

8 May 2025 - 5:22PMvideocam

Economics

Could India-Pakistan conflict mean empty rice bowls around Asia?

India is the world’s biggest and Pakistan the fourth-largest exporters of rice to import-reliant Southeast Asian nations.

8 May 2025 - 5:10PMvideocam

Southeast Asia

Philippines badly needs priests. Could a Filipino pope boost clergy ranks?

‘A pope speaking Filipino, plain Filipino, talking to you like he’s talking to you directly … it will be an inspiration,’ a seminarian says.

8 May 2025 - 12:42PMvideocam

Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle attends a mourning mass for Pope Francis at the Vatican on May 4. Photo: Reuters

People

Brazilian F1 fan’s death in Japan stirs nationalistic debate on foreign crime

Influencer Amanda Borges da Silva had posted about how much she loved Japan and told her mother that she felt safe in the country.

8 May 2025 - 3:48PM

Amanda Borges da Silva at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. Photo: Instagram/ammandaborges

Economics

‘Unprepared’ Japan struggles with airport chaos, bin shortages amid tourist boom

Japan’s airport bottlenecks show structural inefficiencies, with outdated procedures and overlapping bureaucracies hindering visitor influx, experts say.

8 May 2025 - 8:00AMvideocam

East Asia

South Korean presidential hopeful wants Trump-Kim talks amid missile barrage

Seoul said the launch may have been to test the performance and flight stability of missiles intended for export.

8 May 2025 - 1:45PMvideocam

South Asia

‘It’s terrible’: as India and Pakistan clash, Trump adopts cautious diplomacy

Trump aims to balance US influence while prioritising de-escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

8 May 2025 - 10:29AMvideocam

A mosque in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, was hit by an Indian strike on May 7. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Indonesian governor’s vasectomy plan sparks debate on poverty, ‘body politics’

West Java Governor’s suggested sterilisation for poor men to access social welfare criticised as coercive and discriminatory.

8 May 2025 - 9:30AM

Dedi Mulyadi has proposed making vasectomy a prerequisite for men to receive state welfare. Photo: Government of West Java

South Asia

India, Pakistan exchange gunfire after missile strikes kill dozens

Islamabad said the military had been authorised to ‘respond in self-defence’ at a ‘time, place and manner of its choosing’.

8 May 2025 - 3:46PMvideocam

Politics

Calls for sanctions over alleged China-funded influence campaign in Philippines

Allegations, if true, could lead to expulsion of embassy personnel and legal action under a law targeting subversive acts during peacetime, analysts say.

7 May 2025 - 9:40PMvideocam

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Politics

Exclusive | Mahathir Mohamad on Trump, tariffs – and the end of the American century

Malaysia’s 99-year-old two-time PM delivers a blunt assessment of America’s ‘empire’ mentality and its impact in an exclusive interview.

4 May 2025 - 12:03PM

Mahathir Mohamad in his office at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on Monday. Photo: Hadi Azmi

People

Exclusive | Bangladesh’s new leader dreams big, with a little help from China

A popular revolt that ousted the kleptocratic Sheikh Hasina thrust Muhammad Yunus, 84, into power. Now he’s looking to China for help.

26 Apr 2025 - 8:33AM

Politics

From Bandung to Brics: Indonesia’s evolving quest for Global South autonomy

Seven decades after hosting a summit that birthed the Non-Aligned Movement, Indonesia prioritises pragmatic ties over grand gestures.

19 Apr 2025 - 8:00AM

Economics

Asean’s ‘illusion of solidarity’ splinters amid Trump’s tariff threats

While Malaysia calls for a united front, the reality is a race for bilateral deals, with Vietnam leading the charge – as China watches on.

13 Apr 2025 - 12:21PMvideocam

Illustration: Huy Truong

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Highlights from

THIS WEEK IN ASIA

Politics

Making treble: South Korean town battles North’s eerie broadcasts with noise map

8 May 2025 - 6:37PMvideocam

A North Korean propaganda speaker (top) is seen behind a South Korean military guard post (left) seen across the Demilitarised Zone separating the two countries. Photo: AFP

Economics

‘Junta in the way’: Myanmar quake crisis worsens amid air strikes, scarce UN aid

8 May 2025 - 6:00PMvideocam

People are seen at a shelter in a makeshift tent camp near a railway track, following a strong earthquake in Amarapura township, Myanmar. Photo: Reuters

People

‘Because of a few rotis?’: Indian wedding fight leads to deaths of 2 teenagers

8 May 2025 - 4:55PMvideocam

Tandoori flatbread being prepared in northern India. Similar dishes are commonly served at wedding feasts across the country. Photo: Rakesh Bhatt (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Politics

India-Pakistan clash: ‘far from neutral’ Russia and China step in with arms

8 May 2025 - 4:55PMvideocam

A building destroyed in an Indian missile strike in Muridke, a town near Lahore, Pakistan, on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

People

Brazilian F1 fan’s death in Japan stirs nationalistic debate on foreign crime

8 May 2025 - 3:48PM

Amanda Borges da Silva at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. Photo: Instagram/ammandaborges

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Scores confirmed dead in Pakistan-India border clash

Pakistan says India will ‘bear the repercussions’ as death toll from strikes climbs

India strikes at Pakistan as Islamabad vows retaliation

India launches strikes on Pakistan, Islamabad vows to ‘settle the score’

Bunker-cafe near North Korean border inspires hope for peace

Bunker-cafe with view of North Korea, art exhibition inspires hope for peace

From Philippine priesthood to the Vatican: the rise of Cardinal Tagle

From Philippine priesthood to the Vatican: the rise of Cardinal Tagle

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TRENDING TOPICS

South China Sea

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