Tag - asia

 
 

ASIA

Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto (front) stands next to Indonesia's new Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin during a handover ceremony at the Ministry of Defense in Jakarta on Oct. 22.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 31, 2024
Indonesia’s new president faces $186 billion debt dilemma
Indonesia might have as little as $70 billion in government coffers after debt servicing and the required fund transfers to regional governments.
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte attends a Senate probe on the drug war during his administration, in Manila on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 29, 2024
Duterte’s drug war becomes flash point in Philippines rivalry
He defended the operation that killed thousands during his presidency amid a deepening feud between his clan and incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Singapore's Marina Bay Sands at dusk on Sept. 17
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 28, 2024
AI boom and wild weather take spotlight in Southeast Asian earnings
Stronger currencies, driven in part by the Federal Reserve’s pivot to interest-rate cuts, also buoyed stocks.
Coral growing off Indonesia's Komodo island, located in the marine rich Coral Triangle
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 27, 2024
Report details fossil fuel threat to 'Amazon of the seas'
The Coral Triangle covers waters claimed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrives for his inauguration ceremony in Jakarta on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 21, 2024
What to expect in the first 100 days of Prabowo’s rule in Indonesia
The former general has set an ambitious 8% growth target for Indonesia in the next two to three years.
Indonesia's new leader, Prabowo Subianto, arrives for his presidential inauguration ceremony in Jakarta on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 20, 2024
Prabowo Subianto, a former general, sworn in as Indonesian president
The inauguration marks a noteworthy comeback for a man who faced Western-imposed sanctions and had two failed election bids against Widodo, the man he is now replacing.
Founded in 1879, Tokio Marine was Japan's first nonlife insurance company and it has since expanded into life insurance and now has a presence in 46 countries besides Japan.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2024
Tokio Marine pauses sale of Southeast Asia life insurance business, sources say
The delay appears to be due to the firm's dispute with a Malaysian partner.
Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto talks to his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo while delivering a speech during an event showing the quick-count results of the general election in Jakarta on Feb. 14.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 15, 2024
How Indonesia's outgoing president steered his son to the vice presidency
Insiders describe how Joko Widodo steered his introverted son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, into politics as part of an effort to maintain influence after leaving office.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo delivers his annual State of the Nation Address, ahead of the country's Independence Day, in Jakarta on Aug. 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 14, 2024
A decade of Joko Widodo: Popular Indonesian leader leaves rocky legacy
When Widodo steps down on Oct. 20, he will leave Indonesia in the hands of Prabowo Subianto, the former son-in-law of an authoritarian ruler.
President of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) Hun Sen (center), Honorary President of the CPP Heng Samrin (left) and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet (right)
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 14, 2024
The son almost rises: Cambodia's Hun Sen the power behind throne
More than a year after inheriting power from his father, Cambodian PM has yet to hold an open news conference to explain how he will navigate challenges.
Houseboats of the indigenous seaborne Bajau Laut community anchor in the waters of Semporna, Malaysia, on Aug. 20.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 14, 2024
Malaysia's eviction of sea nomads casts light on precarious lives
Many face impoverished, precarious lives and are denied access to health, education or financial services due to a lack of basic paperwork.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang addresses the ASEAN-China summit during Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Vientiane, Laos, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 13, 2024
U.S. official accuses Russia and China of blocking Asia leaders' statement
Russia and China blocked a proposed consensus statement for the East Asia Summit, mainly over objections to language on the contested South China Sea.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends the East Asia Summit during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 11, 2024
Ishiba clears low bar in diplomatic debut
Experts said Ishiba's visit signaled that he would maintain continuity with the policies set by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Ishiba addresses the ASEAN-Japan Summit meeting in Laos on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 10, 2024
Ishiba keeps low profile as he makes diplomatic debut
The prime minister made pledges to strengthen maritime security and promote decarbonization during his first international trip since taking office.
Coal-fired power plants in Bataan, the Philippines, in June 2023. A third of the 158 agreements signed under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community are linked to fossil fuel technologies, a recent study by a climate research group has found.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Oct 9, 2024
Japan pushes fossil fuel tech in Asia carbon neutrality initiative
A third of the 158 agreements signed under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community are linked to fossil fuel technologies, according to a report.
A new U.N. report claims that use of the Telegram messaging app by criminal networks in Southeast Asia has enabled a fundamental change in the way organized crime operates.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 8, 2024
Southeast Asian crime networks thriving on Telegram, U.N. reports
Scrutiny of the app has brought attention to the criminal liability of app providers and the debate on where freedom of speech ends and enforcement of the law begins.
A girl charges her phone at the Delpan Evacuation Center after Typhoon Kammuri hit Manila in December 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 7, 2024
Crowd-sourcing data could help Philippines tackle deadly floods
The Philippines is hit by around 20 large storms every year and, due to climate change, that is expected to only get worse.
Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
JAPAN / Longform
Oct 7, 2024
The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free
The Advanced Landmine Imaging System being tested in Cambodia promises to speed up landmine clearance work and save lives.
A police officer from the Narcotics Control Board stands guard in front of boxes of confiscated drugs during the 50th Destruction of Confiscated Narcotics ceremony in Ayutthaya province, Thailand, on June 26, 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 2, 2024
Myanmar's civil war is driving the drug trade, Thailand official says
The political unrest in Myanmar has led to an expansion of synthetic drugs production and trafficking.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on Aug. 1. In a matter of three months, Vietnam's leadership engaged India, Russia and China while securing billions in U.S. and Western investments by positioning itself as a manufacturing alternative to China.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2024
Vietnam’s bamboo diplomacy has lessons for the Global South
In just months, Vietnam engaged India, Russia and China, securing billions in U.S. and Western investments by positioning itself as a manufacturing alternative to China.

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it