Your Look into What Has Asia Buzzing this Week

🎯 Thailand to host Tomorrowland festival for five years, cabinet confirms
 By The Nation

Hear ye, electronic music lovers! One of the world’s biggest music festivals is coming to Bangkok—and it’s not just for a one-time hosting bonanza, but one that spans five years! The Thai Cabinet has approved an agreement for the Kingdom to host Tomorrowland from 2026 to 2030. The event is expected to draw a total of 922,500 attendees, comprising 369,000 Thai residents and foreign nationals already in the country, alongside 553,500 international tourists. Planning your trip soon might be a good idea!

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Read more: Tourism Authority of Thailand confirms Tomorrowland 2026 in Chonburi with billion-baht investment

⛹️ This week in Sports & Games

🔹 Despite scant resources, Nepal’s para-fighters keep kicking
By Nayak Paudel, The Kathmandu Post

The Himalayan country’s five para-taekwondo players are chasing the same dream: medals for the country. Kabiraj Negi Lama, their coach, is unpaid and unrecognised, but also holds on to the same goal. Against all odds, Lama helped Palesha Goverdhan bring home a bronze in the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Nepal’s first-ever medal at the world’s biggest sporting stage. This history-making win keeps the team even more focused on a brighter sporting future for their country—and for themselves.

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🧘 This week in Work & Life

🔹 This Malaysian home is a modern, minimalist beauty full of secrets and surprises
By Ming Teoh, The Star

The Flovik House is not your typical urban bungalow. It blends the past and present, structure and story. It also comes with a slew of surprises—hidden panels, secret corners, and concealed peepholes, making it an endlessly delightful and intriguing home. As its architect Fabian Tan impeccably describes this residential wonder: “There’s mystery, there’s movement, and there’s magic. Just like a good story.”

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🤖 This week on Artificial Intelligence and Social Media

🔹 I let an AI bot ‘love’ me for a week. Here’s what went wrong
 By Vihanya Rakshika, The Straits Times

As part of the writer Vihanya Rakshika’s research for the story, she downloaded an AI relationship simulator app, and spent a week chatting with a virtual partner designed to give “unconditional love, comfort and companionship.” The result is a sobering realisation of how easily such tools can encourage emotional dependency while quietly eroding self-awareness.

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🎭 This week in Culture

🔹 Reel story: Chinese veteran screens vintage movies for free
 By China Daily

Zhou Xuesong’s retirement from the military did not diminish his enthusiasm for movies. In fact, the 62-year-old became more enamoured of them, becoming a collector of over 400 vintage film copies and seven projectors. In 2003, Zhou began screening his copies of revolutionary films for free in companies, villages, and schools for education and entertainment, helping instill appreciation for the peace and prosperity China and its people enjoy today.

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🎥 This week in Entertainment and Arts

🔹 Is K-pop’s global strategy backfiring? As popularity rises abroad, domestic interest wanes
 By Kim Jae-heun, The Korea Herald

Industry experts are sounding the alarm over a growing disconnect between the genre’s global success and its dwindling influence at home. At the heart of the issue is a conspicuous absence of breakthrough rookie girl groups in the first half of 2025. These groups have historically driven fandom growth and revitalised the market, but this year’s lineup falls short of expectations.

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🍜 This week in Asia Flavours

🔹 Craving good street food? Head to Dhaka’s Mohammadpur now!
 By Minhazur Rahman Alvee and Jawwad Sami Neogi, The Daily Star

Scientists have found the sound of sizzling beef to be one of the most gratifying sounds irresistible to the human senses. And Dhaka’s Mohammadpur boasts much more than that. It offers a little something for people with all kinds of cravings — whether they have a nagging sweet tooth or a powerful hankering for all things spicy.

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📚 This week in Books

🔹 Book review: ‘Qissa of Bibi in Black Burqa and Forty Men’ by Bengali writer Afsar Ahmed
By Sutanuka Ghosh Roy, The Statesman

This novel by Sahitya Akademi winner Afsar Amed, translated from the original Bengali by Kathakali Jana, dares to dream in a language of magic, memory, and quiet rebellion. It is a feminist narrative built around memories and spaces, poised between the melody of natural rhythms and resilience. ‘Qissa of Bibi in Black Burqa and Forty Men’ is the perfect read for those wanting to immerse themselves in South Asian traditions and folklore and their inescapable influence on everyday lives.

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✈️ This week in Travel and Tourism

🔹 Virtual trip takes visitors to Japan’s famous yet perilous gorge
By Koichio Yoshitake, The Japan News

The Shimo-no-roka area of the majestic Kurobe Gorge is famous for its stunning views—yet infamous for being remote and dangerous. Thankfully, you no longer have to risk your precious limbs (or worse, your life) to take in the gorge’s otherworldly majesty. The Museum of Historical Folklore Unazuki in Kurobe, Toyama Prefecture, is offering a new experience that takes visitors to Shimo-no-roka through a 14-minute 360-degree virtual reality video complemented by an informative audio commentary. Now that quite literally is armchair traveling.

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🍃 This week in Nature

🔹 Wild baby elephant discovered in Vietnam’s Da Nang
  By Viet Nam News

Move over Moo Deng, there’s a new cute baby animal in town—or should we say, in the wild. A baby elephant has been found living in the former Quang Nam Elephant Species and Habitat Conservation Reserve in Da Nang, raising hopes of further growth for the herd, which now numbers nine majestic members. Vietnam has around 100 Asian elephants living in the wild, and the baby pachyderm’s home is a critical habitat for one of the last groups of Asian elephants.

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