An ongoing strike by public transport drivers and operators in the Philippines against a government policy to phase out traditional jeepneys has drawn unexpected support from business leaders. The latest voices comprised commerce and labour groups, w

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made a one-day visit to Sri Lanka last week for the opening of a major Iranian-assisted hydropower and irrigation project, which both he and Sri Lankan media portrayed as a victory over the West. "The Western countries

The first formal meeting between South Korea's conservative president Yoon Suk-yeol and the country's top opposition leader has been seen as a significant step towards more stable ties amid an often tumultuous political landscape. While the talks on

A disastrous showing by Japan's ruling party in three special elections at the weekend has reignited doubts over Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's tenuous grip on power, with the country's leader expected to need a political miracle to remain in office.

In Malaysia, the franchise holder for American fast-food giant KFC says it has been forced to temporarily close numerous outlets, citing "challenging economic conditions", as consumers in the Muslim-majority nation persist with a months-long boycott

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is facing criticism for leading calls to shut down a contentious report on casino plans for a flatlining urban project, as the Forest City fallout unfolds and questions mount over the hold of Islamists on public

The announcement during a recent meeting between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that the first non-American to walk on the moon is set to be a Japanese signals that Tokyo aims to surpass China's space ambition. However, analysts

An emotional call by the Philippines' leader to crack down on child pornography has cast the spotlight on a complex issue faced by the country, which has become a hub for online material on the sexual exploitation of children. Concern groups have ral

In their final meeting as heads of states, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesian President Joko Widodo set the stage for their successors, Lawrence Wong and Prabowo Subianto, who analysts expect to bring "more bilateral engagement a

A nearly two-year ban in India on single-use plastics (SUP) has failed to stem rampant proliferation and manufacturing of such items across the country, analysts say, putting the blame on the authorities' "weak enforcement on the ground". SUP product

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has banked on the immense popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure it wins a majority in parliament in this year's general election, but analysts say a drop in voter turnout could make the party

In Singapore, the growth of Chinese family offices has been slowing amid the fallout from last year's multibillion-dollar money-laundering scandal and tighter checks on new applicants. More than S$3 billion (US$2.2 billion) in assets have been seized

A high-stakes game of geopolitical brinkmanship is playing out across the Middle East and Asia, with Israel and Iran trading missile strikes; India and Pakistan locked in a multi-headed rocket arms race; and power struggles on the Korean peninsula an

Every morning at 4am, Srikanth K pores over satellite images, maps, charts, and weather models released by different global forecast systems and India's meteorological department. Over the next two hours, the 50-year-old gives out the day's weather u

A recent cutting verbal exchange between Philippine First Lady Marie Louise "Liza" Araneta-Marcos and Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio is no ordinary catfight, security analysts say - it's a showdown with potentially far-reaching implications. Thei

Fears over deepfake videos have again surfaced in India amid an election that will last till June, with clips this time showing Bollywood actors declaring their political views and the trend underscoring pervasive use of artificial intelligence techn

The power of the daigou, personal shoppers for Chinese consumers, was on full display in a recent class-action lawsuit launched against the a2 Milk company, one of New Zealand's biggest milk exporters. Disgruntled shareholders sued the listed company

Billions of dollars of illegal Chinese funds are exiting mainland China and passing through Southeast Asia's online gambling and scam centres, as they rapidly replace Macau's gaming junkets as the route of choice for financial criminals. Some of this

The frequency of lightning fatalities in Nepal in recent years has become a worrying trend, and experts warn it will only get worse as warming temperatures make storm activity more frequent and intense. Between 2019 and 2023, there were 360 lightning

Academics in Japan have expressed deep concern over the apparent disappearance in Shanghai of a Chinese professor who had been teaching in Japan, the latest in a series of similar incidents. Some scholars said they worried about meeting a similar fat

For many years, Kim Lien, a food stallholder in Ho Chi Minh City, served countless bowls of tofu soup and was able to squirrel away US$25,000 of her earnings. But the 67-year-old watched her life savings vanish after she was persuaded by a bank emplo

After being certified the winner of Indonesia's February 14 polls, president-elect Prabowo Subianto is expected to spend the next few months trying to persuade former rivals to join his political coalition, although a few parties have already indicat

Supporters of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte have formed a coalition opposing the country's growing alliance with the United States in its conflicts with China, which they warn is becoming a "proxy war" that could turn their nation into

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared to be quite the hero this week. In a public spat between the PM and Elon Musk, the world's second richest man, the PM called the Tesla CEO on Tuesday an "arrogant billionaire" who "puts his ego over

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's decision to postpone his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week has sparked a debate over New Delhi's ability to lure investors even though his electric vehicle maker is expected to follow through with its pl

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday said parties named in a Bloomberg report on alleged plans for a new casino in the troubled Forest City project should take "necessary action" as the story stirred public outrage in a country where gam

A provincial governor in the Philippines known for his pro-China views and opposition to cooperation with the US has been summarily tossed out of office, due to illegal use of funds during an election, just as joint military exercises involving Manil

Malaysia's anti-corruption authorities on Thursday for the first time confirmed their investigation into Mahathir Mohamad, ending weeks of speculation over whether the former prime minister would be entangled in a corruption crackdown that has implic

While India is infamous for its jam-packed trains, things were worse than usual the first three weeks in April, which saw a record 411 million passengers riding the country's railways for the time period, a surge attributed to both the ongoing nation

North Korea has sent an economic delegation to Iran, a rare trip that analysts say adds to suspicions of cooperation between the two internationally sanctioned countries over weapons programmes. Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednes