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Asia - South China Morning Post

Breaking news, analysis and opinion from the SCMP"s Asia edition.

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UK woman offering ‘sacred sexuality’ classes in...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

A British woman allegedly teaching tantric yoga and “sacred sexuality” on Thailand’s Koh Phangan has been arrested for working illegally as authorities crack down on undocumented foreign workers on the island popular with foreign backpackers. Maria Shchetinina, 40, was in the middle of a class conducted at the back of a New Age restaurant when police raided the premises on Tuesday, local media reported. They had been tipped off by social media users reporting “risque” photos posted by a

‘Professor Kangkung’: Malaysian academic mocked for...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

An associate professor from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) has raised eyebrows – and heckles – after a video of her suggesting that the Romans learned their shipbuilding techniques from the Malays went viral. Solehah Yaacob’s controversial statements, dubbed “pseudo-history” by critics, have prompted her academic colleagues to urge the university to take firm action against those who tarnish its reputation. “The Academic Staff Association expresses deep concern over

Is the Philippines seeking to formalise the ‘Squad’...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

An agreement between Australia, the United States, Japan and the Philippines to set up an Indo-Pacific defence council hints at a shift towards the “Squad” group of nations maturing into a formal minilateral grouping, analysts say. On Saturday, the four countries’ defence chiefs met on the sidelines of the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting Plus in Kuala Lumpur, where they reportedly expressed support for a framework to establish an “Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defence Cooperation Council”. The Squad...

Tokyo man arrested for employing 12-year-old Thai...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

A Japanese man has been arrested on suspicion of illegally employing a 12-year-old Thai girl at a private-room massage parlour in Tokyo, where she is believed to have been forced to provide sexual services to male customers, police said on Thursday.Masayuki Hosono, 51, is suspected of employing a child under the age of 15 at “Relax Time” in Tokyo’s Yushima district in violation of labour standards laws, with police investigating the case as a possible incident of human trafficking. Police,

Rapper Namewee drops new song amid Taiwanese...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

Malaysian rapper Namewee has released a new song, titled “Very Shuai” – which translates to “Very Handsome” – while being held in remand. The 42-year-old, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, is currently detained for six days to assist in investigations into the death of Taiwanese influencer Hsieh Yun Hsi. According to China Press, the track – an old demo recorded back in 2014 – was released on Spotify on Wednesday, coinciding with the day Namewee surrendered himself to authorities. The...

Singapore to preserve 38 Oxley Road for history, not...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

The Singapore government is not seeking to memorialise founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and family by preserving his former home and instead is enabling future generations of citizens to understand their country’s struggle for independence, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo has said. Detailing the reasons behind the government’s intention to preserve 38 Oxley Road as a national monument, Neo told parliament on Thursday that the space and its importance could not

Quicker, nimbler scammers outrun Asian banks in...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

Banks across Asia are pouring billions into artificial intelligence systems to detect fraud, but regulators and analysts say the region is still losing ground to nimble and adaptable scam syndicates using the same technology to find new ways to steal money. AI is now central to how lenders monitor transactions, screen sanctions and verify customers, helping them flag suspicious activity faster. Yet experts say the systems remain limited by what data they are trained on and by how quickly...

US singer unknowingly marries Malaysian sultan: ‘I...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

When American recording artist Brittany Porter met Sultan Muhammad V, ruler of the Malaysian state of Kelantan, she thought their fairy tale romance led to an engagement. A year later, she discovered that the Islamic nikah ceremony was in fact a religious marriage, a revelation that came only after the country’s former monarch had cut off contact. “In April 2024, we went on our first trip together to Oman. I thought we got engaged there, because in my culture the big ceremony is a wedding

Philippines declares state of emergency after typhoon...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr declared a state of emergency on Thursday after Typhoon Kalmaegi killed at least 140 people and left another 127 missing in central provinces in the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country this year, as the storm headed towards Vietnam. Marcos’ emergency declaration, made during a meeting with disaster-response officials to assess the typhoon’s aftermath, would allow the government to disburse emergency funds faster and prevent food hoarding and...

Reign check: is North Korea’s Kim Jong-un preparing...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

South Korea’s intelligence agency has reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter is consolidating her position as a potential heir, but analysts urge caution over the latest news as they point to Pyongyang’s silence on the 12-year-old’s name. They also voiced scepticism over the National Intelligence Service’s (NIS) assessment that Kim could hold a fourth summit with US President Donald Trump around March next year. Observers say there is little sign the regime has begun laying

Singapore jails illegal brothel boss after Chinese...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

A woman who ran an illegal brothel under the guise of a massage parlour in Singapore was sentenced to 14 months’ jail after one of her sex workers lodged a police report. The police raided the unit along Carpenter Street and found a woman scantily clothed on top of a patron and another patron leaving. Mo Xuekui, 44, claimed trial to three charges of procuring a woman for prostitution, managing a brothel and living on immoral earnings. She claimed that she was just a cashier and that she had...

Japanese tourist’s death stokes outcry over Seoul’s...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

The death of a Japanese tourist in a drink-driving crash in Seoul has sparked criticism in Japan over what many see as South Korea’s lenient punishment for such offences. A post believed to be written by the victim’s family member has drawn wide attention online, questioning whether strong penalties are possible under South Korean law. A social media user with the handle abcz8756 wrote on Tuesday, “In Korea, my mother and sister were hit by a drunk driver. My mother died, and my sister is in...

Japan’s sumo-sized dilemma: centuries-old tradition...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, is confronting an unexpected dilemma: whether she will be allowed to enter the country’s most sacred sporting arena – the sumo ring – to present the winner’s trophy that bears her office’s name. Just days before the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament opens on Sunday in Fukuoka, the all-male Japan Sumo Association (JSA) is reportedly weighing what to do if Takaichi wishes to perform the long-standing prime ministerial duty of handing over the

Japan’s welfare crackdown has foreign residents in...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/06

As Japan’s social contract comes under strain, Sanae Takaichi is moving swiftly on a campaign promise to make foreign residents shoulder their fair share of the health and pensions burden.The proposed reforms, set in motion just weeks after Takaichi’s historic appointment as the country’s first female prime minister, aim to address mounting public concern about inequality and the sustainability of its ageing welfare state. At her first ministerial meeting dedicated to issues regarding

While Trump boasts about ending wars, China quietly...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/05

With US President Donald Trump’s unabashed claim of ending eight wars in eight months hogging the limelight, China’s handling of both intrusions along its border with Myanmar and the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute has gone relatively unnoticed. In stark contrast to America’s dramatic and forceful brokering of peace deals, Beijing has adopted a calibrated and generally reactive response to Myanmar’s border intrusions and supports Asean taking the lead on the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute...

‘Badhai!’ In India, a celebration for Mamdani’s New...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/05

Indians lit up social media on Wednesday to celebrate Zohran Mamdani’s election win as New York mayor after he thanked his Indian-born parents, quoted a historic speech by India’s first prime minister and turned the victory rally into a Bollywood-style street party. “We are proud of him. He has done a great job,” Mamdani’s maternal uncle Vikram Nair said. He said he was flooded with requests from friends and family to throw celebratory parties. “We will plan it soon,” he said, adding that the...

UK seizes US$15 million in dinosaur bones from...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/05

British police have seized more than £12 million (US$15.6 million) of dinosaur skeletons after agreeing to a settlement with a Chinese national suspected of being part of a huge money-laundering scandal. Su Binghai agreed to forfeit three complete fossilised skeletons, along with nine London apartments, bought for around £15 million, but he will be able to keep 25 per cent of all the sale proceeds, a lawyer for the National Crime Agency said at a court hearing on Tuesday. Su was previously...

Uproar at Miss Universe event in Thailand over local...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/05

A ceremony meant to welcome this year’s Miss Universe delegates descended into turmoil after a Thai pageant organiser publicly berated Miss Mexico, prompting a walkout led by the competition’s reigning title-holder from Denmark and a last-minute postponement of the event.“I think that the world needs to see this because we are empowered women,” said Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch, addressing the media after she was escorted out of the room by security. “This platform is meant for our voice, and no...

‘Smartphones make it easy to cheat’: Indonesia...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/05

Indonesia’s religious affairs minister has warned that smartphones and social media are facilitating adultery and eroding marital bonds, describing the nation as being in a “yellow light” phase of family instability. “Smartphones make it easy to flirt or cheat,” Minister Nasaruddin Umar told a gathering of marriage counsellors on October 30, as quoted by the Jakarta Globe. “If we’re not careful, we’ll end up being slaves to social media.” The warning comes as nearly 400,000 couples divorced

Illegal mining tests Indonesia’s resolve on new...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/05

Indonesia is struggling to stamp out illegal mining that has ravaged forest land around its new capital Nusantara, in a challenge environmentalists say will test the government’s resolve to enforce the law and rein in powerful mining interests. The crackdown comes as doubts persist over the future of the 466 trillion rupiah (US$27.8 billion) project – a centrepiece of former leader Joko Widodo’s legacy that now faces waning political support under his successor, President Prabowo Subianto, and

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