Asia - South China Morning Post

In a library in the Philippines, dice rattle on the surface of a board before coming to a stop, putting one of its players straight into the path of a powerful typhoon.

The teenagers huddled around the table leap into action, shouting instructions and acting out the correct strategies for just one of the potential catastrophes laid out in the board game called Master of Disaster.

With fewer than half of Filipinos estimated to have undertaken disaster drills or to own a first aid kit, the game...

The fresh prison sentence handed to disgraced former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has sharpened tensions inside Umno, with analysts warning the legal blow to the party’s former figurehead could fuel calls for a withdrawal from the coalition led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

On Friday, a Malaysian court sentenced Najib, 72, to a further 15 years in prison after finding him guilty on all 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering linked to the siphoning of 2.3 billion ringgit...

Myanmar’s junta-held election will not mask the nation’s dire economic condition, experts warn, as civil war drives some of the highest inflation in Asia, power shortages hack at production and the country’s military rulers seek fast cash from the sale of rare earths and kickbacks from drugs and scams.

The military has begun a phased election, with voting in some areas taking place on Sunday and further rounds planned in January, a process critics say is designed to project control rather than...

A fire at an Indonesian retirement home killed 16 older people on Sunday evening, police said.

The fire in the single-storey house in Manado in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi Province started while the residents were asleep, police said on Monday.

“The team on the ground has confirmed that the death toll currently is 16,” North Sulawesi police spokesperson Alamsyah Hasibuan said. “Fifteen of them were burned to death, while one victim’s body remains intact.”

There were 15 survivors who were treated...

Two popular leaders have formed an alliance ahead of March parliamentary elections in Nepal that will challenge the older parties which have dominated the Himalayan nation’s politics for over three decades, party officials and analysts said on Monday.

Rapper turned-Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, known as Balen, a popular ⁠elected official, joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) or national independent party, led by a former TV host-turned politician Rabi Lamichhane on Sunday, party officials...

Nepal is stepping up scrutiny of illegal cross-border matchmaking after authorities uncovered cases in which brokers and online intermediaries were marketing Nepali women as prospective brides for Chinese nationals, prompting increased enforcement and official warnings.

The Chinese Embassy in Nepal issued a New Year’s travel advisory cautioning its citizens against what it described as “bride buying” in the country, urging them not to trust matchmaking agencies and brokers blindly and stressing...

North Korea said on Monday it fired long-range strategic cruise missiles into the sea to test the country’s nuclear deterrence, days after it showed apparent progress in the construction of its first nuclear-powered submarine.

The official Korean Central News Agency reported that the missile launches occurred off the country’s west coast on Sunday in the presence of leader Kim Jong-un. State media shared photos of the missiles being fired and hitting a target.

It said Kim expressed “great...

The Philippines’ largest-ever education budget has been hailed by teachers and education advocates, but many have also warned that money alone cannot reverse years of weak learning outcomes and chronic teacher and classroom shortages.

Last month, the Senate approved a 1.37 trillion peso (US$23 billion) allocation for education, the largest in the country’s history.

It is equivalent to about 4 per cent of the Philippines’ gross domestic product, aligning for the first time with UN recommendations...

A 5-year-old boy died after his right arm became trapped in a moving walkway at a resort in northern Japan on Sunday, local authorities said.

Firefighters said they received an emergency call from the boy’s mother at about 10am saying he was trapped on the autowalk in Otaru, Hokkaido. The victim was identified as Hinata Goto, who lived in Sapporo, a major city neighbouring Otaru.

The boy fell as he was trying to get off the walkway, which connects the facility’s car park and the ski slope,...

Political parties in Thailand on Sunday registered their candidates for the next prime minister, marking the unofficial start of campaigning for the February 8, 2026 general election.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved Parliament earlier this month to call early polls, after the main opposition party prepared to seek a no-confidence vote over constitutional change. Calling a new election allows Anutin and his Bhumjaithai Party to build up their numbers in the House of Representatives...