Asia - South China Morning Post

The owners of an Indian nightclub in the tourist hotspot of Goa fled the country hours after a deadly fire at their business killed 25 people at the weekend, police have said.

Most of the victims of the tragedy that struck a club in Arpora in the north of the coastal state were staff members, including four Nepali citizens.

The blaze was likely triggered by “electrical firecrackers”, officials said, with most people dying due to suffocation in the basement and kitchen area after wooden parts of...

Kim, a 31-year-old office worker in Seoul, said she recently moved into a goshiwon near her workplace because she could not keep up with rising studio flat rents.

Goshiwon are dormitory-style accommodation often used by students or low-wage workers who need minimal living space at low cost. They often have shared kitchen and bathroom facilities, rooms are small, and some lack basic amenities such as windows.

Kim lived in a goshiwon when she first moved to the South Korean capital from her...

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

1. Thailand launches air strikes on Cambodia after soldier killed

Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodian military positions on Monday after a Thai soldier was killed, pushing a shaky US-brokered truce to the brink of collapse as it vowed to cripple its neighbour’s...

A 24-year-old fighter from Myanmar’s pro-democracy People’s Defence Force has said many of those who fight alongside him have switched sides at times in the long-running civil war, with a lack of financial compensation forcing them to temporarily side with a junta-aligned armed group.

The fighter, who identified himself only as Soe, joined the PDF to “regain democracy” after the military coup of February 1, 2021, which ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Formerly a physics major...

At least 10 people have been killed as fighting fanned across the long Thai-Cambodian border, officials said on Tuesday, driving tens of thousands of civilians from their homes as both nations ignored a White House warning to end the bloodshed.

The latest escalation has shattered a shaky US-steered truce that had largely held since late October, when Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian leader Hun Manet agreed to halt hostilities under a deal witnessed by US President Donald...

Singapore’s approach to curbing foreign interference and cybercrime is being tested by the sheer speed and borderless nature of online threats, according to analysts who say the city state’s legal powers provide important safeguards but are unlikely to fully keep pace with a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

They note that while swift takedown orders and targeted legislation have strengthened Singapore’s defences against misinformation and coordinated online harms, long-term resilience would...

The fate of the “panda on the scooter” is hanging in the balance.

The artwork, modified by a Chinese artist at Chew Jetty in Malaysia’s Penang state, has yet to be legalised although an application was made a month ago.

The Chinese tourist, known as Shen Shishi or Shi Shi, had painted a panda onto an existing mural on a wall at the jetty.

The panda has surprisingly become an additional attraction at the usually busy tourist hub, with more people flocking there.

The panda mural triggered online...

A career-ending revelation about an actor’s teenage crimes has plunged South Korea into a soul-searching debate over justice, redemption and the ethics of public shaming in the digital age.

Cho Jin-woong, 49, long celebrated for his commanding on-screen portrayals of justice-seeking figures, came under intense scrutiny last week after a tabloid outlet reported that he had been sent to a juvenile detention centre in high school for robbery and sexual assault.

The report also included unverified...

A former spokesman for Rodrigo Duterte has claimed that the International Criminal Court is preparing to arrest two of the ex-Philippine leader’s closest allies over his administration’s bloody war on drugs.

Harry Roque told This Week in Asia that President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr intended to use such arrests to “destroy the [political] opposition”, arguing that clearing Duterte-allied senators from the chamber would secure the votes Marcos needed to oust Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio – his...

More than six decades after British historian AJP Taylor termed war the “mother of invention”, economies around the world appear to be ramping up their military spending, at least in part, to reinvigorate industrial production.

Taylor was referring to the genesis of the tank, the aeroplane and poison gas in World War I, and that of radar, the jet engine and the atomic bomb in World War II. More modern examples, such as satellite-based navigation systems and the internet, were the products of the...