46 h. ago Laos cleared to export fresh durians to China as Malaysia, Thailand face new rival

Laos has received approval to begin exporting fresh durians to China, becoming the latest Southeast Asian nation to vie for a slice of the vast Chinese market for the tropical fruit. China’s General Administration of Customs said on its website that Laos was given clearance to begin exports from this past Friday as long as its shipments met phytosanitary standards. Laos could emerge as a challenger in China’s increasingly crowded durian market, as it benefits from cheap labour, logistical...

Politics

2 w. ago Why China may be better placed than US in tussle for rare earths

During his Southeast Asia trip in October, US President Donald Trump sealed deals with Malaysia and Thailand on the same day – both aimed at securing and diversifying America’s supply chains for critical minerals and rare earths. Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim agreed to step up cooperation on building and expanding critical minerals supply chains, according to a White House statement. They also agreed to strengthen the security of critical minerals and rare earths supplies in...

Politics

2 w. ago Asia’s floods kill over 1,000, lay bare human cost of climate inaction

More than 1,400 people have been killed across South and Southeast Asia in a week of catastrophic floods, exposing how rising global temperatures are amplifying extreme weather, even as international negotiations to phase out fossil fuels stall. Successive storms, cyclones and relentless rains have triggered catastrophic flash floods and landslides in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, overwhelming local authorities already operating at the limits of their capacity. While...

Events

2 w. ago Soldiers deployed in Sri Lanka, Indonesia as Asian flood toll approaches 1,000

Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel on Monday to help victims of devastating flooding that has killed nearly 1,000 people across four countries in Asia in recent days. Separate weather systems brought torrential, extended rainfall to the entire island of Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week. Arriving in North Sumatra on Monday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said the government’s “priority now is how to...

Events

2 w. ago Soldiers deployed in Sri Lanka, Indonesia as Asian flood toll tops 1,000

The toll in deadly flooding and landslides across parts of Asia climbed past 1,000 on Monday as hardest-hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel to help survivors. Separate weather systems brought torrential, extended rainfall to the entire island of Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week. Much of the region is currently in its monsoon season, but climate change is producing more extreme rain events and turbocharging...

Events

3 w. ago Indonesian durian sellers smell big opportunity in China, world’s largest market

Indonesia is looking to take a bite out of the lucrative durian trade to China following stronger bilateral cooperation in the sector, according to the Indonesian Durian Plantation Association. Since Indonesia signed a frozen durian export protocol with China’s General Administration of Customs last May, eight local companies have passed the verification process, according to an Antara news agency report on Wednesday. This means that Indonesian producers can export directly to China, bypassing...

Politics

3 w. ago Floodwaters recede in Thailand but Malaysia braces for new deluge

Floodwaters began to recede on Thursday in parts of southern Thailand including Hat Yai, a major city entirely submerged for five days, revealing grim finds of bodies and unprecedented damage to homes and farmland. The overnight death toll of 33 appears certain to rise from a week of flooding that has hit well over 2.5 million people across the entire southernmost provinces of the country. Images shared on social media by stranded residents in Hat Yai alone, showing bodies tied to lamp posts to...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Flood after flood’ hits Thailand and Vietnam, with Malaysia next in line

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by deadly floods sweeping across Thailand and Vietnam, a crisis that has killed scores and stranded entire communities as meteorologists and climate analysts warn of heavier rains driven by La Nina and long-term warming. The scale of the inundation has highlighted how a late-season monsoon surge, layered onto fragile flood-management systems, is overwhelming towns and cities from southern Thailand to Vietnam’s central coast, with Malaysia...

Events

last month ‘Surreal’: Australian journalist faces Thai trial for Malaysian defamation claim

An Australian journalist is set to face trial next month in Thailand after Malaysia’s internet regulator filed a criminal defamation complaint over his critical writing, a rare cross-border case in Southeast Asia that rights groups say could open the door to prosecutions of reporters across the region. Murray Hunter, a blogger and former academic based in southern Thailand, was indicted in Bangkok on November 17 over four Substack articles that accused Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia...

Politics