Asia - South China Morning Post

New Zealand authorities said on Sunday that extra aircraft were being sent to fight an out-of-control wildfire that has burnt through around 1,100 hectares (4.2 square miles) of national park in the country’s central North Island.

Firefighters began battling the fire in Tongariro National Park, a popular hiking spot, on Saturday afternoon and around 40 hikers had to be airlifted to safety. However, firefighting efforts were suspended overnight for safety reasons.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand...

With the pace of climate change speeding up, extreme weather and other impacts are taking an increasing toll on populations and environments across the globe. Here are some of the developments this year in climate science.

Warmer, faster

Global temperatures are not just climbing, they are now climbing faster than before, with records logged for 2023 and 2024, and at points in 2025. That finding was part of a key study in June that updated baseline data used in the science reports done every few...

Hundreds of people were missing on Sunday after a boat carrying migrants sank near the Thailand-Malaysia border, the Malaysian maritime authority said.

At least seven bodies have been found, an agency official said.

More victims might still be found at sea some three days after the sinking of the vessel, which left Buthidaung, Myanmar, with about 300 people on board, said First Admiral Romli Mustafa, the maritime authority director of the northern Malaysian states of Kedah and Perlis.

Among...

The death of an eight-year-old girl in Riau province after being trampled by a wild elephant has reignited concern over Indonesia’s worsening human-wildlife conflict, with conservationists warning that shrinking habitats are pushing animals into increasingly dangerous contact with people.

The girl, identified only as Citra, died last Saturday following three days in a coma after suffering severe head injuries in the October 30 incident. She had been fleeing with her family from their wooden home...

Half a century after the fall of Saigon, the United States and Vietnam are edging towards deeper defence cooperation built on shared anxieties about China and Washington’s desire to wean Hanoi off its historical dependence on Russian arms.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived in Hanoi last Sunday for a two-day visit, declaring that establishing stronger security ties would be a win-win.

“Deeper [military] cooperation will benefit both of our countries,” said Hegseth, who had travelled to...

In the lead-up to the 2025 general election, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong received cautionary messages from People’s Action Party (PAP) members and supporters urging him to “be prepared” to lose some seats.

Speaking at the PAP Awards and Convention on Sunday, Wong said these well-wishers had shared various predictions, prompting him to mentally prepare for all possible outcomes.

“When the results came out, the same people who had messaged me earlier said to me: ‘Sorry, we should have...

Super Typhoon Fung-wong slammed into the Philippines’ eastern seaboard on Sunday, the national weather service said, after killing at least two people and forcing more than a million to evacuate vulnerable areas at risk of flash floods, landslides and tidal surges.

The storm crossed over the north of the archipelago’s most populous island Luzon, weather bureau PAGASA said, with torrential rain, sustained winds of 185kph (115 mph) and gusts of up to 230kph (140 mph). It was the 21st storm this...

The head of South Korea’s Red Cross has resigned after being caught on tape making remarks about “dark-skinned” foreign diplomats – a scandal that has sparked public outrage, drawn a rebuke from the president and renewed scrutiny of racial prejudice in an increasingly diverse society.

In the leaked audio, Kim Chul-soo was heard complaining that a recent Red Cross gala had been attended “only [by] the non-significant foreign ambassadors … just the dark-skinned people”, and instructed staff not to...

Melody Liu had been in Singapore for just three days when she blew past her 5,000 yuan (HK$5,450) travel budget – and reached for her long-sleeved hooded shirt with attached visor to brave another day in the sweltering heat.

“I was so shocked when a 10-minute taxi ride cost more than 100 yuan, because it would cost less than 20 yuan back home,” said the 32-year-old from Harbin in China’s northeast. “I knew that Singapore has a high cost of living, but it’s a different matter to experience...

China’s trade has displayed remarkable resilience this year. Its goods trade expanded 4 per cent year on year for the nine months so far in yuan terms, according to customs data. Quarterly growth accelerated from 1.3 per cent at the start of the year, to 4.5 per cent by midyear and finally to 6 per cent. This steady momentum reflects both the robustness of demand and continued refinement of China’s trade structure.

But the regional performance has been uneven. Exports to the United States fell...