Asia - South China Morning Post

Singapore’s government said on Friday that scammers will face mandatory caning of up to 24 strokes from December 30, under changes to criminal law to deter surging fraud cases.

The changes, passed by parliament last month, strengthen penalties that already include imprisonment and fines. The Home Affairs Ministry said the enhanced punishment “ensure that our criminal laws remain effective, fair, and responsive to emerging challenges”.

Under the changes, scammers, including recruiters and members...

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised interest rates on Friday to levels unseen in three decades and signalled its readiness for further hikes, taking another landmark step in ending decades of huge monetary support and near-zero borrowing costs.

It also removed language that growth and inflation will stagnate due to the impact of higher US tariffs, underscoring the central bank’s conviction that Japan was on course to stably hit its 2 per cent inflation target backed by wage gains, and ready for a...

A Malaysian police officer’s superhero moment has gone viral after dashcam footage showed him wrenching open a suspect’s car door with his bare hands during a chase.

The two-minute clip, widely shared on social media, shows a car being driven against the flow of traffic on a busy road in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah on Malaysian Borneo, before it is intercepted by police.

In the video, the suspect’s vehicle screeches to a halt as an officer repeatedly orders the driver to step out. When...

This week, exactly six years ago, as we were gliding cheerfully into the 2019 festive Christmas season, the Covid-19 virus was spreading in Wuhan, China. I was preparing for an important Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Australia in February (the last overseas trip I would make for three years), oblivious to the looming pandemic.

The world in general had no inkling of the terrible three years that would follow, with death estimates ranging from 7 million to 36 million, over 700...

Russia has dismissed reports of its nationals fighting for Cambodia in the escalating border clash with Thailand, saying the “unfounded assertions undermine” the traditionally friendly ties between Moscow and Bangkok.

The Russian embassy in the Southeast Asian kingdom said in a social media post on Monday that the claims emerged from outside Thailand.

Thailand and Cambodia are locked in a deadly conflict that has killed dozens and displaced hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the...

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1. Bali fumes at frugal tourists who spend time but less money

Locals in the Indonesian holiday hotspot of Bali have urged authorities to filter out cost-conscious travellers who spend more time but less money on the island, in a shift towards quality tourism.

2. ‘Can’t allow this to continue’: Japan’s tax-free tourist shopping under fire

A group of...

Extremist movements in the Philippines have come under scrutiny since it was revealed that two suspected terrorists had visited the country weeks before they killed 15 people in Australia, but observers argue that such threats have waned and officials should avoid “overreach” in linking the case.

Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, had allegedly opened fire on people at Sydney’s Bondi Beach during a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday. The older man was killed while Naveed was in critical...

The Philippines is lagging behind its Southeast Asian peers in winning back Chinese tourists, with arrivals still only a fraction of pre-pandemic levels, according to new regional research.

Just over 312,000 Chinese tourists visited the Philippines in 2024, equivalent to about 18 per cent of 2019’s visitor numbers, the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (Amro) said in a publication released on Thursday.

Chinese visitors accounted for only 5 per cent of the country’s international tourist...

The Myanmar junta’s recent air strikes on a hospital just days before a general election this month are aimed at securing more territory and “intimidating” voters while major powers look the other way due to their own economic and strategic interests, according to analysts.

The country’s junta said last Wednesday’s air strikes on a hospital in Mrauk-U in the western state of Rakhine were part of a counterterrorism operation targeting armed groups using the facility as a base for their...

The need for a flexible mindset, long-term investment and cooperation between Asian nations as the world embraces more sustainable ways to produce, distribute and consume energy were the key action points from top-level discussions involving policymakers and industry leaders.

The three-day Energy Asia 2025 forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, hosted by the Malaysian energy company, Petronas, examined how Asia can meet its soaring energy needs while advancing its climate goals, a difficult balance...