News from Asia/Asia Pacific

April 19th - April 25th, 2025

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Saturday/Sunday - April 19th - 20th

• Russia's Putin declares unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine

• Russian military chief says Ukrainian troops are almost fully ejected from Kursk

• Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of countless violations of one-day Easter ceasefire

• Russia says Ukraine broke ceasefire over a thousand times, reports civilian casualties

• Russia jails 19-year-old for nearly three years for condemning Ukraine conflict

• Kremlin: No order from Putin for Easter ceasefire extension, says TASS

• Russia charges Aussie captured in Ukraine

• Major rice producers have worst heavy metal pollution, Chinese scientists warn

• US tariff threats open door to a ‘make in India’ moment

• India’s central banker warns of dwindling money market liquidity

• Indian building collapses ‘like a stack of cards’, highlighting safety concerns

• Vance and Modi are likely to discuss a potential US-India trade deal.

• India’s elephant warning system tackles deadly conflict

• From Ōtsuka to Ikebukuro: Shōwa Vibes, Streetcars, and the Sleazier Side of Town

• Tokyo hotels face watchdog heat over data-sharing that may have inflated prices

• Cambodia: 2 Japanese warships dock at Chinese-renovated base

• Taiwan spy scandals expose frailty of political and military defences

• North Korea’s deepening military alliance with Russia should worry China

• Selling comfort: ‘loneliness economy’ emerges as more South Koreans live alone

• ‘The law didn’t protect me’: South Korea’s losing battle against AI sex crimes

• From Bandung to Brics: Indonesia’s evolving quest for Global South autonomy

• Malaysia’s pandas returning to China as a new conservation chapter starts

• Myanmar struggles to recover 3 weeks after deadly earthquake

• Ethnic Karen people flee Myanmar for Thailand amid bombing, unrest

Monday - April 21st

• Putin says Easter ceasefire is over, Russia 'positive' on peace proposals

• Russia's Putin discusses Ukraine with South Africa's Ramaphosa

• Putin says he is open to direct peace talks with Ukraine

• Kremlin hawk Patrushev says trust between Russia and U.S. should be restored

• Kremlin says US position ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine gives satisfaction

• Russia recaptures monastery in Kursk from Ukraine, TASS says

• Russian attacks during Easter ceasefire declared by Putin killed 3 in Ukraine’s Kherson region

• Japan’s youth suicide crisis worsens with record student deaths reported in 2024

• Tōhoku University Tops Japanese Higher Education Ranking for Fifth Consecutive Time

• How Anime Songs Rose to Conquer the World

• The Future of Medicine: Japan Forges Ahead in iPS Cell Research

• South Korea uncovers rise in Chinese goods relabelled for US tariff evasion

• South Korea air force says pilot error caused aircraft to drop gun pods, tanks

• Hongkongers settling in Taiwan to undergo ‘observation period’

• Taiwan opposition to hold urgent summit amid recall battle with ruling DPP

• Thai-Chinese firm denies safety breach at probe of Bangkok skyscraper collapse

• China, Philippines in Scarborough Shoal naval encounter ahead of US joint drills

• Philippines, US launch ‘full battle’ Balikatan drills, some near Taiwan

• Will Manila’s second BrahMos missile system deter Beijing in South China Sea?

• Philippine provinces torn between US military and China’s economic reach

• Malaysia may benefit from China’s Boeing snub – but at what price?

• Is Indonesia destined to be a footnote in Africa’s growth story?

• Vietnam tycoon on death row has life sentence cut to 30 years in laundering case

• Johor-Singapore SEZ offers new hope amid US-China tariff war, deputy PM says

• Women protesters attack Chinese-run mine in Guinea Bissau

Tuesday - April 22nd

• Vladimir Putin offers to halt Ukraine invasion along current front line, FT reports

• Kremlin welcomes US position that Ukraine will not be let into Nato

• Putin proposes direct peace talks with Ukraine, says open to more ceasefires

• Russia batters 2 Ukraine regions as Kremlin warns peace talks need time

• Russian court cuts jail term for American held on drug charges, lawyer says

• Russian drone attack injures three people in Ukraine's Odesa, governor says

• Russian drone attack on Ukraine's Marhanets kills 7 people, governor says

• Russia destroys energy facility in Ukraine's Kherson, governor says

• Russia is ramping up hybrid attacks against Europe, Dutch intelligence says

• Moscow, Kyiv blame each other for blocking truce talks as Washington loses patience

• Explosions at military base near Moscow injure four, governor says

• Vance and Modi meet in New Delhi to discuss trade deal and avoid US tariffs

• Militants kill at least 26 tourists at a resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir

• At least 26 killed in ‘heinous’ attack on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir

• At least 26 tourists dead in horror attack

• US Vice President JD Vance warns of 'dark time' without close bilateral relations with India

• Will India’s regional clout rise as trade pact with US inches closer?

• India targets Chinese shipments with new tariff on steel imports

• Air India eyes Boeing planes rejected by China as Trump tariffs reshape aviation

• Japan’s School Lunches: Learning Through Eating

• Survey Points to Happiness Deficit in Japan

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang lobbies Japan to boost power generation for AI

• South Korea mulls countermeasures to Chinese platform in contested Yellow Sea

• Lee Jae-myung leads South Korea polls amid political turmoil and US tariffs

• Vietnam acts to curb illegal transshipment of US-bound goods amid tariff fears

• Vietnam targets social media users in ‘crackdown’ on dissent: rights group

• Taiwan opposition to hold urgent summit amid recall battle with ruling DPP

• Southeast Asia’s scam gangs go global as crackdown bites

• Will overseas Filipino workers sway the Philippines’ midterm elections?

• Thailand-US tariff talks delayed – but hopes for a ‘good outcome’ remain

• Trump tariffs are keeping Malaysia on edge. What new markets is it eyeing?

Wednesday - April 23rd

• Putin proposes halting Ukraine invasion at current front lines

• Kremlin says sides in Ukraine peace talks still need to narrow their differences

• Putin says Russia has weapons shortages despite beefing up production

• Russian drone strike on bus kills 9 in Ukrainian city of Marhanets, Kyiv says

• Overnight Russian attacks kill nine in Kyiv, injure 63, emergency services say

• Top Russian official says Moscow has right to use nuclear weapons if attacked by West, TASS reports

• India launches manhunt for those responsible for deadly attack in India-controlled Kashmir

• Disputed Kashmir witnesses deadliest attack on civilians in years, sparking fears of rising tensions

• Japan-ROK Relations After Yoon: Shaking Hands to Survive the Trump Shakeup

• Asō Tarō Wealthiest Among Japan’s House of Representatives Lawmakers

• Will Japan risk its US alliance to team up with China against Trump’s tariffs?

• Japan’s Nissan looks to export China-made electric cars in global expansion push

• Prosecutors indict former South Korean president Moon Jae-in for bribery

• Defence strategies in Australia's north in spotlight after China's military build-up, reported Russian aircraft interest in Indonesia

• Why Vietnam’s potential US jet deal could risk Russia fallout and China’s fury

• How will Vietnam deal with Trump’s 46% tariffs threat?

• Will Malaysia face pressure from US to lean less on China during trade talks?

• ‘We won’t survive’: Trump’s tariffs leave Thai rice farmers in flux

• Presence of Indonesian students in Israel stirs debate over Palestinian issue

• Singapore’s election campaign kicks off with surprises and shifting stakes

Thursday - April 24th

• Russian strike on Kyiv kills at least 12 in biggest attack on Ukrainian capital since last summer

• Russia jails Colombian for nine years after convicting him of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine

• Russia and Ukraine trade blame over faltering peace moves

• Moscow calls Japanese loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets 'theft'

• Kremlin says Russia is not holding gas supply talks with Europe or the US

• Russian court jails former general who criticised top brass for 5 years on fraud charges

• Digital cockpit is the key to the Russian EV buyer’s wallet, vendors say

• India and Pakistan rivalry boils after deadly Kashmir attack

• Rift between India and Pakistan deepens after mass tourist shooting

• Pakistan warns India that changes to Indus Waters Treaty an 'act of war'

• ‘Have to change:’ Japanese firms reshape work culture to close gender pay gap

• “Yasuko, Songs of Days Past”: New Film Remembers Poet Nakahara Chūya and a Literary Love Triangle

• Japanese Households of Children Who Have Lost a Parent Struggle Financially

• The Japan-US Alliance Loses a Longtime Friend: Richard Armitage, 1945–2025

• Japan hits rail gun milestone in race to counter China’s hypersonic development

• German, Japan carmakers embrace Chinese AI as Tesla awaits Beijing’s nod on FSD

• German economy to flatline in 2025 as tariff turmoil hits, government says

• Pork industry waits for Japanese encephalitis vaccine three years after viral outbreak

• Russian strike that hit residential building in Kyiv used North Korean missile

• South Korea’s former President Moon indicted for alleged bribery

• Made in Malaysia? Sellers get brazen offers to dodge tariffs on Chinese goods

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Friday - April 25th

• Russia's Putin meets US envoy Witkoff, Interfax says

• Russia keeps key rate on hold, braces for global turbulence

• Russian satellite linked to nuclear weapon program appears out of control, U.S. analysts say

• A Russian general was killed by a car bomb just outside Moscow

• Kremlin blames Ukraine for car bomb killing of general near Moscow

• Senior Russian military officer killed in car explosion in Moscow region, Russian media report

• Indian officials say troops exchanged fire with Pakistani soldiers in disputed Kashmir

• Growing Opposition to Japan’s Death Penalty

• Established Organized Crime Syndicates Continue to Age and Decline in Japan

• Better Co-Being: Resonance of Lives

• Future of Life: Amplification of Lives

• Playground of Life: Jellyfish Pavilion (Invigorating Lives)

• Null2: Forging Lives

• Dynamic Equilibrium of Life: Quest of Life