Malaysia's government needs to drive a revolution in healthy eating habits and exercise to reverse a stark obesity trend, health experts say, as a global survey projected that more than two out of every three children in the country will be overweigh

In the four years that global IT consultancy Waterstons has allowed its 20 Sydney-based staff to work whenever and wherever they want, only one employee's performance has suffered. The UK-based business, which has around 300 employees worldwide, firs

China could be embarking on a "grand strategy" to seal off an oil-rich area in the disputed South China Sea before reclamation and use it as a base to thwart the movements of Philippine vessels after crushed corals were discovered near the Sabina Sho

Singapore's incoming prime minister Lawrence Wong has announced minimal changes will be made to his cabinet when he takes over from incumbent Lee Hsien Loong, a move analysts say underscores continuity two days ahead of a leadership transition. Wong

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr appears to have backtracked on an earlier vow not to hand his firebrand predecessor over to the International Criminal Court, after it emerged his justice department was issuing legal advice on how to respond

Malaysia has wandered down a "scary" path of racial and cultural division, warns Nurul Izzah Anwar, conceding that conservatives have outflanked her reform party - founded by her father Anwar Ibrahim - in their mastery of social media to whip up iden

Indonesia's art scene generated international buzz in 2018 when "The Hunt", a painting by 19th century pioneering Romantic artist Raden Saleh, sold for US$8.8 million at a French auction, making it the most expensive Indonesian work of art to date. B

US Marines joined Filipino counterparts on May 5 for a mock battle at a telling location: a small, remote territory just 100 miles (161km) off the southern tip of the contested island of Taiwan. The combat drill is part of the week-long Balikatan mil

For decades, Filipinos shared a sarcastic joke about their country's military air power: the Philippine Air Force, it went, had air but no force. Possessing neither fighter jets nor missiles, the air force relied on propeller-driven aircraft that see

A naval dock designed to host submarines and warships being built in Bangladesh with China's help has cast a spotlight on the South Asian nation's efforts to boost its maritime capabilities, as well as Beijing's deepening military influence in a regi

The struggling town of Genkai, in the far southwest of Japan, could be in for a massive payday if it becomes the site of the nation's first long-term storage facility for high-level nuclear waste. But for most locals, anti-nuclear campaigners, and Ak

The ghats, or steps leading into a body of water, at Varanasi, India's holiest city in Uttar Pradesh, are crowded with people, some bathing in the Ganges River, others performing ceremonies on its banks. Most Indians believe the Ganges, originating f

Relations between great powers and their neighbouring regions are often fraught. The cases of the United States and Latin America, or the European Union and North Africa, come to mind. For instance, tensions related to immigration from Latin America

Since joining a cryptocurrency research firm in 2021, 27-year-old Singaporean Jake Ong has taken meetings from Portuguese cafes, written research reports from the comfort of an Airbnb in Spain and typed up his work while up in the air. He is among As

Hollywood director Oliver Stone's scathing comments about Japan's leaders being too "gutless" to stand up to the US over its usage of Okinawa to build military facilities have cast the spotlight on local and international opposition to the constructi

Aukus looks poised to expand, with a trio of US-aligned nations voicing their desire to join the regional security pact's technology sharing element in recent months. The three-way military partnership between Australia, Britain and the United States

A widely shared TikTok clip by a user claiming to show some Singaporeans' distaste at being labelled Chinese has sparked an online debate on whether residents of the city state have shunned their ancestral roots, while others warn against conflating

As the Philippines battles extreme heat from the El Nino weather pattern, a four-day work week practice in the civil service has revived a debate on whether the arrangement should be extended to other sectors in the country. The Philippine Department

A vice-admiral in the Philippine navy is at the centre of a geopolitical scandal after the Chinese embassy in Manila claimed to have an audio recording of him agreeing to a controversial "new model" to manage conflict over a disputed shoal in the Sou

A move by the Philippines to tighten visa issuance for Chinese nationals is expected to spark retaliatory action from Beijing, as both nations lock horns over territorial disputes in the South China Sea and a surge in Chinese residents in Cagayan pro

The United States' decision last week to withhold a single shipment of 3,500 heavy bombs to Israel will not undermine the latter's ability to conduct a military operation in southern Gaza that President Joe Biden has described as a "red line", offici

Singapore's incoming prime minister Lawrence Wong faces an unprecedented challenge amid geopolitical headwinds that may threaten his adherence to a delicate balancing act that has defined the city state's foreign policy, analysts say. Wong, currently

A recent aerial confrontation between an Australian military helicopter and a Chinese fighter jet in the Yellow Sea has sparked fresh tensions, but stabilising bilateral ties between both sides are expected to soothe any potential escalation, analyst

If you have ever wondered if a boycott could make global conglomerates wince, look no further than Malaysia. Consumers in the Muslim-majority nation have wielded their collective financial muscle for over half a year to punish American brands that ar

Philippine officials and marine biologists have expressed alarm at the widespread destruction of coral reefs uncovered on Pag-asa Island in the South China Sea, the latest environmental damage to be attributed to Beijing's actions in the disputed wat

Russia is building a network of surveillance bases on disputed islands off northern Japan to boost its military capabilities, although analysts say the enhancements are, in part, a thinly veiled warning to Japan about its continued support for Ukrain

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his top aides have accused opposition leader Rahul Gandhi of allegedly receiving support from rival Pakistan over a social media post, but analysts say the spectre of Islamabad again at the polls is muted this

Philippine officials have accused Beijing of violating an anti-wiretapping law over a controversial phone conversation that the Chinese claimed was recorded between their diplomat and a Filipino navy officer. Observers say the transcript and audio cl

An emerging regional bloc linking Australia, Japan, the Philippines and the United States is expected to evolve into a more permanent or institutionalised grouping. But for now, analysts say the informal alliance will allow Manila to "borrow the stre

The Israel-Gaza war has halted plans to connect India and Europe overland through the Middle East but work would soon begin on a rival connectivity corridor linking Iraq's Persian Gulf coast to Europe via Turkey. Official work on the US$17 billion Ir