Asia - South China Morning Post

Amid the diplomatic fallout between Tokyo and Beijing, Hunanese accountant Echo He feels relieved she has chosen Southeast Asia for her year-end trip with her husband and colleagues, instead of the popular choice, Japan.

The latest spat between both nations arose on November 7 when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested her country could deploy its military forces in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait.

This infuriated Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited...

Recent weeks have seen a sharp decline in Sino-Japanese people-to-people exchanges. All flights on 12 routes from mainland Chinese cities to Japan had been cancelled as of November 24, reportedly due to low demand. According to the Civil Aviation Data Analysis System, some 12 per cent of flights between China and Japan scheduled between November 24 and January 18 have been cancelled. On some routes, more than half have been cancelled.

Chinese tourists, Japan’s largest inbound group, had...

As the pieces of Thailand’s political puzzle begin to fall into place ahead of an election set for early next year, the third incarnation of a reformist party that won the most votes last time around is seeking a repeat performance.

But the People’s Party, whose predecessor was not only denied the chance to govern but ultimately dissolved by the Constitutional Court last year for attempting to reform the country’s royal defamation law, has a steep hill to climb.

Conservative forces and the...

Despite years of policy interventions, air pollution in India is rapidly getting worse. By the middle of this month, cities including the capital New Delhi were seeing air quality readings at hazardous levels. A 2024 IQ Air report found India’s particulate matter (PM2.5) levels to be more than 10 times the World Health Organization’s safe limit.

In the north, pollution mainly comes from traffic, construction dust, industry and seasonal stubble burning. What began as an environmental issue is now...

After wowing World Expo visitors, a human washing machine is now on sale in Japan, a company spokeswoman said on Friday.

Users lie down in the pod, close the lid and get cleaned like clothes in a washing machine – but without the spin – while music plays.

A prototype of the device, called the human washer of the future, attracted long queues at the six-month Expo that wrapped up in Osaka in October after welcoming over 27 million people.

Made by Japanese firm Science, the device is an update of...

A Chinese man allegedly attempting to cross illegally into Thailand from Cambodia was injured on Saturday when he stepped on a landmine, the Thai army announced, reiterating its charges that Cambodian forces have been planting the anti-personnel weapons in territory claimed by both countries.

Army Spokesperson Major General Winthai Suvaree was quoted as saying that the area where the incident took place, claimed by Thailand to be part of its eastern province of Sa Kaeo, “is contaminated with...

The death toll from devastating floods and landslides in Southeast Asia climbed past 370 on Saturday as clean-up and search and rescue operations got under way in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Heavy monsoon rain overwhelmed swathes of the three countries this week, killing hundreds and leaving thousands stranded, many on rooftops awaiting rescue.

Rescuers in Indonesia were struggling to reach the worst-affected areas of Sumatra island, where more than 100 people were still missing.

Flooding...

The death toll from heavy floods and mudslides caused by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka has risen to 153, with 191 people still missing, authorities said on Saturday.

The extreme weather has destroyed more than 20,000 homes, sending 108,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) reported.

A further 798,000 people required help after being temporarily displaced by the floods, DMC spokesman Pradeep Kodippili said.

The death toll is expected to rise. Social media...

Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia’s health deteriorated since being admitted to hospital, prompting her family and party members to urge citizens to pray for her speedy recovery on Saturday.

Zia, 80, was admitted to hospital on November 23 with symptoms of a lung infection and was currently undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit, members of her party said.

Mirza Fakhrul Alamgir, from Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), told reporters late Friday that “doctors have told...

In Pakistan, a nation where power often seems to serve itself above all else, the latest constitutional overhaul has been received with a weary sense of resignation.

Pushed through parliament on November 13 with barely a murmur of opposition, the 27th amendment to the country’s 1973 constitution made two major changes: splitting the Supreme Court into separate appellate and constitutional benches, and upgrading the army chief of staff to overall commander of Pakistan’s armed forces.

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