Asia - South China Morning Post

A cluster of tremors off Japan’s northeastern coast has raised alarms among seismologists, as a new government study warns that up to 199,000 people could be killed if a magnitude 9 earthquake strikes.

The most recent quake, a magnitude 4 offshore tremor recorded on Monday morning off eastern Hokkaido, was small and caused no reported damage.

Yet authorities are urging residents to remain vigilant and review their evacuation plans after a succession of smaller offshore quakes in recent days off...

A bystander who rushed towards and disarmed one of the Bondi Beach attackers has won praise from leaders around the world.

Extraordinary footage of the civilian’s actions began circulating on social media on Sunday, shortly after two men, later identified as a father and son, started shooting into a crowd gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah.

The massacre has left at least 16 people dead in the worst terrorist attack in Australia’s history. Officials have described the shooting on...

As the holiday season approaches in the United States, the rush for Christmas gifts is straining manufacturers thousands of kilometres away in Southeast Asia, where supply chain shocks triggered by US tariffs are hitting exports of everything from mittens and headphones to toys.

Manufacturers have spent much of the past year trying to adapt to the tariffs, which have driven up production and logistics costs while also disrupting delivery schedules. Now, the seasonal demand spike has only served...

Thailand’s military has said it is considering blocking fuel exports to Cambodia, as fighting between the two countries spread to coastal areas of a disputed border region two days after US President Donald Trump said the sides had agreed to a new ceasefire.

The Southeast Asian neighbours have resorted to arms several times this year since a Cambodian soldier was killed in a May skirmish, reigniting a conflict that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Thai...

World leaders voiced horror and revulsion at Sunday’s mass shooting in which 15 people were killed and dozens injured at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the “shocking and distressing” attack, which Australian police are calling a “terrorist” incident, was “beyond comprehension”, after assailants fired on a gathering celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog condemned what he called a “very cruel attack on Jews” by “vile...

Following the deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Australia of not taking decisive action to tackle antisemitism.

Netanyahu said in a statement that he had warned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a letter four months ago, stating that “the Australian government’s policy was promoting and encouraging antisemitism in Australia”.

Australia and other leading nations formally recognised the State of...

Days after Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and sparking the devastating war in Gaza, an inverted red triangle was spray-painted on the front of a Jewish bakery in Sydney.

It was the first of a string of antisemitic incidents in Australia.

Sixteen months and thousands of arson, firebombing, graffiti and hate-speech incidents later, the head of the nation’s main intelligence agency declared that antisemitism was his number one priority in terms of threat to...

A plunder complaint filed against Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has reopened scrutiny of her use of “confidential funds” and opened a new legal front in a political stand-off that could shape the early dynamics of the 2028 presidential race.

A highly placed source, who told This Week in Asia about the complaint a week before it was filed, said the move was intended to blunt Duterte-Carpio’s prospects in the 2028 presidential election by tying her down in a prolonged...

Australian police said on Monday that the alleged gunmen behind an attack at a Jewish celebration in Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 15 people were a father and son duo. One of the gunmen was also killed, bringing the death toll to 16.

It was the country’s worst gun attack in about 30 years. The father, a 50-year-old, was killed at the scene, while his 24-year-old son was in critical condition in hospital, police said at a press conference on Monday.

Officials have described the shooting on...

Thailand on Sunday announced its first civilian death in a week of fighting with Cambodia, as international efforts fail to stop violence that has forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

The latest killing comes a day after Bangkok denied US President Donald Trump’s claim that a truce had been agreed between the Southeast Asian neighbours.

The border clashes, rooted in a colonial-era demarcation dispute along the two nations’ 800km (500 miles) border, have displaced around 800,000 people,...