https://www.scmp.com/rss/323052/feed Find out what Asia’s movers and shakers are up to ­– and how they spend their private time en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com 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 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 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 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 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 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 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan’s wartime kamikaze pilots remain among the most recognisable symbols of the Pacific war: young men flying aircraft into Allied ships on missions from which they were not expected to return. Far less well-remembered are the fukuryu – suicide frogmen trained in the closing months of World War II to walk into the sea with mines on bamboo poles, then wait beneath the waves for an Allied invasion fleet. Kanade Hamamoto was one of many Japanese people who had never heard of them, despite... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368036/crouching-dragons-suicide-divers-japan-never-sent-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368036/crouching-dragons-suicide-divers-japan-never-sent-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim Singapore Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing’s use of Mandarin and Chinese philosophy in his speech at a major security forum in Beijing has won him praise on Chinese social media, while shedding light on how cultural familiarity and language can be diplomatic tools for the city state. Videos of Chan at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum quoting ancient philosopher Mencius, or Mengzi in Mandarin, have gone viral on platforms such as Weixin and Baidu, with users hailing his command of the language and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368046/singapore-minister-chan-chun-sings-mandarin-diplomacy-strikes-china-chord?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368046/singapore-minister-chan-chun-sings-mandarin-diplomacy-strikes-china-chord?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:41:36 +0000 Raissa Robles Raissa Robles As Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes-against-humanity trial looms, an international tribunal faces the challenge of managing a sprawling prosecution case around the health of an 81-year-old former president of the Philippines, on top of shielding the proceedings from a highly charged media environment. Those pressures came into focus at an International Criminal Court (ICC) status conference on Wednesday, when Presiding Judge Joanna Korner urged prosecutors to trim their witness list and evidence ahead... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368014/why-icc-cracking-down-fake-news-duterte-trial-looms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368014/why-icc-cracking-down-fake-news-duterte-trial-looms?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2026 09:26:41 +0000 Reuters Reuters A 16-year-old student shot dead at least two fellow students and then killed himself at a school in the southern Philippines on Friday, provincial officials said. Eight others were injured, with four in critical condition. All the victims – Grade 9 students at Banga National High School – were aged 14 to 17, said Albert Palencia, mayor of Banga town in South Cotabato, where the shooting took place. The incident follows two fatal gun incidents since June at schools in the Philippines, where... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3367979/philippine-police-report-injuries-high-school-shooting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3367979/philippine-police-report-injuries-high-school-shooting?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2026 07:03:08 +0000 Joseph Sipalan,Ushar Daniele Joseph Sipalan,Ushar Daniele Malaysia’s Pardons Board on Friday agreed to allow disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak to serve out the remainder of his jail term under house arrest. King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar granted Najib a “conditional pardon”, where the former leader is required to settle his 50 million ringgit (US$12.3 million) fine before he can be transferred to his home to complete his sentence, due to end on August 23, 2028. “He must abide by these conditions, and should he fail to fulfil any of these... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367950/malaysias-najib-razak-granted-house-arrest-pardons-board?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367950/malaysias-najib-razak-granted-house-arrest-pardons-board?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2026 04:23:51 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran For fishermen like Joey Marabe in the Philippine province of Zambales, the geopolitical contest playing out in the South China Sea can be measured in dwindling catches and shrinking incomes, as the presence of Chinese vessels around a contested shoal increasingly limits where they can work. “It’s a huge drop. Before, a lot of us who could go out to Scarborough Shoal used to bring home around 15,000 pesos (US$238) a week, a comfortable amount for our families,” said Marabe, a resident of Masinloc... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367841/filipino-fishers-count-cost-south-china-sea-dispute?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367841/filipino-fishers-count-cost-south-china-sea-dispute?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2026 02:00:14 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has issued a withering rebuke to foreigners behaving badly in Thailand following a wave of scandals involving illegal businesses and landholdings including a cemetery, saying the cases have “gone too far” by breaching Thai law and hospitality. Facing mounting public backlash against illegal foreign ownership of swathes of the country enabled by endemic corruption, Anutin’s government has halved the visa-free entry period to 30 days for most countries and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367892/gone-too-far-thai-pm-anutin-slams-foreign-lawbreakers-backlash-builds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367892/gone-too-far-thai-pm-anutin-slams-foreign-lawbreakers-backlash-builds?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:52:53 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof When Cindi suffered her first severe psychotic episode a decade ago, she could no longer tell where reality ended and her imagination began. “My reality and fantasy [were] all distorted. I had no idea what was real, what was not,” the 38-year-old, who asked to be identified only by her first name, told This Week in Asia. “It was so severe to the point that I couldn’t even recognise my own family members. My mother was there, my brother was there, but they didn’t feel like my mother or my... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3367875/malaysia-confronts-complexities-schizophrenia-after-school-killing-ruling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3367875/malaysia-confronts-complexities-schizophrenia-after-school-killing-ruling?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:20:37 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysia will formally invite Myanmar leader Minh Aung Hlaing to visit Kuala Lumpur to discuss efforts to repatriate nearly 200,000 refugees from the war-torn nation that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says have placed a heavy social and economic burden on his country. Refugees from Myanmar, particularly ethnic Rohingya, have faced worsening hostility in recent months in Malaysia, where they are accused of causing social problems and taking over small local businesses in areas where they have set... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367762/malaysia-invite-myanmars-min-aung-hlaing-rohingya-repatriation-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367762/malaysia-invite-myanmars-min-aung-hlaing-rohingya-repatriation-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:01:44 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A South Korean crime lord convicted of murder in the Philippines reportedly planned to escape prison by strapping himself to a drone – until his own accomplice’s rehearsal footage gave the game away. Park Wang-yeol, 47, was sentenced in 2022 to 60 years behind bars for the killing of three South Koreans in a sugar cane field outside Bacolod City in 2016, a crime that earned him the nickname “sugar cane field killer”. The drone-assisted escape plot was planned for earlier this year, in the weeks... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367673/south-korean-killers-drone-escape-philippine-prison-foiled-test-footage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367673/south-korean-killers-drone-escape-philippine-prison-foiled-test-footage?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2026 05:10:05 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia’s former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin won a significant court victory on Tuesday after he was acquitted of four charges linked to a government programme set up to help contractors during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Kuala Lumpur High Court cleared Muhyiddin of three money-laundering charges and one of abuse of power involving 200 million ringgit (US$49.1 million), after prosecutors said they no longer wanted to pursue those counts in his Jana Wibawa trial. The ruling removes four of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367607/malaysias-ex-pm-muhyiddin-acquitted-4-charges-us49-million-corruption-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367607/malaysias-ex-pm-muhyiddin-acquitted-4-charges-us49-million-corruption-case?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:18:19 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele The mother of Malaysian schoolgirl Yap Shing Xuen has shared a moving tribute to her late daughter, who was stabbed to death nearly a year ago in a school toilet. On Monday, the Shah Alam High Court found Yap’s attacker, who was 14 at the time, not guilty of her murder on the grounds of insanity. Medical testimony accepted by the court established that the boy had severe undiagnosed schizophrenia since the age of nine. He was ordered into psychiatric confinement, where he will remain... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367547/malaysian-mother-honours-slain-daughter-yap-shing-xuens-memory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367547/malaysian-mother-honours-slain-daughter-yap-shing-xuens-memory?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Sep 2026 05:25:22 +0000 Raissa Robles Raissa Robles Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial entered a politically explosive new phase on Monday as prosecutors turned to allegations of unexplained wealth in proceedings that could end her term and bar her from a possible presidential run in 2028. The Senate hearing opened its 24th day with congressmen serving as House prosecutors beginning to tackle the third of four impeachment charges against Duterte-Carpio, whose legal troubles have intensified alongside her... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367504/philippine-vps-impeachment-trial-heats-unexplained-wealth-takes-centre-stage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367504/philippine-vps-impeachment-trial-heats-unexplained-wealth-takes-centre-stage?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Sep 2026 02:00:12 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Singapore’s Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing is set to visit China from Tuesday to Thursday at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun and will speak at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum for the second consecutive year. His visit comes as defence analysts tell This Week in Asia that ties with Beijing are important for the city state’s balancing strategy with Washington. Singapore and the United States are close strategic partners with deep defence cooperation. Singapore’s defence ministry... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367501/singapores-chan-chun-sing-visit-china-speak-defence-forum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367501/singapores-chan-chun-sing-visit-china-speak-defence-forum?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 14:25:53 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan A Malaysian teenager was on Monday found not guilty of murdering his 16-year-old schoolmate last year, after a high court ruled that he had been of unsound mind when he attacked the victim in their school, in a case that left the country reeling in shock and horror. The boy, who was 14 at the time of the attack last October, was arrested at his high school in Selangor state on the same morning that he had repeatedly stabbed Yap Shing Xuen in the school’s toilet. The victim, who was a year from... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367451/malaysian-teenager-acquitted-killing-schoolmate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367451/malaysian-teenager-acquitted-killing-schoolmate?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:12:02 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof A former Malaysian religious affairs minister pleaded not guilty on Monday to three charges involving more than 860 million ringgit (US$211 million) in transactions linked to the country’s state-run haj savings fund and a Saudi property group. Jamil Khir Baharom, 65, served as minister in the Prime Minister’s Department overseeing religious affairs from 2009 until 2018, when the government of former prime minister Najib Razak lost power. His prosecution is the latest legal action to follow a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367389/malaysia-haj-fund-scandal-ex-religious-minister-denies-role-us211-million-transfer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367389/malaysia-haj-fund-scandal-ex-religious-minister-denies-role-us211-million-transfer?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 04:18:37 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysia’s Pardons Board has postponed discussions on disgraced former leader Najib Razak’s pardon application, days after widespread public outrage over the possibility that he could walk free from his corruption conviction. The country has been in an uproar since it was revealed earlier this week that Najib’s application for clemency was on the agenda of the board’s meeting, chaired by King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar. However, Putrajaya said on Friday the king, constitutionally empowered to grant... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367160/malaysia-pauses-najibs-pardon-decision-amid-public-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367160/malaysia-pauses-najibs-pardon-decision-amid-public-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Sep 2026 05:50:07 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A Malaysian court has nearly doubled jail time for a woman who stabbed her boyfriend to death for demanding sex after ruling that the sentencing court had been “over-sympathetic” towards the accused. The Court of Appeal increased the prison sentence for the woman, identified only as Shy to protect her identity, from the six and a half years imposed by the Johor Bahru High Court to 12 years, Free Malaysia Today news portal reported on Tuesday. Evrol Mariette Peters, one of the three judges in the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366757/malaysian-woman-who-stabbed-boyfriend-death-over-sex-demand-gets-12-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366757/malaysian-woman-who-stabbed-boyfriend-death-over-sex-demand-gets-12-years?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:06:46 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Martin Romualdez, a cousin of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, accumulated so much wealth over the past three years that he had to convert it into mansions and shares to avoid scrutiny, the Office of the Ombudsman alleged on Tuesday – a day after filing a plunder case against the former House speaker. The Ombudsman filed the case on Monday against Romualdez, former House appropriations committee chairman Zaldy Co and two others, accusing them of accepting at least 7.44 billion pesos... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366749/philippine-ex-speaker-stashed-billions-he-could-no-longer-hide-prosecutors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366749/philippine-ex-speaker-stashed-billions-he-could-no-longer-hide-prosecutors?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2026 07:38:49 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Yap Yee Lin has been serving espresso at a Starbucks in Malaysia since 2012, longer than many of his colleagues have worked anywhere. But it was only last year, after 13 years with the company, that he was promoted to shift manager at a branch in Kuala Lumpur’s Bangsar Village II. The wait says less about Yap, who is deaf, than it does about how rare that kind of promotion still is for deaf workers in the Southeast Asian nation – and how much has had to change around him to make it... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366408/hired-then-what-malaysias-deaf-workers-push-past-entry-level-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366408/hired-then-what-malaysias-deaf-workers-push-past-entry-level-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Sep 2026 02:00:09 +0000 David D. Lee David D. Lee For a few seconds during Blackpink member Jennie’s headline set at Tokyo’s Summer Sonic festival last month, it looked like something had come undone. She turned away from the crowd, adjusted herself and then, the moment was gone. But online, the clip never disappeared – and more than 10 million views later, it has become the latest test of South Korea’s fight against AI-enabled sexual abuse. Fans were quick to cry deepfake, dissecting the footage frame by frame for signs of possible AI... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366411/viral-jennie-clip-tests-limits-south-koreas-ai-deepfake-laws?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366411/viral-jennie-clip-tests-limits-south-koreas-ai-deepfake-laws?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:10 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk The son of Malaysia’s king has dismissed a report that a potential tax bill of more than S$2 billion (US$1.6 billion) is complicating his plans to sell 16.6 hectares (41 acres) of land in Singapore, saying he was “more than happy” to absorb levies on both sides of the causeway. “As a regular taxpayer, this is normal. No complication and more than happy to contribute to both countries. Should make it double,” Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim posted on social media on Thursday, hours after the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366383/malaysian-prince-more-happy-pay-us16-billion-levy-linked-singapore-land-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366383/malaysian-prince-more-happy-pay-us16-billion-levy-linked-singapore-land-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:15:29 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran As pressure mounts in the Philippines for authorities to act on strengthening school security after two fatal shootings in eight weeks, safety experts say any measure must look at mitigating violence much earlier, even before a child brings a weapon to the campus gate. A bill pushed by lawmaker Bam Aquino will require schools to establish a comprehensive safety framework, including localised safety plans with guidelines on prevention, emergency response and recovery. The bill also includes... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366267/point-grievance-philippines-urged-rethink-school-safety-approach?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366267/point-grievance-philippines-urged-rethink-school-safety-approach?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:16 +0000 Bibek Bhandari Bibek Bhandari Rajendra Lama’s phone has barely stopped buzzing. In between coordinating rescue operations for flood survivors with the Nepal Mountaineering Association and running his travel company, he spends his days communicating with anxious tour groups, trying to persuade them not to cancel their trips. “We have a crisis in one part of the country, but we’re open elsewhere and are not affected by the floods,” said Lama, a tourism entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience. “I’m just trying to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3366231/nepal-not-closed-tour-operators-battle-flood-fallout-urge-visitors-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3366231/nepal-not-closed-tour-operators-battle-flood-fallout-urge-visitors-return?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Sep 2026 10:00:10 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Helen Clark spent nine years running New Zealand and eight more running the United Nations’ development arm. Now, the former prime minister has a warning for the country she once led: do not let the scramble for Pacific security deals crowd out its much-vaunted independent foreign policy tradition. Speaking to This Week in Asia in Singapore on Tuesday, Clark argued that Wellington’s recent flurry of defence diplomacy – including a defence cooperation pact with Papua New Guinea, a joint security... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366103/new-zealand-must-never-be-seen-proxy-former-pm-warns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366103/new-zealand-must-never-be-seen-proxy-former-pm-warns?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:15 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Indonesia on Wednesday said the government was ascertaining reports that eight of its citizens who applied for civilian jobs allegedly ended up fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra said authorities were checking the identities and hiring processes involved, which offered attractive perks such as high pay, non-combat duties and fast-tracking Russian citizenship. “We are taking the information from... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366094/indonesia-investigates-reports-8-citizens-fighting-russias-war-against-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366094/indonesia-investigates-reports-8-citizens-fighting-russias-war-against-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:17:39 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele A former Malaysian minister has been remanded for five days as part of an anti-corruption inquiry into the management of the country’s state haj fund. The suspect, who is in his sixties, was detained at about 4.30pm on Tuesday after he went to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya to have his statement recorded. MACC confirmed the arrest in a statement on social media but did not release the former minister’s identity. “The arrest was made around 4.30pm and it... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366086/former-malaysian-minister-arrested-state-haj-fund-corruption-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366086/former-malaysian-minister-arrested-state-haj-fund-corruption-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2026 07:37:05 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong North Korea has never named her, confirmed her age or acknowledged her as Kim Jong-un’s heir. Yet South Korea’s spy agency says the evidence is now unmistakable: his daughter Kim Ju-ae has “effectively” become the successor-in-waiting. The assessment, delivered in a closed-door briefing to the National Assembly’s intelligence committee, was shared with journalists by Youn Kun-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Monday. “The NIS sees Kim Ju-ae as having effectively entered the stage... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366008/north-koreas-next-ruler-kim-jong-uns-daughter-seouls-spies-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3366008/north-koreas-next-ruler-kim-jong-uns-daughter-seouls-spies-say?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:21 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones After more than 250 days at sea, much of it fighting the war on Iran – and amid reports of dire conditions on board – the USS Abraham Lincoln is finally set to dock near Pattaya this week, giving more than 5,000 American sailors and Marines shore leave as the Thai resort city hopes they will spend big during their last pit stop before home. The eastern Thai beach resort, known for its colourful nightlife, has faced a grim low tourist season, driven in part by the economic downturn triggered by... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365910/thailands-pattaya-pins-hopes-arrival-5000-us-sailors-boost-tourism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365910/thailands-pattaya-pins-hopes-arrival-5000-us-sailors-boost-tourism?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Sep 2026 02:00:13 +0000 Raissa Robles Raissa Robles Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s birthday serenade for his wife might have been a private gesture, but as floodwaters overwhelmed much of Luzon – the country’s largest and most populous island and home to the capital Manila – a viral clip of him singing became a public-relations crisis. Observers told This Week in Asia that Marcos’ celebration of his wife, Marie Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos, on her 67th birthday struck the wrong chord with a public already angered by deadly floods,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365880/flood-hit-philippines-out-touch-marcos-slammed-private-birthday-serenade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365880/flood-hit-philippines-out-touch-marcos-slammed-private-birthday-serenade?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:00:39 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof A proposal in Malaysia’s Perak state to pay young people 500 ringgit (US$124) for marrying for the first time has triggered a backlash after officials confirmed the scheme could apply to children as young as 15. Critics say extending the state-funded benefit to minors risks legitimising child marriage, reigniting a fraught debate in Malaysia over laws that still allow some under-18s to wed. The one-off payment, under consideration for Perak’s 2027 budget, would be open to first-time couples aged... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365808/malaysian-states-cash-handouts-teen-weddings-triggers-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365808/malaysian-states-cash-handouts-teen-weddings-triggers-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Aug 2026 05:46:24 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Yutaka Kato* knew there would be risks when he reported suspected misconduct by his employer to Japanese authorities. What he did not expect, he said, was a 47.88 million yen (US$300,000) damages claim from that employer – the Japanese subsidiary of US-listed medical device manufacturer STAAR Surgical – along with the prospect of years in court and the uncertainty of whether he would ever return to work. Kato is among a growing number of whistle-blowers in Japan who say laws meant to protect... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365629/chilling-effect-japans-whistle-blowers-weigh-high-price-speaking-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365629/chilling-effect-japans-whistle-blowers-weigh-high-price-speaking-out?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:13 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran The Philippines spent years dismantling Chinese-linked gambling compounds in dramatic, headline-grabbing raids. But all the while, and with far less scrutiny, South Korean syndicates were building a parallel industry worth billions of US dollars – one that a spate of recent arrests suggests is still very much intact. The most recent involved a 29-year-old Korean woman named Kim Young-sun, who authorities allege ran a network of 23 illegal online betting websites out of offices in Pasay and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365619/how-philippines-missed-korean-gambling-racket-worth-us38-billion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365619/how-philippines-missed-korean-gambling-racket-worth-us38-billion?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Aug 2026 02:30:12 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele A 48-year-old Malaysian man is believed to have killed his wife and their two young children before taking his life at a Kuala Lumpur flat, in a case police said might have been linked to losses from an alleged online love scam purportedly involving the woman. Initial police investigations found a note left by the man, blaming his actions on the scam, which had left the family with US$61,000 in losses and debt, police said on Friday. The 48-year-old father wrote that he was distraught over his... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365592/malaysian-man-kills-wife-2-children-and-self-over-love-scam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365592/malaysian-man-kills-wife-2-children-and-self-over-love-scam?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:56:00 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran When Japan’s embassy in the Philippines extended applications for healthcare jobs on April 15, the pitch was straightforward: 50 positions for nurses and 300 for care workers in Japan, a three- to four-year placement, free Japanese-language lessons in both countries and a daily allowance during training. On social media, the post’s attractive terms drew widespread interest from Filipinos – a reminder that Japan is still urgently recruiting foreign labour even as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365485/why-filipino-migrants-are-rethinking-their-futures-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365485/why-filipino-migrants-are-rethinking-their-futures-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Aug 2026 02:00:16 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia’s former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob pleaded not guilty in a Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Thursday to failing to declare millions of ringgit in local and foreign currencies and gold bars. The 66-year-old is the second ex-leader to face criminal charges since Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim took office in 2022, pledging to root out entrenched corruption. Ismail Sabri’s charge under Section 36(2) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act comes more than a year after he... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3365418/malaysias-ismail-sabri-denies-failing-declare-millions-cash-gold-bars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3365418/malaysias-ismail-sabri-denies-failing-declare-millions-cash-gold-bars?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:54:33 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji For years, South Asian students – particularly from India – treated an overseas undergraduate degree as the default springboard to an international career. That assumption is now changing. Students across the region are still drawn to prestigious Western institutions, but tightening visa restrictions, rising costs and uncertain post-graduation job markets in countries like the United States are prompting families to rethink their options. Experts say more are choosing to complete their first... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365328/so-long-west-why-south-asian-students-are-rethinking-where-go-university?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365328/so-long-west-why-south-asian-students-are-rethinking-where-go-university?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Aug 2026 11:00:08 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysian police are investigating a killing near Kuala Lumpur as murder after a man rammed by a car died following an armed brawl in broad daylight that was caught on camera – footage that has stirred fresh alarm over brazen street violence in the country. The fight, in which several men were filmed slashing at one another, broke out at around 2pm on Tuesday in the Taman Alam Megah neighbourhood of Shah Alam, police said. One local man has been arrested in connection with the case. Shah Alam... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365278/deadly-shah-alam-brawl-reignites-malaysian-gang-violence-fears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365278/deadly-shah-alam-brawl-reignites-malaysian-gang-violence-fears?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Aug 2026 04:43:41 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran The Philippines has cut its official poverty rate to below 10 per cent for the first time, a milestone officials hailed as proof that millions of Filipinos are climbing the economic ladder. Yet for families like Vhan Castro’s, there is a big difference between being officially counted as middle class and actually feeling financially secure. The 34-year-old earns an average of 40,000 pesos (US$650) a month for his family of four through a patchwork of side hustles – from renting out a van for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365177/philippine-poverty-falls-record-low-many-still-feel-insecure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365177/philippine-poverty-falls-record-low-many-still-feel-insecure?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:00:07 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysian politician Mukhriz Mahathir has triggered a social media storm after declaring in a video that he “hates Americans, all of them”, over Washington’s support for Israel – echoing the fierce anti-US rhetoric long associated with his father, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. “I hate Americans. I despise Israelis, but I hate Americans, all of them,” Mukhriz said in the video, posted on Saturday. “It matters not if they’re Republican or Democrat, pro-Israel or pro-Palestine. None of it... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365045/i-hate-americans-all-them-malaysian-politicians-anti-us-rant-draws-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3365045/i-hate-americans-all-them-malaysian-politicians-anti-us-rant-draws-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Aug 2026 07:47:52 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele A Malaysian Islamic university has formally distanced itself from an academic whose viral claims about ancient Malay civilisation – including that Malays could fly and taught the Chinese “flying kung fu” – have drawn ridicule from historians. In a statement on Sunday, the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) said Solehah Yaacob, a former linguistics professor, had been terminated from academic service on April 27 and was no longer entitled to claim any affiliation with the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3365036/professor-who-said-malays-could-fly-sacked-malaysian-university?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3365036/professor-who-said-malays-could-fly-sacked-malaysian-university?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Aug 2026 06:44:49 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones A twist of fate put a guitar in Nene Royal’s hands. Aged seven, she wanted to join the computer science club at her school in Phuket, Thailand, but it was already full. “The only place left was in the music club, and the teacher handed me a guitar,” she told This Week in Asia. “The moment I started playing, something clicked.” Now just 16, the self-taught rocker has a shot at global stardom on the world’s most watched talent show, America’s Got Talent. “I learned by watching YouTube videos,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3365020/thai-teen-rocker-nene-royal-talks-americas-got-talent-and-dreaming-big?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3365020/thai-teen-rocker-nene-royal-talks-americas-got-talent-and-dreaming-big?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Aug 2026 05:03:41 +0000 Alan Robles,Raissa Robles Alan Robles,Raissa Robles Less than two years before the Philippines chooses its next president, Ferdinand Marcos Jnr still has no candidate to carry his banner. Sara Duterte-Carpio, his estranged vice-president and fiercest political rival, has already declared her intention to run and remains the early front runner, despite an impeachment trial that could bar her from politics. Marcos said on August 14 that he would “certainly endorse a candidate” in 2028 but added: “Who that is I cannot tell you because even I don’t... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3364891/has-philippines-marcos-missed-his-chance-stop-dutertes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3364891/has-philippines-marcos-missed-his-chance-stop-dutertes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:00:10 +0000