Asia - South China Morning Post

A decision on Monday by Singapore’s government to preserve as a national monument the site of the family home of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew is an expected outcome nearly a decade in the making, according to observers.

They also say it is still too early to tell if the latest resolution marked the end of a public feud between former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong and his younger brother Lee Hsien Yang, centred on whether 38 Oxley Road should be demolished.

Following patriarch Lee’s...

A 69-year-old man in Singapore was sentenced to 20 years’ jail on Monday for raping his step-granddaughter and sexually assaulting her repeatedly when she was between nine and 10 years old.

The victim, who later developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and engaged in self-harm, was in the care of her grandmother as her father was in jail and her mother was not in the picture.

The man pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of raping a minor and another of sexual assault by penetration of a...

The fragile ceasefire in Gaza has rekindled hope for a group of young women whose dreams of higher education were crushed by war.

While sporadic violence continues to threaten the US-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas, the lull has revived efforts by the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Bangladesh to evacuate students from the conflict zone and give them a chance to study again.

Kamal Ahmad, AUW’s founder, said the university remained determined to bring students from Gaza to its...

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the demilitarised zone (DMZ) along the border with North Korea as part of a trip to South Korea on Monday, South Korea’s defence ministry said.

His visit to the heavily fortified DMZ came ahead of talks expected to involve Washington’s goal of reshaping the role of US troops in South Korea.

Hegseth landed in the border area in a US Army helicopter and met South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back, according to footage released by the South Korean...

Thailand and Cambodia have begun withdrawing heavy weapons and conducting demining operations along their contested border as part of steps to de-escalate tensions following last week’s signing of an extended truce, Thai officials said on Monday.

The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia signed an enhanced ceasefire deal last week in Kuala Lumpur in the presence of US President Donald Trump, three months after border tensions between the two countries exploded into a deadly five-day...

It’s the textbook investment strategy – save consistently and let time and compound interest do its work. That is what Carl Edison Balagtas did in 2016 when he started socking half of his monthly salary into the Philippines stock market in hopes of securing his future.

Ten years on, that strategy did not just fall short – it turned out to be one of the worst investment decisions the Manila-based lawyer could’ve made. “I was hoping the stock market would be the vehicle to achieve my goal, but it...

The Philippines has tripled its patrol area in the South China Sea in what analysts describe as a shift in focus from reactive protests to proactive maritime control in response to China’s escalating territorial claims.

The expanded missions reflect a move by Manila to close long-standing coordination gaps between military and civilian agencies, particularly after Beijing recently declared a “marine protected area” at Scarborough Shoal, a flashpoint in the two countries’ maritime dispute,...

South Korea’s bid to reboot ties with China and deepen trade links while strengthening its military alliance with the United States has stirred warnings of renewed pressure from both powers, with last week’s Apec summit underscoring the fragility of Seoul’s balancing act.

President Lee Jae-myung’s meetings with his Chinese and American counterparts, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, have been hailed as diplomatic wins.

However, analysts say Seoul could pay a steep price for trying to hedge between...

Malaysian police have charged controversial rapper and filmmaker Namewee with drug possession following media reports that he was found in a Kuala Lumpur hotel room where a Taiwanese influencer was later discovered dead.

The 42-year-old celebrity, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, was arrested on October 22, at a hotel in the city centre, police said in a statement released on Monday.

“During the search of the hotel room, police discovered nine blue pills suspected to be Ecstasy, weighing around...

A truck loaded with concrete stone chips rammed into a passenger bus in southern India early on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring about two dozen, local authorities said.

The state-run transport bus was carrying around 70 passengers en route to Hyderabad city in southern Telangana state when a truck coming from the opposite direction collided with it near the town of Chevalla, local district official K. Chandrakala said.

The front of the bus was badly mangled, trapping several...