Asia - South China Morning Post

Talk of global decoupling from China has persisted for years, as has speculation that emerging economies such as India and Vietnam could soon replace it as the “world’s factory”. But for Indian hardware engineer Neeraj Arora, the growth of India’s electronics manufacturing industry has not eliminated the need to source components from China. Instead, it has changed the nature of those imports. A d...

Singapore is looking into which companies may be responsible for the forest and peatland fires in Indonesia that have caused the worsening haze, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Thursday. “Where warranted, we will take action under Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, and explore joint action with other countries,” he said in a social media post. The haze situation was worsened by the...

Canada and Singapore are among the countries that remain committed to strengthening trade ties with China, despite growing global fragmentation and a push by governments towards greater self-sufficiency, officials from both countries said on Wednesday at an economic forum in New Delhi. Canada’s minister of international trade Maninder Sidhu said China was the country’s second-largest trading partn...

A private jet hired from Malaysia – seemingly destined for the Philippines – but stopped on the tarmac by Laos’ drug police who found suitcases stuffed with 512kg of crystal methamphetamine, has returned the spotlight to the unrelenting flow of narcotics from the Mekong’s drug laboratories. Cyberscams have dominated headlines and authorities’ attention across Southeast Asia for over a year as the...

Malaysia’s powerful Conference of Rulers and the government need to intervene and find a solution to the months-long royal stand-off in Negeri Sembilan and constitutional limbo over the status of the state’s ruler, according to political analysts. Negeri Sembilan’s royal house has been locked in a bitter deadlock since April over whether incumbent Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir or his proposed repla...

South Korea will continue supporting Ukraine “as a responsible member of the international community” despite a diplomatic dispute over the disclosure of two North Korean prisoners of war being repatriated to the South, a foreign ministry official said on Thursday. The official said Seoul would treat its help to Ukraine separately from the dispute, while continuing bilateral consultations to resol...

Indian authorities have asked Bollywood actor ⁠Imran Khan to ⁠leave the country by ⁠the end of the month, saying he breached immigration laws after joining a protest against the election commission chief, local media reported on Thursday. Khan, 43, is a US ‌citizen, the Indian Express newspaper reported. Under Indian law, foreigners’ participation in political protests may be treated as a violatio...

Every time Kristaen Albert returns home, he reaches for one of the dozen cans of oxygen on a table by the entrance of his house in Central Kalimantan. The air in his neighbourhood has turned dusty amber, with air quality far exceeding hazardous levels. “My breathing is noticeably heavier whenever I step outside. It’s hard to concentrate and stay focused, and it is really affecting my work,” Albert...

Twenty-seven pupils and a teacher were killed on Thursday after a roof collapsed at a school in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar, a hospital official said. Asim Khan from Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital confirmed the toll, adding that over 30 people were injured, with six believed to be in a critical condition. A spokesman for the emergency rescue service in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province sa...

Nepal has weathered three disasters in six weeks, including the deadly August flash flood, making this year one of the deadliest in a country where monsoon rains already frequently wreak havoc. Experts warn that climate change is only making matters worse. The rock-ice avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border that opened the floodgates in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers on August 26 killed more th...

A South Korean manufacturing company owner accused of severely injuring a migrant worker by firing high-pressure air from an industrial air gun into his body has been sentenced to three years in prison. Judge Koo Na-young of the Suwon district court on Thursday sentenced the owner of a metal-cleaning company, a man in his 60s identified only as A, to three years in prison on charges of aggravated...

Lorelai Jacinto had worked as a domestic helper in Riyadh for two and a half years before she flew home to the Philippines on September 19, increasingly worried that the conflict in the Middle East was making it unsafe to stay. “When the conflict with Iran happened, I started feeling like it wasn’t safe there any more because I was right there in Riyadh myself, so the bombing, the missiles, were c...

Pyongyang test-fired two types of cruise missile from a submarine, its state news agency said on Thursday, after weeks of friction with Seoul over a landmine explosion along their border. The missiles were fired into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, on Wednesday without “any adverse impact on the security of neighbouring countries”, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said....

Confronted by a fuel crisis beyond its control, Bangladesh’s government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars each month to insulate its people from surging prices. But as growth slows and inflation rises, the new government’s reform plans are being tested before it has had much time to clean up the country’s bad banks or retool its young, abundant – but underemployed – workforce for the AI...

Malaysian property tycoon Lee Yeow Seng is making waves as one of the most aggressive buyers of commercial real estate in Singapore, and he is not done yet. His IOI Properties Group is in exclusive talks and due diligence to purchase two property assets – Chijmes, a retail venue inside a former Catholic convent in its civic district, and the nearby Capitol Kempinski hotel, CEO Lee said in an inter...

A stabbing rampage by a repeat violent offender wearing an electronic ankle monitor has raised questions about whether South Korea’s system can adequately supervise those deemed high-risk and prevent attacks before they happen. The 59-year-old suspect told investigators he had become frustrated over what he perceived as mistreatment at a hospital, police said on Wednesday. Three criminal profilers...

Singapore will “keep its options open” on taking legal action against errant companies as air quality in the city state deteriorates to very unhealthy levels. Singapore is collecting data on the haze as it weighs possible action under its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, the Straits Times reported on Wednesday, citing Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu. The law, enacted in 2...

Japanese companies have faced a growing wave of cyberattacks in recent weeks, exposing millions of customers’ records as analysts warn that artificial intelligence is helping hackers exploit long-standing security weaknesses and overcome language barriers that once offered some protection. More than 500 breaches of corporate systems were reported in the year to this month, surpassing the total for...

The Australian defence ministry has launched an investigation into how a video recording device ended up in the cabin of a navy ship. The device was discovered aboard the HMAS Leeuwin, docked in the northeastern city of Cairns in the state of Queensland. Senator Jacqui Lambie – a prominent advocate for the Australian armed forces – said she had received a message from a former member of the navy c...

Philippine officials want a new anti-foreign interference law ahead of the 2028 presidential election, as a raid on a suspected online scam centre near the country’s military headquarters and reports of Chinese-linked money transfers to a company tied to Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s family fuel national security concerns. On Monday, immigration and military operatives arrested 76 foreigner...

Japanese Agriculture Minister Kazuo Yana said he had tendered his resignation following allegations of possible vote-buying, lining him up to become the first senior minister in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government to quit over a scandal. The prime minister had resisted calls to have Yana step down after local media reports said he claimed to have cut roadworks funding to municipalities that...

A debate over tipping culture has erupted across the Indonesian resort island of Bali and beyond, triggered by a politician’s unfavourable comparison of domestic and foreign tourists. In a social media video, I Gusti Arya Wedakarna urged domestic tourists to “normalise giving tips in touristy places”, which he said was part of the island’s “ethics”. “Perhaps that’s the psychological reason why Bal...

When Daniela Cruz arrived in Singapore last week, hazy skies obscured the picture-perfect sights she had seen on social media, offering a different view of the city state from the one she had expected. The 27-year-old bank associate had travelled from Australia for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, but the smoky weather dampened her experience. “The buildings we saw on social media were covere...

Two leaders of India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were remanded in custody for five days on Wednesday, as police ratcheted up efforts to clamp down on anti-election commission protests. CJP activists and opposition parties have defied a security crackdown to demand the resignation of India’s chief election commissioner, accusing the poll body of manipulating voter rolls to benefit Prime...

A Malaysian court on Wednesday rejected Najib Razak’s bid to suspend his 15-year jail sentence in the 1MDB scandal pending the jailed former prime minister’s appeals, ruling that his health and other grounds did not justify a stay. The decision means his sentence is set to begin after his current prison term ends in August 2028. Najib, 73, received a conditional royal pardon last month allowing hi...