Asia - South China Morning Post

The chairman of a Cambodia-based conglomerate indicted by US authorities over alleged large-scale investment fraud and money laundering had acquired a luxury property in Tokyo as his residence, Japanese corporate registration documents showed on Monday.

Chen Zhi, a Cambodian national of Chinese descent who heads Prince Holding Group, established Prince Group in the Japanese capital in 2022 and is believed to have sought long-term residence status in Japan by starting his own business.

The US...

A Japanese woman in her 50s has been indicted without detention for forcing a kiss on Jin of BTS during a public fan event last year.

The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office said that the suspect was charged on Monday with indecent assault.

She is accused of approaching Jin (real name Kim Seok-jin) during a fan meeting held at Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul’s Songpa district in June last year, shortly after he completed his military service. She forced a kiss on Jin’s cheek without...

Washington’s approval for South Korea to build nuclear-powered submarines has become a turning point in the alliance, analysts say, one that is already pushing Seoul towards a more explicit role in the United States’ broader Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China.

As the US military reframes the region around a “strategic triangle” linking South Korea, Japan and the Philippines, observers say Washington has begun naming its price for its endorsement of the submarine project – pressing Seoul to...

Thailand’s Supreme Court ordered jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Monday to pay back taxes over the sale of his telecoms firm, the judiciary said, with reports putting the sum due at around half a billion dollars.

In 2006, Thaksin was dogged by corruption allegations and mired in controversy over the tax-free sale of shares in his company, Shin Corporation.

Later that year he was ousted as prime minister in a coup and then went into exile for more than a decade.

The 76-year-old...

The EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Australian government said in a joint statement on Monday they would deepen cooperation on critical raw materials, as Western powers scramble to cut their reliance on China.

With the exception of Japan, Group of Seven (G7) countries and the EU are heavily or exclusively reliant on China for a range of materials from rare earth magnets to battery metals.

European officials and industry sources say financing remains a key hurdle in the bloc’s efforts...

Two of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s most senior cabinet members have resigned, as mass protests and corruption allegations intensify pressure on his embattled administration over the widening flood control corruption scandal.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman quit late on Monday, days after being implicated in the scandal by fugitive ex-lawmaker and former Marcos ally Zaldy Co.

The resignations came as a rally, which started on Sunday and...

A fatal accident involving a bus filled with Indian pilgrims killed at least 45 people near Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Medina, Indian police said on Monday, one of the deadliest crashes in the Gulf kingdom in years.

“The tragic bus accident involving Indian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia is deeply distressing,” V.C. Sajjanar, police commissioner for the city of Hyderabad, where many of the Indian citizens were reported to have come from, told reporters.

“According to preliminary information, 46...

The new speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives has pledged to push through a long-stalled law banning political dynasties – despite hailing from one of the country’s most prominent clans and sharing the chamber with multiple relatives.

Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, elected speaker in September with near-unanimous support, told lawmakers on November 11 that he would prioritise legislation to finally implement the constitution’s ban on dynasties.

Observers say the move could address public...

A 26-year-old Australian man who rushed at Wicked star Ariana Grande during a premiere in Singapore was sentenced to nine days’ jail on Monday for public nuisance.

In delivering the sentence, District Judge Christopher Goh told Johnson Wen that he was “attention-seeking” and had wrongly assumed his actions in Singapore would escape consequence.

Wen, who has been remanded since November 14, pleaded guilty to one charge of causing annoyance to the public by causing a commotion during the Singapore...

A Bangladesh tribunal sentenced ousted former leader Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia on Monday, ruling she should be hanged for crimes against humanity committed during a crackdown on student-led protests that triggered the downfall of her 15-year regime.

She was also given a life sentence on charges including incitement, ordering, and failure to prevent atrocities.

Hasina, 78, who has lived in self-exile in India since fleeing Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, was found guilty of three counts...