Southeast Asia
Manufacturing, trade, and digital economies are shifting here faster than almost anywhere else on the planet. Ten nations, one supply chain revolution, and a tourism boom rewriting where the world travels next.
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Sep- 2026 -9 SeptemberTech & AI
A database of 220 million travelers sat open for four years, unguarded
Passport numbers, birth dates, and flight itineraries for anyone who flew through Vietnam between 2017 and 2026 were exposed via default credentials and misconfigured cloud paths, flagged by scanning services…
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9 SeptemberCompass
Hong Kong’s helper shortage will outlast the Jakarta ash cloud
With 178 aircraft at Soekarno-Hatta requiring individual safety checks, employment agencies warn Western expat employers to expect week-long delays in domestic worker arrivals.
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9 SeptemberTech & AI
OpenAI just locked Southeast Asia into Nvidia’s infrastructure playbook
Firmus's Malaysian data centres, backed by Nvidia and anchored by OpenAI, push the operator past 900 megawatts of contracted capacity while hardening the region's AI buildout around a single chipmaker's…
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8 SeptemberEarth
Asia’s climate bill is coming due. Western markets are on the hook.
NOAA's new El Niño index projects 69% probability of a historic +2.5°C peak by year-end, with Indonesian drought, Peruvian fishery collapse, and fishmeal prices above $3,100 per ton already reshaping…
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8 SeptemberEarth
A new El Niño yardstick arrives just as food markets tighten
NOAA switched to a warming-adjusted index on February 1, 2026, redefining how governments trigger drought plans and export bans across Asia-Pacific at the moment a Super El Niño and Indian…
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8 SeptemberSociety
Five thousand sailors landed in Pattaya. The rust stayed on the ship.
The USS Abraham Lincoln's record 286-day deployment exposed the strain on U.S. carrier crews and Thailand's dependence on volatile foreign spending surges.
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7 SeptemberCompass
Thailand just made itself harder to visit. Here’s what changed.
A new deportation regulation effective August 28 gives the interior minister broad power to banish any foreigner for conduct deemed contrary to public order—no conviction required—while visa-exempt stays for Western…
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7 SeptemberCompass
Volcanic ash closed eight Indonesian airports. Here’s what changed for travelers.
Mount Anak Krakatau's eruption forced Jakarta's main hub offline on September 6, stranding 170,000 passengers and cancelling 1,558 flights across Qantas, Garuda, and Singapore Airlines routes to Australia and beyond.
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6 SeptemberPower
Thailand’s peace talks face hardline veto as 78 coordinated attacks erupt
Over a weekend in August 2026, suspected separatists struck across Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani with arson, bombs, and sabotage, injuring three and forcing curfews just as Bangkok prepared to restart…
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6 SeptemberEarth
Volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau shuts Jakarta’s main airport for four hours
A 50,000-foot ash plume from the eruption forced Soekarno-Hatta to suspend operations from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on September 6, affecting 33 flights and exposing Indonesia's aviation network to…
