Asia - South China Morning Post

A Cambodian conglomerate whose founder has had more than US$15 billion of allegedly ill-gotten assets seized said it “categorically rejects” claims he amassed his fortune running an internet scam empire.

A frenzy of asset confiscations in Europe, the United States and Asia has targeted Cambodia’s Prince Holding Group – with authorities alleging its founder Chen Zhi was running a transnational criminal organisation.

The US Justice Department in October unsealed an indictment against the tycoon,...

Yoon Suk-yeol’s former spy chief was arrested on Wednesday on charges of concealing evidence, intensifying the fallout from the ex-president’s failed martial law decree.

Cho Tae-yong, who led South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) until Yoon’s impeachment and removal from office earlier this year, was taken into custody after the Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant citing the risk of evidence destruction.

His arrest marks a major milestone in prosecutors’ efforts to hold...

Malaysian rapper Namewee and the late Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh had a “special relationship”, according to police.

“They are friends and they have other relationships that I will not get into,” Kuala Lumpur police chief Commissioner Fadil Marsus said when he met reporters after a Deepavali celebration at contingent headquarters on Tuesday.

“I do not need to reveal the full extent, but it is a ‘special’ relationship.”

He added that her body has yet to be claimed and police were still...

Foreign content creators planning to film about South Korea are getting a new cautionary note: their words now carry higher stakes.

During a cabinet meeting this week, Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho said the government may restrict entry for foreigners who make hateful or derogatory comments about the country.

“We will review comprehensive measures to restrict entry for foreigners who express hate towards South Korea from overseas,” Jung said.

Under this new enforcement, an influencer whose...

On October 26, East Timor officially acceded to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) at the opening of the annual summit, as the 11th member of the regional bloc.

Known officially as Timor-Leste, the country gained full independence on May 20, 2002, after a United Nations-supervised referendum in 1999. With a population of 1.4 million and its capital in Dili, East Timor is rich in oil and natural gas reserves located in the Timor Sea. The country also exports coffee, vanilla and...

Hong Kong’s luxury residential rents are likely to climb another 3 to 5 per cent next year as growing numbers of returning Western expatriates and home-grown professionals drive demand for high-end accommodation, according to Savills.

Deals were expected to exceed the 660 last year, said Jack Tong, the property consultancy’s director of research. “The outlook remains cautiously positive,” he added.

For next year, Savills expected “stable to gently rising luxury rents as the supply of prime units...

More than 3,500 venomous spiders – including black widows and redbacks – have been exterminated at a US military base in western Japan, alarming residents and officials already struggling with a rise in invasive species across the country.

The record number of spiders, found between July and October at the US Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, included three known venomous species and prompted local authorities to demand urgent action to prevent the infestation from spreading beyond the base’s...

What a difference an administration change makes in Ottawa, even though both the current and preceding governments are from the Liberal Party.

Three years ago, Canada under Justin Trudeau labelled China a “disruptive global power”. Last month, his successor Mark Carney reached agreement with Beijing to revive the strategic partnership the two nations signed in 2005, with Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand saying the framework would be “renewed and refocused”.

“We must be nuanced in our...

The student suspected of detonating blasts that injured dozens of people at a mosque in Indonesia’s capital last week was motivated by vengeance and inspired by attacks carried out by white supremacists and neo-Nazis, police said on Tuesday.

The blasts, which hit a mosque at a school complex in the capital Jakarta’s Kelapa Gading area during Friday prayers, left 96 people injured.

Police said on Tuesday that seven home-made explosives had been found by Indonesian authorities in and around the...

Singapore is leading the AI race in Southeast Asia, a region emerging as an artificial intelligence hotspot as start-ups draw significant investments and major players seek expansion, according to an industry report.

Some 680 AI start-ups attracted more than US$2.3 billion of investments across Southeast Asia in the 12 months to June, accounting for 32 per cent of private funding in the region, research from Google, Singapore’s state investor Temasek and management consultancy Bain & Company...