March 17, 2026 NEW YORK – When the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US and Israeli strikes on Iran, the story from most newsrooms described shocks to oil prices, liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply and supply chains which would eventually normalise. ASEAN countries should draw a different conclusion. Price and supply shocks have been … Read more
March 16, 2026 KUALA LUMPUR – For decades, Hari Raya in Malaysia has followed a familiar script: highways jammed with cars heading back to home towns, home kitchens filled with the smell of simmering rendang and days spent visiting relatives in an open-house marathon until one’s baju raya feels fit to burst. But that familiar … Read more
March 13, 2026 SINGAPORE – A steep rise in measles cases in Indonesia has highlighted the country’s ongoing struggle to boost immunisation rates amid growing vaccine hesitancy that has persisted since the Covid-19 pandemic. The measles outbreak is so worrying that doctors on social media have taken to advising parents not to let their infants … Read more
March 9, 2026 SINGAPORE – More people in Singapore are developing eye conditions such as glaucoma at a younger age, in their 40s and 50s. This is likely due to untreated myopia in these earlier generations of Singaporeans , who did not have many treatment options in their growing-up years. Studies have shown that untreated … Read more
February 23, 2026 MANILA – The recently announced discovery of a new natural gas reservoir at the Malampaya gas field west of the Philippines has raised hopes that electricity costs can be eased in the country, where consumers face some of the highest power rates in South-east Asia. But analysts said the availability of a … Read more
What many will be watching now is not just the ship’s arrival, but also how Indonesia intends to use it, including how often it will sail, what aircraft it will carry, and whether Jakarta can afford to keep such a complex platform operational over the long term. With the Giuseppe Garibaldi, Indonesia will join just … Read more
February 23, 2026 SINGAPORE – When a young, smartly dressed Indonesian man approached Mr Mohamed in a dimly lit nightclub and asked him if he wanted “Nike” or “Superman”, it confused the Singaporean. The 53-year-old, who gave his name only as Mr Mohamed, had visited the club in Nagoya town, Batam, with other Singaporeans after … Read more
February 19, 2026 SINGAPORE – For transit enthusiast Vareck Ng, navigating Singapore means watching the ground as much as the signboards. Where others see worn patches of grass cutting across a field, the 23-year-old sees “desire paths” – byways people have carved on their own where official routes are not the most convenient or intuitive. … Read more
February 5, 2026 JAKARTA – Flooding is a perennial problem in Jakarta, and 2026 is no different, with near-constant rain since the start of the year culminating in severe flooding on Jan 22 that displaced at least 1,600 people. Several ambitious projects have been proposed over the years, the latest being Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s … Read more
February 3, 2026 SINGAPORE – The number of new cancer cases here has been rising in recent years, but that of deaths due to cancer here has fallen. The cancer death rate has fallen by 21 per cent since 2012, according to data from the Singapore Cancer Registry Annual Report 2023, published in January 2026 … Read more