Indonesia politicians caught up in $170 million graft case

For years, Chinese manufacturers have viewed Southeast Asia as a way to reduce exposure to higher US duties on goods made in China. But a new round of tariff cuts proposed by Washington and Beijing could weaken that incentive for some products, potentially changing the economics of the strategy. Under the new US-China Board of Trade, more than 90 per cent of Chinese products on a list of goods worth US$30 billion – mostly everyday consumer items, such as toys and household goods – would return...

In China’s push for self-reliance in artificial intelligence, DeepSeek and Huawei have teamed up to develop software tools for advanced chips.

Malaysia’s capital topped a global pollution ranking on Wednesday and nearby Singapore came in third, with smoke from wildfires in neighbouring Indonesia blamed for the unhealthy conditions. A milky haze has shrouded the cities for more than a month as smoke drifted from fires on Borneo and Sumatra islands. Kuala Lumpur was the world’s most polluted major city early on Wednesday, according to Swiss monitor IQAir, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 166. Singapore ranked third at 155. The...

Indonesia is pursuing plans to make public schools free at all levels, stretching from kindergarten to university, but mounting pressure on the state budget could hinder the government from pulling off the massive undertaking, analysts have said. President Prabowo Subianto summoned his ministers last week to discuss a plan to “accelerate the implementation of free education in public schools”, according to a statement released by cabinet secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya on September 23. “Free...

In Turkey, people who have recently lost loved ones hire doughnut makers to hand out fried dough balls, known as lokma, to honor the dead and spread their blessings.

A hunger crisis could creep up on Southeast Asia if the region does not guard against export restrictions amid a fertiliser shortfall, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Secretary General John Denton has warned. On the sidelines of the Future of Trade Forum in Singapore on Wednesday, Denton urged the city state, as the next Asean chair, to prioritise the “sleeper issue” for the region. He argued that the real story centred on food, despite the Strait of Hormuz gridlock being widely seen as...

Residents of a district in the South Korean capital of Seoul are up in arms over plans to build a permanent school for North Korean defectors in their neighbourhood. The dispute escalated to the point where the school’s principal dropped to her knees to beg protesters to “embrace the children”, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported. Yeomyung School, which educates middle and high school students who fled North Korea or are children of North Korean defectors, has been unable to afford its own...

Shivanjali Singh has worked hard to raise two healthy, athletic children in India, but worries about their ability to resist the lure of junk food constantly surrounding them. Her children, aged 14 and 10, are national-level skaters and have grown up on home-cooked food and drinks such as coconut water rather than fizzy drinks and crisps. Yet Singh, who lives in Noida in the National Capital Region, sees sugary drinks and unhealthy snacks everywhere from school surroundings to sports...

The death of a 14-year-old student at a Malaysian boarding school has renewed scrutiny over student safety, raising questions over whether reforms introduced after the high-profile death of Zara Qairina Mahathir last year have changed what happens behind dormitory doors. Police in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, have detained two 16-year-old students as they investigate the death of Muhammad Idlan Fareeq Shahril. They said Idlan was caught vaping by a hostel warden on September 23. Two days later,...

A man became angry after a four-year-old boy pointed his middle finger at him while he was picking up his son from preschool in Singapore. He pursued the boy to a nearby bus stop that was crowded with other young kids, grabbed the boy by the arm and slapped him hard on both cheeks. The boy, who was his son’s schoolmate, suffered bruises on his face and ringing in his ear, on top of emotional trauma that lingered for months and required his parents to change his preschool. The aggressor, Muhammad...

Malaysia says it is repatriating undocumented migrants from Myanmar who want to return. Critics say it is putting their lives at risk.

Philippine senators have urged the Department of Tourism to stick with a single marketing campaign to build long-term international recognition, pointing to long-running successes such as Malaysia’s “Truly Asia” tagline. Newly appointed Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay was asked about her plans for the current slogan, “Love the Philippines”, during a departmental budget hearing on Monday, the Philippine Star reported. Senate finance subcommittee chairman Erwin Tulfo suggested keeping the...