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This Week in Asia
Tourists visit the Wat Pho temple in Bangkok on March 19. Photo: EPA-EFE

Southeast Asia

Still reeling from drop in Chinese guests, quake gives new blow to Thai tourism

Post-quake jitters and existing safety concerns expected to cut tourist arrivals by 10-15 per cent in the next two weeks.

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‘We are on our own’: in quake-hit Myanmar, rescuers claw at debris with hands

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Chasing Jho Low: blockchain bounty breathes new life into hunt for 1MDB fugitive

Politics

Is Duterte’s ‘capable’ daughter reshaping her image for a 2028 presidential run?

Showcasing a kinder image to overseas Filipinos, Sara Duterte-Carpio appears to be positioning herself for a future presidential bid.

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Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio speaks to Filipino workers at an event in Hong Kong on March 9. Photo: Sam Tsang
Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio speaks to Filipino workers at an event in Hong Kong on March 9. Photo: Sam Tsang

Southeast Asia

Actor Shaun Chen says no ‘revenge’ after father killed in Malaysia hit-and-run

The car driver fled the scene after hitting the victim who was making his way home on a motorcycle.

Politics

Can Manila become Beijing’s ‘plus one’ amid South China Sea tensions?

The Philippines’ economic zones chief says Manila is being eyed as ‘the next preferred destination’ for China’s ‘plus-one’ strategy for firms dodging US tariffs.

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East Asia

Japan firm to shut nearly 2,000 restaurants after rat, pest found in dish

The beef bowl chain said some stores such as those in shopping centres will be excluded from the closure.

The Sukiya branch in Japan’s Tottori where a rat was found in a bowl of miso soup. Photo: Google Maps
The Sukiya branch in Japan’s Tottori where a rat was found in a bowl of miso soup. Photo: Google Maps

Lifestyle & Culture

‘It’s easy’: as Singaporeans rediscover China, young travellers lead the way

Fuelled by visa-free entry and social media buzz, tech-savvy Gen Z travellers are discovering a modern China that shatters old stereotypes.

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Southeast Asia

Explainer | Why was the Myanmar, Thailand earthquake so damaging? What science says

The earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 near the city of Mandalay could cause fatalities between 10,000 and 100,000 people.

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Health & Environment

Black carbon: the super pollutant melting Asia’s glaciers

While CO2 gets the spotlight, black carbon’s potent, short-lived warming effect is pushing Asia’s glaciers past the tipping point.

The Rikha Samba glacier in Nepal photographed in 2024. Photo: Tenzing Chogyal Sherpa/ICIMOD

Politics

Duterte’s downfall: will Marcos face an election backlash in the Philippines?

Ex-president Duterte is behind bars in The Hague and his daughter is fighting for political survival. But don’t discount a comeback in 2028.

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A protester in the Hague holds a placard during a demonstration in support of Philippines ex-president Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Sopa Images via Zuma Press Wire/dpa
A protester in the Hague holds a placard during a demonstration in support of Philippines ex-president Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Sopa Images via Zuma Press Wire/dpa

Health & Environment

‘It’s like apocalypse’: Myanmar, Thailand quake death toll tops 1,600

Over 3,400 people have been injured, with deaths and injuries expected to rise significantly amid devastating and widespread damage.

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Southeast Asia

Malaysian man who assaulted bodyguards for fasting jailed for 6 years

The businessman was also convicted of using blasphemous words and telling his bodyguards not to fast if they wanted to keep their jobs.

Economics

Indonesia’s Danantara fund faces constitutional challenge over corruption concerns

Critics fear the new law underpinning the fund weakens oversight of state-owned enterprises, potentially fuelling corruption risks.

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Exterior facade of the building housing Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, known as Daya Anagata Nusantara or Danantara, in Jakarta. Photo: AFP

Southeast Asia

Worker steps out for water at end of shift, survives Thai building collapse

The construction worker said the building collapsed ‘in the blink of an eye’ while he was trying to call his younger brother, who was inside.

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Thai Army rescuers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, in Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE
Thai Army rescuers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, in Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Health & Environment

Japan faces 99 times more heatwaves if global warming intensifies, report warns

A new report reveals global warming could cause “once-in-a-century” heatwaves annually.

People

Declassified 1994 files show how diplomats doubted North Korea’s ‘goofy’ Kim Jong-il

Newly released files show experts from the US and Russia were sceptical he could hold onto power in the wake of his father’s sudden death.

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Politics

Duterte’s downfall: will Marcos face an election backlash in the Philippines?

Ex-president Duterte is behind bars in The Hague and his daughter is fighting for political survival. But don’t discount a comeback in 2028.

videocam
A protester in the Hague holds a placard during a demonstration in support of Philippines ex-president Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Sopa Images via Zuma Press Wire/dpa
A protester in the Hague holds a placard during a demonstration in support of Philippines ex-president Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Sopa Images via Zuma Press Wire/dpa

Lifestyle & Culture

Cosmetic cravings: Asia’s Gen Z risk it all to keep their youthful looks

Young Southeast Asians are running a gauntlet of bootleg botox, fake fillers and clandestine clinics in their quest to defy ageing.

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Politics

How Singapore’s opposition hopes to loosen the PAP’s 66-year grip on power

The Workers’ Party aims to build on its gains. Tan Cheng Bock’s PSP is back in the fray, too. Can they chip away at the PAP’s supermajority?

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Economics

Emas or gelap? Prabowo’s golden dream and Indonesia’s ‘dark’ realities collide

With a shrinking middle class, falling commodity prices and youth unemployment on the rise, experts warn of an economic paradox in the making.

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Illustration: Huy Truong
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Highlights from
THIS WEEK IN ASIA

Politics

Duterte’s downfall: will Marcos face an election backlash in the Philippines?

videocam
A protester in the Hague holds a placard during a demonstration in support of Philippines ex-president Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Sopa Images via Zuma Press Wire/dpa

Politics

Can Manila become Beijing’s ‘plus one’ amid South China Sea tensions?

videocam
A member of the Philippine Coastguard holds flags during the arrival of Chinese naval training ship for a goodwill visit at Manila’s port, in the Philippines in June 2023. Photo: AP

Health & Environment

‘We are on our own’: in quake-hit Myanmar, rescuers claw at debris with hands

videocam
Rescuers work to save residents trapped under the rubble of a destroyed condominium in Myanmar’s Mandalay on March 29. Photo: AFP

People

Chasing Jho Low: blockchain bounty breathes new life into hunt for 1MDB fugitive

An undated photo surfaced by the ‘WhereIsJho’ project and shared on social media shows Jho Low in Las Vegas in 2013 or 2014. Photo: X/whereisjho

Politics

Is Duterte’s ‘capable’ daughter reshaping her image for a 2028 presidential run?

videocam
Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio speaks to Filipino workers at an event in Hong Kong on March 9. Photo: Sam Tsang
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MULTIMEDIA
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Rescue efforts intensify day after deadly quake in central Myanmar

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Massive quake causes widespread damage in Myanmar, Thailand

Powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes Myanmar, buildings sway and fall in Bangkok
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Japan’s Unification Church vows to fight court order

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Who’s behind the scam network in Southeast Asia?

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