Asia - South China Morning Post

The dramatic US operation that overthrew Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro this month may have left North Korean leader Kim Jong-un feeling he was also vulnerable to “decapitation”, according to a former Pyongyang envoy to Havana.

In a wide-ranging interview, Lee Il-kyu, who served as Pyongyang’s political counsellor in Cuba from 2019 until 2023, said Washington’s lightning extraction in Caracas was a worst-case scenario for his former boss.

“Kim must have felt that a so-called decapitation operation...

A 46-year-old man from Perak in Malaysia sneaked out of the country to visit his pregnant second wife without his first wife’s knowledge.

He landed in hot water when he was arrested while returning from Indonesia via an illegal route. His passport was being held by his first wife.

The man, a lorry driver, who just arrived from Tanjung Balai in Indonesia, told officers he had travelled to Medan to visit his pregnant second wife.

“My second wife was pregnant and in critical condition, which is why...

The Philippine military and coastguard have stepped up security around a newly announced natural gas discovery off Palawan, treating the operation as a test case for protecting future offshore energy projects in contested waters, according to officials familiar with the deployment.

The expanded patrols cover Malampaya East-1, a fresh gas and condensate find about 5km from the existing Malampaya gas field, the country’s most important domestic energy source, which supplies fuel to power plants on...

China’s instructions to citizens not to visit Japan during the coming Lunar New Year holiday has been welcomed by some Japanese weary of overcrowding at tourist hotspots, while local travel operators say the immediate impact on business is likely to be limited.

Beijing’s advisory, issued on Monday through the Chinese foreign ministry and diplomatic missions, cites security concerns in Japan and a claimed rise in crimes targeting Chinese nationals.

It comes amid heightened diplomatic friction...

North Korea fired what appeared to be ballistic missiles off its east coast days after the US released a new defence strategy signalling a reduction in American military support to deter Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.

Multiple ballistic missiles were launched on Tuesday from north of Pyongyang towards waters off its east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Japan’s coastguard said an object suspected of being a ballistic missile likely already fell into the sea.

“Our military is...

Parts of Australia sweltered in record temperatures of close to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday as the country sweated through a prolonged heatwave.

The rural towns of Hopetoun and Walpeup in Victoria state registered preliminary highs of 48.9 degrees, which if confirmed overnight would top records set on the day in 2009 when 173 people were killed in the state’s devastating Black Saturday bushfires.

No casualties were reported from Tuesday’s heatwave, but Victoria...

Since losing his job two years ago, Singaporean Gurpal Singh has been making weekly trips by car across the border to the Malaysian city of Johor Bharu to buy cheaper groceries and fuel.

But as Malaysia’s currency continues to strengthen, bargain-hunting visitors from Singapore like him are getting less value for their purchases.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Singapore dollar was trading at 3.11 against the Malaysian ringgit, down from 3.15 in early January and 3.26 in October last year.

Economists...

At Davos this year, a familiar but sobering warning echoed through the slopes: the global order is fracturing into closed loops. In Western capitals, “de-risking” remains the dominant keyword, framing the global economy as a series of strategic high walls. Yet, beyond these barriers, a more tangible crisis is unfolding across the Global South. The infrastructure deficit continues to widen, estimated at a staggering US$1.7 trillion annually for Asia alone.

This is a crisis of global governance....

India and the European Union on Tuesday announced a long-awaited free trade agreement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as the “mother of all deals”, as both sides moved to strengthen economic ties in a global trade order unsettled by rising US protectionism.

The pact, once implemented, is expected to create one of the world’s largest trading blocs and deepen commercial links between the EU’s 27 member states and the world’s most populous country.

The deal would cut or eliminate...

Indonesia’s decision to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” has raised eyebrows at home, with critics zeroing in on how it deviated from Jakarta’s values by serving the interests of only the US and Israel instead of Palestine.

Some observers, however, argue that the move is “consistent” with Indonesia’s proactive foreign policy stance and allows it access to major powers.

President Prabowo Subianto was among several world leaders flanking Trump at Thursday’s signing of the board’s...