Ripe mangosteen and rambutan hang unpicked from trees in eastern Thailand, where a shortage of migrant workers is forcing growers to decide which crops are valuable enough to harvest and which will be left to rot.
For Jomsak Putirattana, who also grows durian in Chanthaburi province, the departure of his five Cambodian workers after a border dispute disrupted crossings has intensified competition for labour.
Daily wages have more than doubled in some cases, from about 350 baht to 400 baht (US$10…
Not just about tax: why Australia’s tech entrepreneurs are moving to Singapore
Investor Ben Lindsay relocated with his wife, dog in tow, from Sydney to Singapore in March, with his sights set on growing venture capital firm Investible from an Australian outfit into an Asia-Pacific one.
Lindsay is among a growing number of investors, businessmen and tech founders from down under who are setting up bases and relocating to Singapore, Dubai and San Francisco to expand their company’s reach.
Adrian Portelli, founder of savings and rewards platform LMCT+, announced on social…
Germany adopts new product liability rules to combat cyber risks
A new product liability regime will heighten the need for German businesses to adopt an increasingly robust cybersecurity approach throughout the product lifecycle, an expert has said..
South Korea hails success of its first Arctic shipping trial
A South Korean container ship has returned from a trial voyage through the Arctic, testing an alternative route opened by melting sea ice as conflict in the Middle East disrupts global shipping.
The PanStar Acro made the round trip to Europe in less time than the conventional route through the Suez Canal, officials said.
The initiative has drawn concerns that increased traffic could accelerate Arctic ice loss. The Arctic route could also expose operators to sanctions-related risks because it…
How shadow banking feeds Myanmar while starving its military
On a recent Friday night in a Bangkok dive bar, a group of young Myanmar exiles sang softly along to a mournful ballad played on an acoustic guitar.
None among the crowd had any plans to leave, either for their homeland or home for bed. They fled war, a broken economy and forced conscription into a military that seized power in the 2021 coup.
While their future in Thailand is uncertain, their ties to home are kept alive by the hard currency they send back each month to parents and siblings left…
Who rules Negeri Sembilan? Royal row tests Malaysia’s constitutional order
The dust has yet to settle in Malaysia’s Negeri Sembilan, where a royal row has led to the fall of a state government and left the public wondering who, exactly, is in charge.
Observers warn that the months-long constitutional crisis could create ripple effects well beyond the state’s borders, testing the entire nation’s systems of monarchy and government.
The dispute centres on which of two men: the incumbent, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, or his intended replacement, Tunku Nadzaruddin Tuanku…
Chinese nickel investors brace for headwinds as Indonesia weighs smelter freeze
Chinese investors could face significant disruption if Indonesia imposes a moratorium on new nickel smelters to curb global overproduction and protect local industries across its vast minerals sector, analysts said.
Indonesia was weighing a halt to the construction of smelters that produce semi-finished nickel products amid a global supply glut that had driven down commodity prices, state news agency Antara reported, citing energy and mineral resources minister Bahlil Lahadalia.
Semi-finished…
India’s capital locked down as youth protest targets election chief
Central Delhi was sealed on Saturday, with thousands of police and paramilitaries on patrol, metro stations shut, mobile internet suspended and markets closed to guard against a youth protest demanding India’s chief election officer quit.
The protest, called by the “cockroach” youth movement, hopes to draw thousands of demonstrators who want Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to quit over a revision of voter lists that critics say favours Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata…
Kurt Campbell on US’ China focus, the Indo-Pacific Quad, risks of AI
Kurt Campbell is a veteran US diplomat and strategist who has played a leading role in shaping Washington’s approach to China and the Indo-Pacific for more than a decade.
He served as the White House coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs from 2021 to 2024 and as US deputy secretary of state from 2024 to 2025. Previously, he served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2009 to 2013 and was a key architect of the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia”.
Often…
Agentic AI: ICO signals its data protection priorities
UK businesses have been given an early indication of the data protection issues the ICO expects them to address when developing or deploying agentic AI, as well as an opportunity to shape its forthcoming guidance, an expert has said.