Asia - South China Morning Post

An Indonesian domestic worker forced into unpaid labour was rescued by Malaysia’s Immigration Department after a raid at a home in Batu Caves, Selangor state.

In a statement on Wednesday, immigration director general Zakaria Shaaban said the victim was rescued during an operation on Monday.

He said the operation followed information gathered by sources.

“During the inspection, the woman was found hiding under a four-wheel drive vehicle at the premises,” he said.

Zakaria said investigations...

Italian TV personality Alberto Mondi has apologised for comments that sparked controversy over historical distortion involving South Korea and Japan.

Posting on his social media on Wednesday, Alberto said, “I sincerely apologise for causing concern with my remarks in the recently released Team354 video. I deeply reflect on the discomfort and disappointment my shortcomings have caused.”

He added that historical issues between South Korea and Japan carry “pain and memories for many people” and...

A mounting series of corruption and influence-peddling allegations against South Korea’s former first lady, Kim Keon-hee, is fuelling accusations that an unelected figure exerted unlawful control over state affairs.

Investigators and analysts alike now question whether Kim leveraged her proximity to the presidency to meddle in personnel appointments and criminal investigations – including one targeting herself – and may even have influenced her husband Yoon Suk-yeol’s ill-fated martial law...

The dust has yet to settle despite the conclusion of the 47th Asean Summit under Malaysia, which remains the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the remainder of the year.

There are two main takeaways from the Kuala Lumpur meetings. First, by most objective measures, Malaysia has successfully pulled off not only the summit but its year-long chairmanship, steering several initiatives long in the making past the finish line.

One of the most consequential is the formal admission...

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers is urging Donald Trump’s administration to reject Myanmar’s “sham” elections next month, days after the administration cited the country’s electoral progress as grounds to remove legal protections for Myanmar nationals in the US.

“Burma’s planned elections this December are proving to be a sham,” said Representatives Brian Mast and Gregory Meeks and Senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen on Wednesday, using the former name for the war-torn country.

“Orchestrated...

South Korea launched its largest satellite yet on its nationally developed space rocket early on Thursday, the fourth of six planned launches through 2027.

The three-stage Nuri rocket lifted off from the country’s spaceport on an island off the southwestern coastal county of Goheung.

Aerospace officials said the rocket placed a 516kg (1,137-pound) science satellite and 12 microsatellites into a target orbit about 600km (372 miles) above Earth.

The Korea Aerospace Administration said the main...

A former prominent lawmaker now in hiding has released new videos accusing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s family of orchestrating massive corruption, escalating a scandal that is fast becoming a test of accountability for one of Southeast Asia’s most politically influential dynasties.

Observers told This Week in Asia that although Zaldy Co’s allegations remained unverified and required rigorous fact-checking, they struck at the core of a system where budget power, patronage and...

History rarely announces its turning points. More often, we wake up to find that the world we assumed was fixed has begun to shift beneath our feet. That is happening now.

Artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and space infrastructure are advancing at a pace that stretches our political instincts – even our imagination. Each is transformative on its own. Together, they are becoming the new architecture of global power, an engine that will determine which nations shape the century ahead...

Anti-corruption authorities in Bangladesh have seized about 10kg (22 pounds) of gold worth about US$1.3 million from bank lockers belonging to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, officials said on Wednesday.

Officials from the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the National Board of Revenue said the discovery was made after opening lockers that had been seized in September.

“Following a court order, we opened the lockers and found about 9.7 kilograms of gold belonging to the former prime...

Rescuers recovered more bodies in the search for dozens of people buried under landslides or swept away after torrential rains unleashed flash floods and triggered landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, increasing the death toll to 17 and leaving six people missing, officials said on Wednesday.

Rescue teams were struggling to reach affected areas in six regencies of North Sumatra province after the monsoon rains over the past week caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through hilly...