Asia - South China Morning Post

A million-dollar gold heist in Thailand’s far south by armed robbers who blocked roads with spikes and set explosives to seal their escape across the Malaysian border has rattled the Thai security establishment, as efforts to reignite peace talks in an area roiled by insurgency continue to fall flat.

Around 20 men working in three teams carried out the October 5 theft from a gold shop in Sungai Kolok, bordering Malaysia’s Kelantan State.

The theft of hundreds of gold ornaments and jewellery...

Carbon dioxide emissions are expected to peak globally next year, marking a turning point in the energy transition, with Asia set to play a prominent role in decarbonisation.

The findings were revealed in a report by Rystad Energy released on Thursday, which noted that while the shift to renewable energy had gained momentum, peak oil demand was set to occur only by the 2030s, with near-term demand for fossil fuels including gas likely to be resilient.

Emerging countries such as Pakistan and...

Jensen Huang’s viral meal is driving a sharp rally in South Korea’s fried chicken-related stocks.

The Nvidia CEO shared beers with Samsung Electronics Chair Jay Y. Lee and Hyundai Motor Executive Chair Chung Eui-sun at a local restaurant, Kkanbu Chicken, on Thursday evening.

While Kkanbu is not publicly listed, shares of rival Kyochon F&B surged as much as 20 per cent on Friday after photos and videos of the gathering circulated widely on social media.

South Korean poultry processor Cherrybro...

A new study has found that rainwater in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta contains microplastics and potentially other toxic chemicals harmful to public health, raising alarm over the pervasiveness of such particles in the country’s biome – down to food consumed.

Raindrops were picking up microplastics floating in Jakarta’s air, Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) revealed in its newest study on October 17. Samples of rainwater collected in coastal areas of Jakarta were found to...

The family of a five-year-old boy who died in a school van in Malaysia’s Johor state has filed a negligence lawsuit against five parties, including the education ministry, seeking 2.08 million ringgit (US$495,831) in damages.

The boy’s parents, Teo Jia Meng and Yu Yue Yang, named Tadika Perintis Indah, YK Educational Group, Double Tree Transport, van driver Yau Chee Weng and the ministry as defendants.

Their lawyer, Ng Kian Nam, said the suit was filed over the defendants’ alleged negligence,...

When John’s* parents divorced four years ago, his father turned violent.

“He became an alcoholic, there was a lot of verbal and emotional abuse, and he would lock me out of the house,” said John, now in his 20s, who still lives with his father. “Last April, he broke into my room and beat me with a screwdriver. He tried to hurt me, and he did.”

John reported the case to the police, who asked if he had another place to stay the night. Earlier this year, he applied for a personal protection order...

Few moments in US history have tested academic freedom as much as the present, with US President Donald Trump’s administration releasing a 10-point Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. What started as bureaucratic proposals have hardened into a national doctrine tying federal funding to political conformity. It is changing the nature of US universities and reshaping international education options.

The plan, initially sent to nine universities, proposed conformity with certain...

Brunei has officially adopted China’s civil aviation certification standards, easing access for Chinese-built aircraft such as the narrowbody C919 jet into the wealthy Southeast Asian market while serving as a potential model for how the planes could expand their international reach.

Brunei accepted the airworthiness code of the Civil Aviation Administration of China earlier this month, the Chinese embassy in Brunei said on Monday on its website, citing the equatorial country’s Department of...

A near-incursion by Russian fighter jets into Japanese airspace last week was a bid by Moscow to intimidate Tokyo amid its strengthening ties with Washington, observers warned.

And without a breakthrough in US-Russia relations, few expect Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to make much headway at easing the tension.

Tokyo said it scrambled fighter jets last Friday to monitor Russian warplanes, including nuclear-capable strategic bombers, which had flown close to Japanese airspace along...

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi both stressed on Thursday the importance of “forward-looking ties” as they held their first official talks.

Relations have long suffered over issues related to Japan’s brutal 1910-45 occupation of the Korean peninsula, and there have been concerns that ties could worsen under Takaichi.

“In today’s rapidly changing international and trade environment, South Korea and Japan – as neighbouring countries with so many...