Your Look into What Has Asia Buzzing this Week

🎯 In a first, Miss Palestine to compete in Miss Universe pageant
By Images Staff, Dawn

Nadeen Ayoub, 27, says she will represent every Palestinian woman and child whose strength the world needs to see. She joins competitors from more than 130 other countries and territories at the 74th Miss Universe finals to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 21, 2025. 

🔗 Read full story

⛹️This week in Sports & Games

🔹 Mongolia to host 17th World Horseback Archery Championships
By E. Oyun-Erdene, Go Go Mongolia

It’s a no-brainer why Mongolia, with its dramatic steppes and majestic stallions, is the best place for horseback archery. In fact, it's the stunning backdrop to the ongoing 17th World Horseback Archery Championships, an event that brings together elite archers from more than 30 countries. This year sees the inclusion of the traditional Mongolian archery style Bumbug Namnaa as an official championship discipline.

 🔗Read full story

🧘 This week in Work & Life

🔹 Singapore-based Filipino teens celebrate coming-of-age with traditional bash
By Alexa Denise Uy, The Straits Times

For Filipinos, a girl’s coming-of-age as she turns 18 is a huge milestone. So crucial is this life event that even those who live abroad keep this tradition alive; the ones based in Singapore are no exception. Even far away from the motherland, the birthday girl dances with 18 male relatives or friends, receiving a rose from each one. Her female relations and friends light 18 candles and offer her well-wishes. Unsurprisingly, the custom is also catching on among non-Filipino students with friends in the Filipino community.

🔗Read full story

🤖 This week on Social Media

🔹 Nepal partners with TikTok to boost tourism through digital storytelling
By Sangam Prasain

The collaboration aims to promote Nepal’s landscapes, culture, and many adventures to a global audience, while empowering local creators to tell authentic stories. For TikTok, meanwhile, the collaboration reflects the platform’s growing role in world travel.

 🔗Read full story

👺 This week in Culture

🔹 Why gold still rules Bengali hearts and heritage
 By Sabrina N Bhuiyan, The Daily Star

Bengal's relationship with gold is a tale extraordinaire, intertwined with colonial influences, trade, culture, politics, and tradition. Through it all, perhaps, gold complementing the Bengalis’ dusky skin so beautifully is perhaps the greatest reason why it is highly favoured by Bengali women.

🔗Read full story

👠 This week in Entertainment and Arts

🔹 McDonald’s, BTS reunite with new Happy Meal launch next month
 By Chung Hye-lim, The Korea Herald

For this collaboration, the much-awaited toys come in miniature figurines from BTS’ TinyTan character line, modeled after the group’s seven members. The BTS Happy Meal will debut on Sept. 3 in 66 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Germany, Brazil, and Australia. If you’re an Army, get ready to do some camping on launch day. 

🔗 Read full story

🍜 This week in Asia Flavours

🔹 Bangkok’s Jay Fai restaurant fined over hidden pricing for ‘VVIPs’ after YouTuber complaint
 By The Nation

Authorities are set to investigate the legendary Michelin-starred establishment after its eponymous octogenarian owner allegedly charged a customer THB4,000 (US$122) for its famed crab omelette, when the listed price was only THB1,500 (US$46). Jay Fai also had to pay a fine amounting to THB2,000 (US$61), exactly half the price of the omelette in question.

 🔗Read full story

📚 This week in Books

🔹 Stories from a mountain lodge in the Northern Japan Alps now in a lovely illustrated book
By Nagisuke Yanai, The Yomiuri Shimbun

An illustrator who manages a mountain lodge in picturesque Toyama has published a book that tells stories about what life is like deep in the mountains. Titled “Kurobe Genryu: Yamagoya Ryori-nin” (“Mountain Lodge Chef at the Source of the Kurobe River), it tells of the author Yamato Keiko’s struggles when trying to preserve food, as well as dealing with animals that try to enter her lodge. The stories are told with heartwarming humor, complemented by vibrant illustrations.

🔗 Read full story

✈️ This week in Travel and Tourism

🔹 From sustainability to regeneration, Bhutan rethinks tourism
By Chencho Dema, Kuensel

Bhutan, a breathtaking Himalayan country of age-old temples and dramatic mountain vistas, is moving beyond sustainable tourism toward a regenerative model—an approach first introduced by its monarchs through the “high value, low volume” policy. Unlike sustainability, which focuses on minimising damage, regeneration seeks to restore landscapes, benefit local communities, and align tourism with the country’s Gross National Happiness values.

 🔗 Read full story

🍃 This week in Nature

🔹 Possibly million-year-old fossilised tree unearthed in Cambodia for study and eco-tourism development
By Phak Seangly, The Phnom Penh Post

The petrified tree is estimated to be anywhere between 100,000 years to a mind-boggling two million years old, an expert says. Authorities say the site will be developed into an eco-tourism area, managed by indigenous communities.

🔗Read full story


📌 ^{Stay Connected}

^{🌏 [Website] | 🐦 Twitter |} 📘 ^{Facebook | 📷 Instagram (coming soon!)}
💬 ^{For story tips or feedback, contact us at [email protected]}

📝 Asia News Network is a coalition of leading news organisations from across Asia. We bring you stories that matter, beyond borders.