Asia - South China Morning Post

Google’s YouTube said it would obey Australia’s world-leading ban on social media accounts for children under 16, a capitulation which means all the most popular platforms with young users have agreed to comply after campaigning against the law.

Google initially received an exemption on grounds its main purpose was video viewing and education, not social networking. Canberra later broadened the scope of the ban to include it following complaints by other platforms.

“We will comply with the law...

A year after former president Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is pushing ahead with a bill to create a separate court dedicated to handling cases linked to the decree, in response to widespread public distrust of what critics describe as a “biased” judiciary.

President Lee Jae-myung warned on social media ahead of the December 3 anniversary of the decree: “If we leave hidden acts of insurrection as they are, insurrection will certainly...

With domestic profits narrowing and production capacity expanding, China’s firms are continuing to widen their overseas footprints in search of new, more lucrative markets. In this series, we examine China Inc.’s next phase of “going global” and the complex, challenging international environment its companies have chosen to enter.

China, known as the “world’s factory” after decades spent manufacturing and shipping much of the world’s consumer goods, is now going a step further: as a number of...

India’s aviation regulator said on Tuesday it was investigating Air India after the airline operated an aircraft eight times without a valid airworthiness review certificate, a document issued annually that ensures compliance with safety standards.

The regulator did not name the aircraft type but its news release’s title referenced the registration code of an Airbus A320, and a person with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed the case in fact concerned the single-aisle jet.

Airbus did not...

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s sweeping effort to modernise Saudi Arabia’s economy draws direct inspiration from the Singapore model pioneered by Lee Kuan Yew, a senior Saudi political adviser has said.

Mohammed Khalid Alyahya, an adviser to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, described the late Singaporean leader’s pragmatic and results-driven governance as a template for Riyadh’s ambitions.

“We have studied [Singapore] for 50 years – the way the country has invested in...

The Philippines deferred the awarding of a project that is part of a plan to build one of the world’s longest marine bridges after local opposition over the potential involvement of a Chinese company due to national security fears.

The proposals were “undergoing thorough review” by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which acts as a lender and an overseer of the project to ensure it meets international environmental and governance standards, Manila’s public works department said in a statement on...

A man who had been married for 15 years secretly wed again in Sarawak, Malaysia, and fathered two more children, all the while keeping this second family from his wife and two kids in Singapore.

Ng Teong Min’s deception lasted 30 years from 1995 until August this year, when a whistle-blower exposed his double life in an email to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.

The 67-year-old pleaded guilty to the offence of bigamy and was sentenced to one year and five months’ jail on Tuesday.

Ng,...

The better-than-expected growth of India’s economy, driven by strong performance in the domestic consumer and manufacturing sectors, highlights its near-term resilience despite a slowdown in exports and US import tariffs.

While India’s 8.2 per cent year-on-year growth figure in the July to September quarter was the fastest among major economies, analysts warn that the headline numbers may not provide a true picture of the challenges it faces.

Private consumer spending, which accounts for more...

As the floods recede in southern Thailand, close to 820,000 households are facing the daunting task of having to clear mud and debris brought in by raging waters that have reached as high as three metres (10 feet) in some places.

One man, however, has been spared the necessity of cleaning up: Wicharit Leelakorn, owner of what has been dubbed “the only dry house in Songkhla”.

Wicharit attracted the attention of social media users after he posted photos of his house on the outskirts of Hat Yai in...

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday vowed not to interfere in corruption investigations into his own political appointees, after a slew of allegations were levelled at close government aides.

Last week, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, a senior political secretary to the Prime Minister, was implicated in a mining scandal in the state of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo.

Shamsul, who resigned from his post just hours after the revelation last Tuesday, is currently being held on remand by the...