https://www.scmp.com/rss/323045/feed Your source for credible news and authoritative insights from across Asia. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Johannes Nugroho Johannes Nugroho A major coal deal in Indonesia is set to secure a powerful new partner for one of the country’s biggest miners, even as the industry worries a delay in the government’s approval of production quotas could have a severe impact on the business outlook. Low Tuck Kwong and his daughter Elaine Low, the biggest shareholders of Bayan Resources, agreed on September 16 to sell a 30 per cent stake in Indonesia’s third-largest coal producer to fellow tycoon Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, better known as Haji... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368765/indonesian-coal-deal-fuels-doubts-over-production-quota-approvals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368765/indonesian-coal-deal-fuels-doubts-over-production-quota-approvals?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 08:00:21 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak has no money to pay the fine to secure his transfer to house arrest, his lawyers have said, as they question the delay in releasing the full details of the conditional pardon granted by Malaysia’s king last week. King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar last Friday decreed that Najib would be allowed to serve out the remainder of his sentence at home, on condition that he pay his 50 million ringgit (US$10.3 million) fine. The decision triggered widespread outrage among... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368790/malaysias-najib-has-no-money-pay-fine-house-arrest-lawyer-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368790/malaysias-najib-has-no-money-pay-fine-house-arrest-lawyer-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 07:59:23 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Singapore and China should look to the next phase of cooperation through potential projects in artificial intelligence and the green economy, after decades of economic ties anchored by industrial parks, eco-cities and transport corridors. Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Friday that the relationship had “never been static”, arguing that the economic challenges of each era shaped the flagship developments of that time. At the FutureChina Global Forum held in the city state,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368773/suzhou-ai-singapore-china-eye-new-playbook-economic-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368773/suzhou-ai-singapore-china-eye-new-playbook-economic-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 06:15:55 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof A veteran Malaysian politician pleaded not guilty on Friday to a sedition charge over remarks backing a rival claimant to the Negeri Sembilan throne amid the months-long royal crisis. Rais Yatim, 84, a former cabinet minister and president of Malaysia’s Senate, was charged at the Sessions Court in Ayer Keroh, Melaka, for his comments on June 5, during a ceremony proclaiming Tunku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja’afar the state’s 12th ruler. Rais is accused of uttering seditious words at the Parkroyal... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368760/ex-malaysian-minister-charged-sedition-over-negeri-sembilan-royal-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368760/ex-malaysian-minister-charged-sedition-over-negeri-sembilan-royal-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 05:03:55 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Unregulated companies are running a brisk trade across Japan storing and disposing unclaimed corpses, with a recent report revealing how such “cut-price morgues” are cashing in on legal loopholes to discard the nation’s dead. The business has shed light on the growing number of “lonely deaths” of elderly Japanese as the traditional nuclear family fades. Some industry insiders have expressed shock at the trend and are calling for regulation to block potential loopholes, while others point to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368738/japans-cut-price-morgues-cash-legal-loopholes-lonely-deaths-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368738/japans-cut-price-morgues-cash-legal-loopholes-lonely-deaths-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 04:00:17 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has put North Korea in a propaganda bind, analysts say, by publicly revealing that Kyiv recently transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. The disclosure – made during Zelensky’s address to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday – directly challenges Pyongyang’s narrative that its soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces would choose death over surrender. North Korea is unlikely to acknowledge the transfer publicly, but may strengthen... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368711/ukraines-pow-transfer-reveal-deals-north-korea-propaganda-blow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368711/ukraines-pow-transfer-reveal-deals-north-korea-propaganda-blow?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:38 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji For millions of Indians, buying a cup of chai or groceries from roadside vendors has come to mean reaching for their phones rather than wallets – a habit made possible by a system that has so far charged consumers nothing for such everyday transactions. Now, a decade after the government launched the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India is asking some merchants to pay for the hugely popular system – raising questions over whether it can preserve the low-cost model that drove its mass adoption... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368661/what-can-asia-global-south-learn-indias-new-digital-payment-fee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368661/what-can-asia-global-south-learn-indias-new-digital-payment-fee?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 10:02:05 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Singapore police have launched an investigation after a video of a man allegedly filming female students using smart glasses went viral, sparking concerns about privacy and safety. In the social media video, a man wearing black-rimmed glasses and a face mask is seen walking behind two female students wearing what appear to be uniforms from Raffles Institution, a premier school in the city state. The girls seem unaware of his presence. The man clutches his phone to his chest and presses what... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368651/were-smart-glasses-used-singapore-film-2-female-students?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368651/were-smart-glasses-used-singapore-film-2-female-students?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:17:36 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Friday that he has pardoned Mary Jane Veloso, a former death row inmate detained since her 2010 conviction for drug trafficking in Indonesia. “I’ll give you a scoop: I signed her pardon yesterday,” Marcos told reporters during a visit to the northern town of Batac on Friday. Veloso is expected to be freed after the pardon since there are no other active cases against her, though Marcos did not specify when that will happen. Claire Castro, the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368646/philippines-weighs-pardon-death-row-inmate-repatriated-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368646/philippines-weighs-pardon-death-row-inmate-repatriated-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:06:44 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran The Philippine Senate has made it mathematically easier to convict Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, but observers say the ruling could intensify a battle over an impeachment trial already viewed by the public as deeply divisive. The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, ruled on Wednesday that only senator-judges who are able to take part in the trial should be counted in determining the threshold for conviction. Under the Philippine constitution, a two-thirds vote of the Senate is... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368631/philippines-impeachment-path-now-clear-convict-sara-duterte?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368631/philippines-impeachment-path-now-clear-convict-sara-duterte?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:00:07 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia’s haze crisis has flared again just weeks after emergency measures and cloud-seeding operations brought temporary relief, with experts warning that smoke from Indonesian fires could continue drifting across the country until monsoon winds change. All 108 schools in Serian, a district in the state of Sarawak on Malaysian Borneo, were ordered to close on Thursday after the air pollutant index (API) breached 200 on Wednesday night, forcing pupils back to home-based learning. By noon,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368641/open-close-reopen-return-choking-haze-traps-malaysian-schools-limbo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368641/open-close-reopen-return-choking-haze-traps-malaysian-schools-limbo?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 08:53:37 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan A fundraiser to help pay disgraced former leader Najib Razak’s 50 million ringgit (US$12.3 million) fine has become a lightning rod for insults and mockery, as Malaysians continue to pile criticism on a decision last week to allow him to spend the rest of his jail sentence under house arrest. King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar last Friday granted Najib a “conditional pardon”, which will allow the jailed ex-prime minister to complete his term in the comfort of his home – provided he first pays off his... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368629/najib-razaks-fundraising-malaysia-draws-1-sen-donations-mockery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368629/najib-razaks-fundraising-malaysia-draws-1-sen-donations-mockery?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 08:05:13 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s proposal for a phased approach to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes is a pragmatic response, analysts say, but prospects for gaining its arch-rival’s acceptance remain uncertain. In a keynote speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Lee laid out a long-term, step-by-step sequence for pursuing the ultimate goal of North Korea’s denuclearisation. He had called for Washington to ease sanctions in return for North Korea stopping its nuclear... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368586/south-korea-has-pragmatic-plan-phased-denuclearisation-will-north-bite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368586/south-korea-has-pragmatic-plan-phased-denuclearisation-will-north-bite?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 03:23:51 +0000 Vincent Tan Vincent Tan Toey Wattana Mongkhonnam began thinking about outfitting his family home in Thailand’s northeastern province of Yasothon with solar panels during the Covid-19 pandemic. In his household of five, electricity use rises with the day’s heat, and the monthly bill could range from 1,000 baht to 1,500 baht (US$30 to US$45). “Back then, I checked prices and a rooftop panel system that could put out enough power to run my household’s appliances could cost 100,000 baht to 200,000 baht,” said Toey, a Muay... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368533/thailands-solar-scheme-faces-hurdles-low-power-users-turned-high-cost?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368533/thailands-solar-scheme-faces-hurdles-low-power-users-turned-high-cost?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 01:30:10 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong Washington is increasingly turning to South Korea to ease ammunition supply bottlenecks triggered by wars in the Middle East and Europe, potentially accelerating Seoul’s integration into the US defence industrial base. Analysts say the United States may struggle to replenish stockpiles quickly enough if conflicts in Iran and Ukraine drag on, creating opportunities for South Korea’s defence industry to expand its presence in the US market. Jang Won-joon, a defence science professor at Jeonbuk... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368481/us-turns-south-korea-ease-ammunition-bottlenecks-amid-global-conflicts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368481/us-turns-south-korea-ease-ammunition-bottlenecks-amid-global-conflicts?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 00:00:07 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau While starting salaries for fresh graduates and entry-level workers in Singapore continue to creep upwards, the number of people in entry-level roles is shrinking, according to new data, indicating an increasingly tough job market for those at the start of their careers. Data published last month by global professional services firm Aon showed a 2.5 per cent year-on-year salary increase for entry-level employees, alongside a 3.2 per cent drop in entry-level headcount. The findings come as... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368539/singapores-entry-level-job-market-shrinks-despite-salary-growth-data-shows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368539/singapores-entry-level-job-market-shrinks-despite-salary-growth-data-shows?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:58:02 +0000 Jeoffrey Maitem Jeoffrey Maitem Inside a car wash lounge in the southern Philippine city of Davao, Shenilane Formento scrolls through messages on her Chinese-made Oppo phone as she waits for a customer to pay. Formento, 29, has worked as a cashier for about a year. She follows developments in the South China Sea through news reports shared on her social media feeds, including frequent confrontations between Philippine and Chinese forces in the disputed waters. While she found such incidents “disappointing”, she ultimately... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368528/why-younger-filipinos-are-warming-china-despite-maritime-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368528/why-younger-filipinos-are-warming-china-despite-maritime-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 10:15:30 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India has joined a new multilateral grouping comprising a cross-regional mix of middle powers, in a move analysts say reflects New Delhi’s efforts to broaden its diplomatic options as it pushes for changes to the global order. External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar co-chaired the inaugural Partners for Multilateralism (P4M) Summit on Monday, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “We meet at a time when the global order is under stress,” Jaishankar said... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368506/indias-new-p4m-middle-power-group-enters-crowded-field?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368506/indias-new-p4m-middle-power-group-enters-crowded-field?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 09:30:05 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Brunei’s measured defence ties with Beijing reflect its low-key approach to South China Sea disputes, with analysts saying that goals such as peacekeeping offer the safest room for both sides to maintain diplomacy. A meeting between Bruneian and Chinese defence officials in Beijing last week, when both nations pledged closer practical cooperation and support for regional stability, underscored that tact. But observers also expect ties to remain modest, constrained by maritime claims and Bandar... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368497/why-brunei-prefers-quiet-diplomacy-over-confrontation-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368497/why-brunei-prefers-quiet-diplomacy-over-confrontation-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 09:00:29 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk The lawyer for an Indonesian businessman arrested in Singapore for allegedly using counterfeit S$10,000 (US$7,830) notes at a casino has said his client was a victim of fraud himself. The businessman, identified only as Steven, is accused of exchanging 34 fake S$10,000 notes for chips over three visits to the Resorts World Sentosa casino in June. The notes were accepted but later found to be counterfeit. His lawyer, Dosma Sijabat, told Tempo news magazine on Tuesday that the fake bills did not... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368499/indonesian-arrested-singapore-over-fake-banknotes-was-victim-fraud-lawyer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368499/indonesian-arrested-singapore-over-fake-banknotes-was-victim-fraud-lawyer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 08:32:41 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysians on social media are offering increasingly outlandish solutions to a months-long royal tussle in Negeri Sembilan state, from making rival claimants sleep on a bed of nettles for a week to putting the entire state through Islamic spiritual healing. The dispute has left Negeri Sembilan with two men claiming the throne, a state government at odds with the palace and no clear legal route to settle the fight. One social media user suggested reviving adat perpatih – the customary law of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3368471/malaysians-joke-their-way-through-negeri-sembilan-royal-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3368471/malaysians-joke-their-way-through-negeri-sembilan-royal-row?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 05:19:17 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Kuala Lumpur is making it easier and cheaper to bring international music stars to the city, hoping that a bigger concert calendar can help Malaysia capture more of Southeast Asia’s booming live-music economy. But as more global acts come to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian musicians are asking whether the concert boom is creating more opportunities for local artists too. Fuad Alhabshi of Malaysian rock band Kyoto Protocol said local bands once routinely benefited when major international acts came... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3368456/malaysias-local-acts-feel-left-out-live-music-boom-missing-middle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3368456/malaysias-local-acts-feel-left-out-live-music-boom-missing-middle?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 04:03:02 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Melaka on Wednesday officially called for a state election – the latest test for Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government, which is already facing an internal feud and growing public frustration over failed reforms. The state assembly was dissolved effective from Wednesday following an official notification sent to the country’s Election Commission the previous day by Ibrahim Durum, the Melaka state assembly’s speaker. “A state election will be held within 60 days of the dissolution... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368450/malaysias-anwar-faces-political-reckoning-melaka-state-calls-poll?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368450/malaysias-anwar-faces-political-reckoning-melaka-state-calls-poll?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 02:30:29 +0000 Vincent Tan Vincent Tan A series of small earthquakes beneath Keningau, an inland district of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo, is drawing attention to a part of the state where scientists say the fault lines are poorly understood and the consequences of a larger quake could be devastating. The latest, a magnitude 3.4 tremor on September 3, was felt in several parts of Keningau, prompting staff at the district office to suspend a meeting and move to a designated safe area. No serious damage was reported. The tremor was one of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368423/why-small-quakes-malaysias-sabah-could-be-sounding-seismic-alarms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368423/why-small-quakes-malaysias-sabah-could-be-sounding-seismic-alarms?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 02:00:07 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji Paul Bratby had already drawn up plans for expanding to Hong Kong when war broke out in the Middle East earlier this year. But the founder of xBratAI, a Dubai-based AI-powered trading signals platform, soon brought that timeline forward as the Iran conflict dragged on and widened in scope. “Our Hong Kong entity had been scheduled for a few years later, but we established it in early 2026,” he said. Bratby is not alone in looking east. As missiles continue to target Gulf capitals and shipping... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368387/gulf-tech-firms-turn-hong-kong-and-singapore-iran-war-grinds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368387/gulf-tech-firms-turn-hong-kong-and-singapore-iran-war-grinds?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:15 +0000 Raissa Robles Raissa Robles The Philippines has less than two years to turn its ambitious Pax Silica project from a US-backed plan into a functioning industrial hub before a change of government in Manila – and potentially Washington – puts its future to the test. Pax Silica is an initiative by US President Donald Trump’s administration to diversify US supplies of critical minerals and semiconductors. The Philippines is seeking to position itself as a manufacturing base for companies looking to reduce their dependence on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368411/philippines-races-turn-pax-silica-reality-political-changes-derail-dreams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368411/philippines-races-turn-pax-silica-reality-political-changes-derail-dreams?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones The mother of a 15-year-old Thai-Swedish teenager who died after his motorbike crashed into a truck illegally reversing into oncoming traffic has made an emotional appeal for justice, accusing police of failing to execute an arrest warrant for the alleged driver, a Chinese national, seven months after the fatal crash. Tommy Boulanger, an aspiring footballer, was left in a coma following the February 20 crash in the Nongpure district of Chonburi, near the resort city of Pattaya. He never regained... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368415/mother-seeks-justice-7-months-after-thai-swedish-sons-fatal-crash-pattaya?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368415/mother-seeks-justice-7-months-after-thai-swedish-sons-fatal-crash-pattaya?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 12:28:39 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A South Korean university has embedded graduation photos with anti-deepfake technology to prevent a repeat of a scandal two years ago, when portraits of female graduates were used to create sexually explicit manipulated images. Seoul National University’s (SNU) use of StealCut Protect, created by a start-up founded by SNU alumni, marked the first time it was used for a university graduation album in the country, The Korea Herald reported. StealCut provided the technology to SNU free of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368396/invisible-pixels-protect-south-korean-graduates-photos-deepfake-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368396/invisible-pixels-protect-south-korean-graduates-photos-deepfake-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 10:10:03 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesia plans to press ahead with discounted Russian crude oil imports to secure domestic energy supplies and manage fiscal pressures, despite the risk of higher US tariffs as Washington moves to tighten economic pressure on Moscow. On Friday, US President Donald Trump signed into law an act that would give him authority to impose sanctions on Russia and slap tariffs of up to 100 per cent on the top five buyers of Russian crude oil, gas and military equipment, or countries that help Moscow... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368389/indonesia-presses-ahead-russian-oil-imports-despite-real-risk-us-penalties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368389/indonesia-presses-ahead-russian-oil-imports-despite-real-risk-us-penalties?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 10:00:23 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk The third son of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has said he wants to return home for urgent brain surgery. Chakriwat “Than Aong” Vivacharawongse posted a video on social media on Monday saying he had two large brain tumours requiring surgery. The 43-year-old doctor said he wanted to receive treatment in Thailand. “I want to return to Thailand for treatment because Thai doctors are highly capable,” he said in the video. Chakriwat said he did not have enough money to pay for the surgery in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368368/king-thailands-estranged-son-seeks-return-urgent-brain-surgery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368368/king-thailands-estranged-son-seeks-return-urgent-brain-surgery?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 08:19:48 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Indonesia’s bid for another term on the United Nations’ premier security body stands a good chance of success given Jakarta’s growing global engagement, analysts say, but its balancing act between competing powers could complicate efforts to speak for the Global South. Jakarta’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it would launch its campaign this week for a fifth term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2029–2030. The ministry said it was seeking the seat to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368366/indonesias-un-security-council-bid-tests-non-aligned-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368366/indonesias-un-security-council-bid-tests-non-aligned-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 08:01:02 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Residents of a wide swathe of eastern Japan were picking up the pieces on Tuesday after Typhoon Dujuan tore through the area the previous day, causing extensive flooding, landslides, power outages, flight cancellations and at least four deaths. Nearly 2 million people were instructed to evacuate their homes in low-lying coastal areas, or be prepared to move at short notice, after the Japan Meteorological Agency had warned that the typhoon posed an “imminent threat to life”. While the evacuation... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368348/japan-begins-clean-after-typhoon-dujuan-kills-4-batters-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368348/japan-begins-clean-after-typhoon-dujuan-kills-4-batters-east?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 06:51:54 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Cambodia is set to present the outcome of its crackdown on scams to global governments and security agencies gathering in Phnom Penh this week. Yet questions remain over where the missing billions have gone – as well as the role of the country’s elite, who for many years denied the problem existed at all on Cambodian soil. Scam compounds took over declining mega-casinos during the pandemic. As borders closed, gamblers were replaced with scam workers: many tricked, trafficked and forced to commit... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368344/cambodia-hosts-anti-scam-summit-scepticism-lingers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368344/cambodia-hosts-anti-scam-summit-scepticism-lingers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 06:24:52 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak appears to have entered the home stretch of his years-long bid to serve the remainder of his corruption sentence under house arrest. The 73-year-old has spent nearly two years fighting to serve his sentence at home, after claiming a royal order issued alongside his 2024 sentence commutation granted him that privilege. The 2024 decision had already halved his 12-year prison sentence and reduced his fine – to 50 million ringgit (US$12.3 million) – for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3368328/home-last-why-house-arrest-malaysias-najib-no-done-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3368328/home-last-why-house-arrest-malaysias-najib-no-done-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 04:19:24 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall More than 200 Japanese companies still operating in Russia face growing uncertainty following Moscow’s seizure of three Western firms’ assets, amid deteriorating diplomatic relations. The Kremlin announced on Friday that the assets of Swiss food giant Nestlé, French retailer Auchan and home improvement chain Lemana Pro had been transferred to Russian entity LEV Management under a decree signed a day earlier by President Vladimir Putin. “These are unfriendly nations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368248/moscows-asset-seizures-unnerve-japanese-companies-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368248/moscows-asset-seizures-unnerve-japanese-companies-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:17 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A 3.5-metre-long shark that wandered into a Busan waterfront channel has become an unlikely internet celebrity in South Korea, drawing nearly 20,000 spectators over the weekend as authorities opted to leave the animal alone rather than risk provoking it. The shark was first spotted on Friday in the waterway at North Port Waterfront Park, where it has remained for at least four consecutive days despite repeated efforts by the public to catch a glimpse of it. South Korea’s National Institute of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3368283/south-korea-gets-new-internet-star-busan-shark-sighting-goes-viral?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3368283/south-korea-gets-new-internet-star-busan-shark-sighting-goes-viral?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 12:53:18 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran Southeast Asia remains comparatively confident in international cooperation even as scepticism grows over whether the United States or China should take a leading global role, a new survey has found. Analysts said the findings reflected a long-standing regional preference for keeping strategic options open, particularly among smaller and middle powers wary of an international order dominated by either Washington or Beijing. “Seeking Security and Opportunity in a Stormy World”, released this... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368278/southeast-asia-supports-multilateralism-wary-us-or-china-leadership-survey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368278/southeast-asia-supports-multilateralism-wary-us-or-china-leadership-survey?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 11:41:49 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk South Korea has surpassed its 2027 target of attracting 300,000 international students a year ahead of schedule, and universities must now find ways to retain and develop them, a new rankings assessment has shown. First launched last year and described as the country’s most internationalisation-focused assessment to date, The Korea Times University Rankings assess institutions on seven indicators, including the ratio of exchange and international students to total enrolment, diversity of the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3368268/south-korea-beats-foreign-student-target-struggles-keep-them?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3368268/south-korea-beats-foreign-student-target-struggles-keep-them?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 10:30:36 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia’s royal crisis in Negeri Sembilan spilled into a new constitutional fight on Monday after the state’s chief minister refused to accept the ruler’s dismissal of the entire executive council – a dispute that has already brought down one government and triggered a snap election. The latest showdown comes less than a week after the executive council backed a disputed bid to remove the ruler, putting the palace and state government in conflict over both the throne and executive... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368254/malaysias-negeri-sembilan-royal-crisis-escalates-chief-minister-defies-ruler?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368254/malaysias-negeri-sembilan-royal-crisis-escalates-chief-minister-defies-ruler?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:40:26 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has suffered a double whammy as his Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition scrambles to placate public outrage over disgraced ex-leader Najib Razak being granted house arrest and the shock resignation of his transport minister in protest against the royal clemency. But observers do not expect the administration, already reeling from PH defeats in two recent state elections as federal allies turned against the coalition, to implode just yet. Anwar and PH’s reformist... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368244/will-anwars-coalition-malaysia-implode-amid-loke-exit-najib-house-arrest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368244/will-anwars-coalition-malaysia-implode-amid-loke-exit-najib-house-arrest?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:00:40 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Footage of a cargo ship ploughing into a Chinese fishing boat in the Singapore Strait, sending seawater surging across the smaller vessel’s deck as its crew scrambled to hold on, has circulated widely online. The 229-metre-long (750-foot) bulk carrier First Margaux struck the Luqing Yuanyu 108, a 49-metre (160-foot) Chinese fishing vessel, at around 5pm on Thursday last week, according to ship-tracking data cited by The Maritime Executive. Both vessels had left anchorage near Singapore at... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368229/cargo-ship-slams-chinese-fishing-boat-singapore-strait?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368229/cargo-ship-slams-chinese-fishing-boat-singapore-strait?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 08:19:09 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran The Philippines has suffered three deadly school shootings since June. In each case, at least one weapon belonged to a relative working in government or law enforcement, whether as an official service issue or a privately licensed firearm. On Friday, a student at Banga National High School in South Cotabato province shot dead two classmates, wounded several others and then killed himself. He reportedly used the licensed firearm of his father, who works in the Education Department’s risk... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368218/easy-access-family-guns-fuels-philippine-school-shootings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368218/easy-access-family-guns-fuels-philippine-school-shootings?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 06:34:06 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A Japanese woman was left unable to breathe on her own after a veteran surgeon mistakenly removed healthy tissue instead of a benign tumour from her brain. Kyoto University Hospital apologised for the medical error and vowed to take measures to prevent similar incidents, local news outlet TV Asahi reported. The woman, in her fifties, was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour after consulting doctors for dizziness and unsteadiness. Although she was able to carry out her daily activities, she... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368212/japanese-surgeon-removes-healthy-brain-tissue-leaving-woman-ventilator?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368212/japanese-surgeon-removes-healthy-brain-tissue-leaving-woman-ventilator?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 05:55:03 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran The Philippines’ rise to upper-middle-income status was supposed to mark a new phase for one of Southeast Asia’s most closely watched emerging economies. Instead, analysts say the milestone has done little to shield the country from short-term pressures weighing on growth: sluggish public spending, delayed infrastructure, high living costs and the fallout from investigations into alleged irregularities in flood control projects. Those strains have left the Philippines looking like a regional... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368024/upgraded-underperforming-philippines-growth-lags-behind?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368024/upgraded-underperforming-philippines-growth-lags-behind?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:00:17 +0000 Emma White Emma White As heatwaves become more frequent and intense across Asia, the region faces a dangerous power paradox. Soaring demand for air conditioning threatens to push electricity grids closer to failure just as extreme heat puts the infrastructure under greater strain, raising the risk of cooling disappearing when people need it most. That risk has been visible across the region this summer. In South Korea, President Lee Jae Myung called a record heatwave a “national disaster” in August after the death... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368133/cooling-trap-how-asias-air-conditioners-are-making-heatwaves-worse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368133/cooling-trap-how-asias-air-conditioners-are-making-heatwaves-worse?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 04:00:08 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim caused a bit of a stir in India recently with his spirited rendition of a Bollywood classic – a lighthearted moment that also neatly captured his broader push to deepen ties with the South Asian giant. A video of Anwar singing, from memory, Kishore Kumar’s 1965 hit ballad “Khwab Ho Tum Ya Koi Haqeeqat” (“Are you a dream or are you reality?”) was first posted to his social media accounts last Sunday before quickly being picked up by Indian news outlets. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368034/anwar-was-song-india-will-malaysia-reap-rewards?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368034/anwar-was-song-india-will-malaysia-reap-rewards?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 02:00:06 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau When Jordan Seow joined OpenAI in June 2025, he became the company’s first locally hired forward-deployed engineer in Asia-Pacific, joining a Singapore office that then had fewer than 20 employees. The 29-year-old is now part of a fast-growing workforce built in Singapore by the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies. Experts say the city state is emerging as a regional hub – not for training the latest AI models, but for the increasingly crucial task of deploying and adapting them... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368089/why-ai-giants-are-choosing-singapore-turn-models-real-world-tools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368089/why-ai-giants-are-choosing-singapore-turn-models-real-world-tools?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 01:00:09 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow A former Australian official’s use of a hypothetical “aggressive Indonesia” to make the case for Aukus at a public inquiry has been called “clumsy diplomacy” by analysts, who say the comments risk reviving old suspicions as Jakarta and Canberra try to strengthen security ties. Michael Pezzullo, a former deputy secretary of strategy in Australia’s defence department, made the remarks in testimony on September 2 to the Aukus Public Inquiry, an independent, crowdfunded review of the trilateral... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368035/named-enemy-indonesias-uneasy-aukus-moment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368035/named-enemy-indonesias-uneasy-aukus-moment?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:00:09 +0000 Ushar Daniele,Joseph Sipalan Ushar Daniele,Joseph Sipalan A senior ally of Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim announced his resignation from cabinet on Saturday – a day after confidence in the prime minister’s administration took a severe hit when disgraced former leader Najib Razak was allowed to serve out his jail term under house arrest. Anthony Loke, the secretary general of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), said that the party could not accept the decision to allow Najib to complete his sentence in the comfort of his own home. The former prime minister is... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368113/malaysias-loke-resigns-transport-minister-following-najibs-house-arrest-approval?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368113/malaysias-loke-resigns-transport-minister-following-najibs-house-arrest-approval?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 10:56:45 +0000 Emma White Emma White Alina B.K. should have been preparing for her end-of-year university exams, but news of devastating floods along the Nepal–Tibet border kept pulling her back to a troubling question: what kind of future awaits her? The 21-year-old forestry student, who coordinates the Pokhara network of Nepalese Youth for Climate Action, said she struggled to concentrate as reports of death and destruction deepened her fears about a changing climate. “With the floods and deaths happening around us, it is really... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368052/young-nepalis-battle-climate-dread-wake-flood-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368052/young-nepalis-battle-climate-dread-wake-flood-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 05:00:08 +0000