Indonesia’s new criminal code takes effect, stirring concerns over civil rights and free speech
The code criminalises insulting the president and vice president, potentially leading to imprisonment, sparking debate over free speech.
Special Report
Why Korea has yet to name an airport after a politician
South Korea's airports have largely been treated as functional infrastructure — spaces where neutrality, safety, and administrative accountability have traditionally outweighed…
Bhutanese capital Thimphu faces growing urban heat risk, new study finds
On a sunny afternoon in Thimphu, the difference is easy to feel. Step off a shaded, tree-lined footpath onto a wide asphalt road, and the heat rises sharply underfoot. That…
The Mob and the State: Why mob violence is rising across South Asia
The recent surge in mob violence across India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan is propelled by similar drivers: a decaying public confidence in the judiciary and the rapid spread of…
Why healthcare reform is needed in Malaysia
Reform is no longer a matter of preference. It is a necessity shaped by demographic, economic and structural realities that are becoming impossible to ignore.
South Korea’s foreign policy challenges pulled into domestic politics
There has been a growing pattern in which diplomacy — and public sentiment toward foreign countries — is being weaponised in partisan conflict, with ripple effects for policy…
US President Trump’s capture of Venezuelan counterpart Maduro is about drugs, immigrants, and China
The timing of Maduro’s capture, just hours after he had reportedly met a Chinese envoy to reaffirm strategic ties, sent a message to China that the Western Hemisphere remains a…
For Vietnam’s young, favoured Germany vocational path is fraught with greedy middlemen
Unscrupulous brokers exploit migrants, charging up to €20,000, leading to debt and potential involvement in the shadow economy, despite legal migration pathways.
What China’s most famous ‘gaokao factory’ reveals about the limits of its exam-driven education model
The model, symbolising China's exam pressures, faces criticism for its ultra-strict routines and potential psychological toll on students.
In Myanmar and Thailand, river divides hotbed of scam centres on one side, safe haven from military oppression on the other
From these compounds, internet users all over the world are targeted through cryptocurrency investment scams, romance scams, illegal gambling, and other schemes.