Invented a little over a decade ago in Hungary, teqball is a combination of football and ping pong

In Bangkok’s Sports Science Centre, Jutatip Kuntatong is airborne, executing a gravity-defying bicycle kick that slams the ball on to the curved table with a force that echoes throughout the gym.

She is preparing to represent Thailand at the Asian Games, which start on Saturday, but six years ago she had never even heard of teqball, the sport of which she is now the world champion.

Girl bands from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are going global with their fusion of traditional and modern sounds

“We all know that music is a universal language,” says Maloi Ricalde from Filipina girl band BINI, which mixes tropical pop with traditional songs, English with Tagalog, and silver knee highs with pastel colours.

“Incorporating Filipino language, Filipino culture, Filipino sound, into our music, it really gives identity and meaning to our music,” Ricalde tells the Guardian.

Sum of financial support from a baby’s birth until age 17 is the city-state’s offer to address low birthrate and reluctance of couples to have children

With leafy cycle paths, rooftop water parks and child-friendly restaurants, Singapore’s east coast is one of the best places in the island city-state to raise a family.

Finance worker Lee lives in an apartment here with his wife and two cats, but like an increasing number of Singaporeans they do not intend to have children. They worry about the challenges of bringing them up, and the disruption to their lives.

Prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul calls for tighter gun controls and ‘decisive penalties’ after nine dead in school shooting

Thailand has suspended firearms licences after the deadly Nonthaburi school shooting, as the bodies of the teenage attacker and the grandparents he killed were cremated.

The prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said he had ordered the interior ministry and police to stop issuing licences to possess, purchase and carry firearms, and called for “tighter controls and decisive penalties”. The measures are temporary until a new gun control law is in place, according to government operated news-channel NBT World.

Teenager killed his grandparents ⁠before opening fire at school near Bangkok, where more than 30 were wounded

A Thai teenager killed his grandparents before opening fire at his school, where he shot five people dead and took his own life, police have said, in an attack that has shaken a country struggling to deal with gun violence.

The 14-year-old wounded more than 30 people in the ⁠shooting at the prestigious Debsirin Nonthaburi school northwest of Bangkok. Nine people were in a critical condition, the Thai health department said.

A new name has been added to the list of future tropical cyclones for the Asia-Pacific region, including one with a culinary twist

A “Typhoon Dim-sum” could one day be on the horizon after the name was added to the Asia-Pacific region’s official list of tropical cyclone names this week.

It features among nine names to be added to the list of future tropical cyclones, with each name contributed by a country. The names of tropical storms are generally recycled, replacing those which have caused serious casualties and economic loss.

WTA event win earns 21-year-old a presidential reception in the Philippines as interest in tennis surges in home country

The Philippines has been swept up in tennis fever after 21-year-old rising star Alex Eala delivered a historic win, drawing praise from the president who hosted a reception in her honour.

On Monday, Eala became the first player from the Philippines to win a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour-level singles title.

Meeting follows years of questions over wellbeing of detained former leader, who was ousted by coup in 2021

Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the aid organisation has confirmed.

The meeting on Monday ⁠followed years of questions over the wellbeing of the 81-year-old, whose whereabouts and health condition have been largely unknown since the elected civilian government she led was ousted by a military coup in February 2021.

Officials are banning some ‘compressed hikes’ which involve walkers tackling demanding routes in short timeframes

Malaysia’s government is tightening hiking rules nationwide after a social media trend left increasing numbers of adventurers needing to be rescued when they became lost or stranded in remote locations.

In the first five months of 2026, Malaysia saw 52 cases of lost hikers, an increase of nearly 30% compared with the same period the previous year, the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department told local media.

Elle’s story is one of personal sacrifice, deciding to help people despite the risk of attack by the military. Her story reflects that of a healthcare system in peril

When Myanmar’s junta seized power in a 2021 coup, Elle* and a fellow doctor fled to the jungle to provide aid to the resistance movement, one of 45,000 healthcare workers to lend their support.

Elle does not regret her decision, she supports the pro-democracy movement and later married the doctor with whom she escaped, but years of sacrifice have taken a toll. She treats patients from refugee camps at a clinic but does not earn enough to send money back to support her parents in their old age, which is her greatest wish.

The fire is one of the deadliest such incidents in the popular tourist destination in ⁠recent years

An explosive fire at a popular pub in Thailand’s ⁠capital, Bangkok, has killed 27 ⁠people and left another 22 ​in critical condition, in one of the deadliest such incidents in the tourism hub in recent years.

Officials said they were investigating whether emergency exits may have been obstructed, hindering people from escaping the burning Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao pub.

Responding to a Facebook event which promised a chance to ‘escape’ the screen, young people turned out in Thailand’s capital to spend an hour being ‘useless’

Bangkok is a city thrumming with an energy you can feel from its skyscrapers to the street, but an invitation last week to change the pace and do nothing drew hundreds to the lush green oasis in its centre.

On beanbags, fold up chairs and picnic mats in Lumphini Park on 4 July, people laid back looking at the sky, while others sat upright facing the lake. One examined a twig, a few dozed off and only a handful checked their phones.

Officers found body of 34-year-old man in luxury rental home in Pattaya area, local media says

A 21-year-old British woman has been arrested in Thailand after allegedly fatally stabbing her boyfriend, according to local media reports.

The Bangkok Post reported that on Thursday morning local time, officers found the body of a 34-year-old man, who operated a cannabis farm, in a luxury rental home in the Pattaya area, a beachside region two hours from Bangkok known for its large expat population and nightlife.

The 46-year-old was stopped at about 9.30pm on Friday while preparing to board a Jetstar flight to Perth, according to police and local media

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An Australian man has been arrested at a Thai airport in connection with the alleged murder of a 17-year-old girl whose naked body was found in a suitcase, according to local police.

The man, 46, was stopped at about 9.30pm on Friday while preparing to travel on a Jetstar flight to Perth, according to local media.

Millions of tonnes of the world’s food could be lost amid the uncertainties surrounding the strait of Hormuz and the dangers of a ‘Godzilla-strength’ El Niño

When the US and Israel launched the war on Iran, south-east Asian nations were amongst the first and hardest hit, as the closure of the strait of Hormuz cut off supplies of energy and fertiliser.

Governments across the region, heavily reliant on the waterway, raced to find ways to reduce their fuel use: in the Philippines, many government workers were put on a four-day week. In Vietnam, employers were urged to allow staff to work from home. In Thailand, offices were urged to set air-conditioning units to 27C.

Funeral procession travels to palace as people remember royal’s campaigning and work for underprivileged

As the sun began to set on the golden spires and gilded finials of Bangkok’s Grand Palace, the gates were open, waiting for the return of a princess.

Since December 2022, Princess Bajrakitiyabha had been in hospital, having collapsed while out training her dogs. After nearly four years in a coma, the princess died earlier this week.