Soaring packaging costs amid the Iran war hint at a deeper malaise as the middle class contracts and growth hits ... - South China Morning Post, SCMP, This Week in Asia - Soaring packaging costs amid the Iran war hint at a deeper malaise as the middle class contracts and growth hits ...
Monday 27th April, 2026
Latest Asia news
A woman shops for vegetables in Depok, Indonesia, earlier this month near a sign asking customers to bring their own shopping bags. Photo: Reuters
Economics
Mixed bag: Indonesia’s 8% growth dream hits a plastic ceiling
Resty Woro Yuniar
26 Apr 2026

Soaring packaging costs amid the Iran war hint at a deeper malaise as the middle class contracts and growth hits a plateau.
An nuclear-capable Minuteman III ICBM sits inside a silo at an air force base in the US last year. Photo: US Air Force/Handout
Politics
Will South Korea or Japan develop a nuclear deterrent of their own?
Park Chan-kyong
26 Apr 2026
Malaysian army officers visit the booth of Special Technology Control, a Russian developer of unmanned systems, at the Defence Services Asia exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
Economics
At Malaysia’s arms bazaar, drone dealers chase Southeast Asian market share
Joseph Sipalan
26 Apr 2026
(From left) Foreign Ministers Badr Abdelatty of Egypt, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Ishaq Dar of Pakistan and Hakan Fidan of Turkey meet to discuss regional de-escalation in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 29. Photo: Turkish Foreign Ministry/Reuters
Politics
The Middle East’s new power brokers? Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt unite
Tom Hussain
25 Apr 2026
Illustration: Huy Truong
Lifestyle & Culture
Singapore’s answer to school bullying? The cane … and counselling
Jean Iau
26 Apr 2026
MORE TO READ
A satellite image shows smoke rising from an oil refinery in Tuapse, Russia, on Monday after an overnight strike claimed by Ukraine’s military. Photo: Planet Labs PBC/Reuters
Opinion
Blinding the world with lies makes peacemaking an impossible task
Michael Vatikiotis
25 Apr 2026
“Malware-as-a-service” seizes control of a user’s phone after gaining entry through a fraudulent app, monitoring use in real-time and harvesting data such as fingerprints. Photo: Shutterstock
 
Fake app drains Filipino retiree’s life savings via ‘malware-as-a-service’
Sam Beltran
24 Apr 2026
An oil tanker burns off the coast of Iraq after being hit by an Iranian strike last month amid the US-Israel war on Iran. Photo: AP
Opinion
Trump’s oil crisis is accelerating the end of the fossil fuel era
Wesley Morgan
26 Apr 2026
Discover SCMP’s newsletters
Get the stories that matter to you, directly to your inbox. From local and regional updates, to breaking news and daily digests; discover our range of newsletters.
EXPLORE AND SIGN UP
Your window to the world
POLITICS
ECONOMICS
PEOPLE
OPINION
HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT
LIFESTYLE & CULTURE
EXPLAINED

For advertising enquiries, please contact our Sales team. • (852) 2565 2435 • advertising@scmp.com • www.scmp.com/thisweekinasia

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

This email was sent to [email]
unsubscribe from this list     update newsletter preferences
South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd · 19/F Tower 1 · 1 Matheson Street · Hong Kong · Hong Kong
Copyright © 2026 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.