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Asia - South China Morning Post

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

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Philippine church rallies over corruption scandal,...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/16

Thousands of members of an influential religious group started gathering in Manila on Sunday for a rally to call for accountability in the Philippine government over a widening corruption scandal. Iglesia ni Cristo members, wearing white shirts, assembled in the historic Quirino Grandstand and nearby streets in Manila city. Police estimated the crowd at 14,500 as of 8am local time. Some camped out overnight for a programme expected to start late in the afternoon. The Christian religious group...

Can ‘passive’ Philippine body deliver accountability...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/16

A new Philippine commission tasked with investigating alleged corruption in thousands of public flood control projects has begun issuing its first findings, but analysts warn the body was designed with too little power and independence to deliver real accountability. Created by President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr in response to mounting public anger over so-called ghost projects – flood control works that were paid for but either poorly built or did not exist at all – the Independent Commission

Singer Nana hospitalised with injuries after...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/16

K-pop star Nana helped overpower a home intruder and is recovering in hospital after suffering injuries during the tussle, South Korean police said on Sunday. The intruder, a man in his 30s, broke into the K-pop star’s home early on Saturday before being taken down by Nana with the help of her mother and arrested. The 34-year-old celebrity and her mother, who suffered serious injuries and lost consciousness, are being treated in hospital, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. The

Can Danantara’s haj village bid reshape Indonesia’s...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/16

Indonesia’s newest sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, is making a bold entrance onto the world stage with ambitious plans ranging from bidding to construct a haj village in Mecca to launching one of the world’s largest waste-to-energy initiatives. At the heart of these ambitions is Pandu Sjahrir, chief investment officer of the state-backed fund established by President Prabowo Subianto in February to manage strategic investments and improve governance across public assets. In an interview

Australia draws mainland China, Hong Kong homebuyers...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/16

Australia, with its stable political and economic landscape, is likely to attract more property investors from Hong Kong and mainland China in the coming year, according to agents. The luxury property segment of the world’s sixth-largest country is also expected to see increased interest from affluent investors looking for cost-efficient safe havens amid changes in the immigration and residency requirements of the US and the UK, among other jurisdictions. “For many years, Australia has been a...

Japan battles drug crisis as youths get hooked on...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/16

The abuse of a sedative-laced vape liquid called “zombie cigarettes” has been increasing among youths in southern Japan, with investigative authorities stepping up vigilance against its potential spread nationwide. By the end of September, 10 people, mostly in their teens and 20s, had been arrested in Okinawa prefecture for possessing etomidate. In May, the Japanese government designated the substance, which is known to depress cerebellar neuronal activity essential for body coordination, as

Japan’s ‘monster parents’ heap misery on teachers...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/16

When the cherry blossoms fail to bloom on cue or a lunch menu falls short of expectations, teachers in Japan know what to expect: a barrage of late-night emails, angry phone calls and, increasingly, a sense of despair. The problem has reached such proportions that authorities in Tokyo are planning official guidelines intended to protect educators from parental harassment and establish boundaries around what schools can be asked to do. According to a draft released this month by the Tokyo...

How Baumkuchen ‘tree cake’ survived disasters to...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

Baumkuchen originated in Germany but has become a wildly popular sweet in Japan, where a prisoner of war on a small western island started making the treat that has thrived in its new homeland. Today, the confectionery known as “tree cake” because of the resemblance to a trunk with rings is considered a symbol of longevity and prosperity in Japan, where Baumkuchen festivals are regularly held. Japanese adaptations, including those using matcha and sweet potatoes, are popular gifts at weddings...

11 dead, 12 missing after landslide hits Indonesia’s...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

A landslide on Indonesia’s Java island killed at least 11 people, an official said on Saturday, updating a previous tally as rescuers scrambled to find 12 others who were still missing. The landslide, caused by heavy rainfall, hit three villages in Central Java province on Thursday, burying some houses and damaging others. “As of Saturday afternoon, the number of victims who were found dead is 11, while 12 more are still being searched for,” said local search and rescue chief Muhammad...

From TV dramas to diplomacy, Bangladesh-Turkey ties...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

In a recording studio in Dhaka, voice-over artist Rubaiya Matin Gity dubs the latest Turkish soap opera to become a megahit in Bangladesh – a pop culture trend that reflects growing ties between the two countries. “Yasmeen! Yasmeen! I have fallen in love ...” the 32-year-old actor cried in Bangla, her eyes fixed on the screen playing new episodes of the Turkish drama Kara Sevda, or Endless Love, which has captivated millions of viewers in the South Asian nation. The success of Turkish shows,...

Justice or chaos? Bangladesh on edge as Hasina...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

Bangladesh is bracing itself for a landmark court verdict on Monday that could see its self-exiled former leader Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death for crimes against humanity, with the case potentially fuelling an already combustible political climate ahead of national elections. The outcome could either deliver long-awaited justice for the 1,400 people killed during a brutal crackdown last year or spark a repeat of the chaos, according to analysts. Hasina, 78, fled to India in August 2024

Singapore’s Temasek invests in WeRide, Pony.ai to...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, opened positions in two of China’s leading autonomous driving companies in the third quarter of this year. The state-owned company bought about 1.4 million shares of WeRide and 14,500 shares of Pony.ai in the September quarter, according to its 13F filings released on Friday. The total value of the shares was around US$13.7 million. Temasek has a history of investing in autonomous driving companies. These

Malaysia’s start-ups shiver through a venture capital...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

Once awash with venture capital, Asia’s start-up ecosystem is now weathering a deep freeze as investors reassess their risk exposure amid global economic uncertainty and China’s growth slowdown. For regional entrepreneurs, the flight of risk capital has turned into a crisis, with funds seeking refuge in safer markets. Malaysian venture capitalists told This Week in Asia that fierce competition for a dwindling pool of funds had become the new normal. “What winter? It’s the constant weather

Pikachu protest at Cop30 takes on Japan’s fossil fuel...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

Protesters in Pokemon costumes stomped around the United Nations climate conference on Friday to send a message to Japan: end financing of coal and natural gas projects across Southeast Asia and other regions of the Global South. The Stop Japan’s Dirty Energy Plans protest aligned with the first of two thematic days with a focus on energy during the annual climate conference known as Cop30, held this year in Belem on the edge of the Brazilian Amazon. Organisers of the protest said the...

Blast kills 9, rocks India’s Kashmir police station,...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

A cache of confiscated explosives detonated inside a police station in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least nine people and injuring 32 others, police said on Saturday. The blast occurred in the Nowgam area of Srinagar, the region’s main city, late on Friday when a team of forensic experts and police were examining the explosive material, said Nalin Prabhat, the region’s police director-general. He ruled out any foul play, saying it was an accident. The dead included six police and...

After Bucheon market crash, can South Korea curb...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

At Jeil Market in South Korea’s Bucheon, Gyeonggi province, few ever imagined that a truck would surge into the crowd, as one did on Thursday, killing two people and leaving 19 others injured. “The truck came barrelling in just as I stepped forward to help a customer checking radishes,” a vendor said. “If I had stayed where I was, I could have died. Later, I told her how grateful I was.” Police have attributed the crash to driver error on the part of the 67-year-old at the wheel of the 1

Why Singapore’s PAP is taking aim at opposition WP so...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

It has been six months since the national polls concluded in Singapore, but the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) is not resting on its laurels. A popular line among party faithfuls is that the PAP begins preparing for the next election the day after winning one. But a recent series of salvoes against its main opponent, the Workers’ Party (WP) and leader Pritam Singh suggests a new intensity, if not strategy. Observers point to a calculated PAP approach outside election season as its...

Why a document on South Korea-US trade, security...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

South Korea and the United States have released a long-awaited joint document detailing their recent trade and security agreements, including Washington’s approval for Seoul to build nuclear-powered submarines. However, analysts warn that key gaps in the fact sheet could lead to both governments interpreting their partnership very differently, particularly on sensitive defence provisions and the feasibility of South Korea’s submarine ambitions. The publication comes two weeks after President

Asean, China, Japan and South Korea hold...

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

Southeast Asian economies, along with China, Japan and South Korea, have a “transformative” opportunity to enter the world’s critical mineral supply chain, said Yasuto Watanabe, director of the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO). Critical minerals – essential raw materials for the production of hi-tech gadgets, cars and aerospace equipment – will make the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) supply chain “more resilient and sustainable”, said Watanabe, who also...

Climate collapse: Southeast Asia’s new normal?

Asia - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/15

For four long months and counting, the residents of Bang Ban, a low-lying district in Thailand’s ancient city of Ayutthaya, have lived their lives under water. Elderly residents must be ferried to safety by raft, schools stand closed and under the muddy surface, ruined rice fields rot. Even Ayutthaya’s 700-year-old stupas have been submerged, their crumbling towers jutting through a murky brown deluge that shows no sign of retreat. Annual floods are not unusual here. Each monsoon season, the...

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