Asia

Drones could save Thai farmers fortunes in fertiliser and water management as a “super El Nino” withers harvests – while also mapping flood risks and safely scouring vast industrial sites, from oil rigs to solar farms, for damage. Yet across Southeast Asia, Thailand is still heavily reliant on Chinese hardware to bring the technology into its economy, creating a price gap that prevents the benefits of drone technology from being shared equally. Thailand is pushing hard on tech adoption to help...

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in China, Jessica Zhang chose to look for work in Japan. She is now studying Japanese at a language school in Kyoto on a student visa while working as a supermarket cashier. She plans to improve her Japanese to an upper-intermediate level, which many employers expect, before applying for a full-time job and switching to a work visa. “I’m working by the hour now, and the pay is quite good by Chinese standards, though prices for daily necessities in Japan...

The woman who conspired to abuse four-year-old Megan Khung, then later helped dispose of the child’s corpse, was sentenced to 13 years’ jail on Friday. Passing the sentence on Nouvelle Chua Ruoshi at the High Court, Justice S Mohan said the case arose from “a series of heinous and inhumane acts” committed against Megan Khung. The High Court judge said that it was “imperative that court sent the strongest signal” to the public that any person involved in cases where children suffer abuse will be...

Air India’s new CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam, is drawing on his experience revitalising Ethiopian Airlines to turn around the unprofitable Indian carrier, as aviation analysts say replicating his success with a far more complex airline would be difficult. Barely a month into the job, the Ethiopian has set about cutting costs and rebalancing the airline’s international network, seeking to restore profitability while pursuing an ambitious expansion strategy. His plans include shifting more flights to...

A new tariff of up to 30 per cent on e-commerce goods entering Thailand may squeeze Chinese vendors, but intense price competition and their ability to keep costs low are likely to limit its impact, analysts said. Thailand’s cabinet on Monday authorised the finance ministry to impose duties of up to 30 per cent on goods ordered through foreign e-commerce platforms and delivered by express courier or international post, according to Thai media. The actual rate will vary by product. The new...

Less than half of households in Japan subscribe to a daily newspaper, a level not seen in about 60 years, according to a media tracking report, signalling further evidence of the decline of print as the favoured news medium in the country. While the report shows most Japanese no longer read newspapers, they still trust legacy media more than online media. “It is commonly said that two factors have reduced the number of people subscribing to print newspapers,” said Tetsuo Hatanaka, a professor at...

Macroeconomic issues are occupying the thoughts of leading Japanese multinationals as they adjust strategies in China, but few say they worry that diplomatic tensions will cost them opportunities in one of their largest overseas markets. Big names, from Panasonic to Hitachi, used a major trade show in Shanghai this week to highlight their commitment to China and parade their offerings. While nimbly navigating geopolitical headwinds, they are also looking forward to possible exchanges between...

The US administration of President Donald Trump has demanded Japan triple its spending on hosting American troops to more than 3 trillion yen (US$19 billion) over five years starting in the 2027 financial year, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Japan is considering substantially increasing the payment to its major security ally to roughly 1.5 trillion yen, they said. The coming host-nation support for US forces stationed in Japan is expected to include spending to boost...

Indonesia’s fresh drills this month on its first and only aircraft carrier have refocused attention on the issue of whether the costly, ageing vessel is being put to good strategic use. The KRI Sriwijaya-100, commissioned two months ago, should be deployed for power projection and military operations far from Jakarta’s shores, analysts say, warning that underutilisation risks turning the military asset into “a sitting duck”. The Indonesian navy conducted helicopter operation drills aboard the...

A deep dive into the implications of Jensen Huang's affair, Alice Huang’s business dealings, and the fallout for both the China-U.S. trade war and the AI race.

New Delhi’s relations with Moscow are strong, but as far as the Ukraine war is concerned, India enjoys little leverage over Russia’s decisions. 

The Pakistani passport is one of the weakest in the world. No wonder, then, that Pakistan’s elites are changing rules to expand their access to official passports.

Former Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, accused by the US of being a Chinese spy and linked to an extramarital affair with tech giant Nvidia’s co-founder Jensen Huang, has been barred from re-entering Singapore over inaccurate information provided to police. Alice Huang, a Hong Kong resident, was found to have downplayed her role in Megaspeed in investigations by Singapore police, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement on Thursday. The ministry’s announcement was soon followed by...

As spaces for queer life in China become more fragile, organizers and creators are having to adapt to the new reality.

Japan's LDP tends to prefer Republican partners in Washington – even now.

Pakistan released two of former prime minister Imran Khan’s sisters from prison on Thursday, after weeks in jail ahead of a planned anti-government march by their brother’s party, their lawyer said. Uzma Khan and Noreen ‌Niazi were freed from Kot Lakhpat Jail in the eastern city of Lahore after the government suspended their detention orders, lawyer Mudassar Umar said. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said another of his sisters, Aleema Khan, remained in prison. Pakistan’s government said...

Tokyo wants adversaries to conclude that an attack on Japan would fail. Would allowing a nuclear-armed U.S. ship to make a temporary port call in an emergency make the U.S. nuclear guarantee more credible?

Indonesian police said on Thursday they have enough initial evidence to pursue treason charges against four suspects in a case involving the wiretapping of President Prabowo Subianto, as lawmakers urged detectives to uncover who ordered the ‌bugging. Former police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who is not related to the president, and three other senior police officials were arrested last week over accusations of unauthorised monitoring of phones belonging to Prabowo, government officials,...

Workers at New Zealand’s largest retailer have had to resort to defecating in the distribution aisles after their bathroom breaks were tracked by artificial intelligence, their union has claimed. More than 300 employees of The Warehouse protested in Auckland and Christchurch on Thursday against technology monitoring them and taking over their jobs, The New Zealand Herald reported. In recent months, the company had been using drones for stocktaking, a robot for packing orders and AI to monitor...

South Korea should use its growing economic clout over Laos to crack down on Pyongyang’s IT workers allegedly using the Southeast Asian nation as a base to secure remote jobs under false identities and funnel earnings to their regime’s weapons programmes, according to analysts. Authorities in Seoul and Washington have launched investigations into such schemes, with analysts warning that Laos is emerging as a hub for North Korea’s operatives exploiting its weak banking networks and...

A six-figure dinner bill in Japan involving Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s family has drawn scrutiny over her perceived lavish lifestyle, as ordinary Filipinos grapple with elevated inflation and a slowing economy. The 205,007-peso (US$3,220) tab was racked up at an upscale Tokyo restaurant in 2023 by a group of 11 people. Charged to the credit card of her lawyer-husband, Manases Carpio, the expense took centre stage on Thursday at Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial, which is...

Singapore has opened its national gold vault to foreign central banks, a move analysts say will sharpen its head-to-head rivalry with Hong Kong for the title of Asia’s leading bullion hub. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced that it would store gold for overseas central banks, international financial institutions and sovereign entities in its currency vault. The facility can hold 500 tonnes and has room for expansion. Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who chairs the...

South Korea is ramping up diplomatic efforts as fresh hurdles loom for its nuclear-powered submarine ambitions following a Democratic Party takeover of the US Congress. Seoul’s Defence Acquisition Programme Administration last week approved preliminary plans for the submarines, with design work set to begin next year under an initial budget of 96.6 billion won (US$72.5 million) and delivery targeted for the late 2030s or beyond. While US President Donald Trump endorsed the submarine plans at a...

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak is barred from political activity and media appearances under house arrest, according to the home minister on Thursday. Any breach will send him straight back to prison. The announcement will remove any ambiguity about Najib’s possible role in the Melaka state election on Saturday and help shore up the credibility of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government, already facing recriminations for not being able to stop the house arrest, an expert...

South Korean police sought an arrest warrant on Thursday for a 59-year-old man, surnamed Jin, suspected of killing a 15-year-old girl who was the alleged victim in a statutory rape case involving his son, as investigators continued efforts to establish the motive. The Seongbuk police station in Seoul requested the warrant on suspicion of murder. Jin was taken into emergency custody at around 1.40am on Wednesday after allegedly stabbing the girl to death at a shared accommodation property in...

As Min Aung Hlaing's regime attempts to court the West, resistance forces urgently need to clarify their position toward Beijing.

Indonesia’s Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka formally resigned on Thursday in the midst of a scandal over his academic qualifications, leaving President Prabowo Subianto with a difficult choice over who should replace him. Gibran, 39, the eldest son of former president Joko Widodo, submitted his resignation letter to the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), a day after submitting a separate letter to Prabowo, bringing an end to a tense period that had seen mounting pressure for his...

A 17-year-old boy with autism was found alive on Thursday after six days lost in eastern Australian woodlands. The boy, whom police identified only as William, had begun camping with a teenage friend when he disappeared last Friday near Walhalla, a former gold-mining town 185km east of Melbourne, police said. A police helicopter crew found him surrounded by wilderness lying in a dry creek bed, and he was later reunited with his mother. William was in good spirits and mostly in good health, the...

For Malaysian content creator Iqbal Fatkhi, making news content credible to younger audiences sometimes means making it less like traditional journalism. Instead of polished broadcasts using formal language, the 33-year-old editor-in-chief of news portal CiliSos Media prefers conversational videos that speak to audiences on their own terms. “It’s ironic in a way that, to gain credibility, you have to look not credible in that sense,” he said. His approach reflects a broader shift in news...

A foreign man who allegedly hacked off a Malaysian policeman’s right hand during an attack at an apartment in Desa Amanpuri, Kepong, was shot dead. Armed with two machetes, the suspect charged out of a residential unit and attacked police officers, firefighters and health ministry staff at about 7pm on Wednesday. Selangor police chief Commissioner Shazeli Kahar said the suspect was shot after he was spotted near a playground, not far from the flat, between 7.30pm and 8pm, shortly after injuring...