Asia - South China Morning Post

A decision by a unit of the largest lawyers’ group in the Philippines to honour former president Rodrigo Duterte with an award to recognise his decades of legal service has ignited fierce backlash, with critics calling it an affront to the thousands killed during his bloody war on drugs.

While legal experts noted the award was a routine procedure, rights advocates have slammed it as deeply inappropriate given Duterte’s ongoing detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the gravity...

A major cyberattack has crippled the operations of Japanese beverage giant Asahi Group Holdings.

The hacking, claimed by the Russian-speaking ransomware group Qilin, has forced the company to stop nationwide production, leading to major supply chain disruptions. Asahi has been forced to manually process orders since the attack was disclosed on September 29.

Asahi is working with outside specialists to restore its computer systems. But the company has yet to announce when it will resume full...

The body found stuffed in a suitcase at the Ampang Jajar Flats on Jalan Permatang Pauh in Butterworth, Malaysia’s Penang state on Thursday has been identified.

Sinar Harian reported that the victim has been identified as Lee Boon Han, 31, who worked as an insurance agent.

He was reported missing on Wednesday when he could not be contacted after leaving for Perlis on a work-related trip.

The victim’s 69-year-old father, who works as a trader, lodged a police report.

He was seen at the Forensic...

Two powerful offshore earthquakes struck the same region in the southern Philippines hours apart on Friday, with the first 7.4 magnitude temblor killing at least seven people, setting off landslides and prompting evacuations of coastal areas nearby because of a brief tsunami scare.

The second one had a preliminary 6.8 magnitude and also sparked a local tsunami warning by authorities. It was caused by movement in the same fault line, the Philippine Trench, at a depth of 37 km (23 miles) off Manay...

A 22-year-old South Korean college student who travelled to Cambodia during the summer holiday was found dead two weeks after his departure, reportedly after being kidnapped and tortured by a local crime group. Authorities said the student died of cardiac arrest caused by severe torture.

According to police and family members, the student, identified only by his surname A, left his home in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang province on July 17, telling his family he was going to attend an exhibition in...

South Korea should adhere to pragmatic diplomacy to safeguard its national interests as Washington steps up pressure on Seoul to clarify its role in countering China, analysts have said.

They warned that leaning too far towards the United States under a transactional President Donald Trump could trap South Korea diplomatically and leave it with little room to manoeuvre amid growing global uncertainty.

The warnings came in response to remarks by a senior Pentagon official, who said on Tuesday...

Sanae Takaichi’s victory in Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership race marks not just the rise of the country’s first female prime minister in waiting, but also a symbolic shift in Japan’s ideological compass.

Long known as a staunch conservative and nationalist, Takaichi’s ascent signals the possible end of the centrist pragmatism that characterised the Shinzo Abe and Fumio Kishida years. Her win sets Japan on a trajectory that could reshape its domestic economy, foreign policy and...

The “Asean plus three” group of countries achieved solid economic growth in the first half of 2025, but unpredictable policy shifts in the United States could still send tremors through the region this year, a top economic surveillance body said.

Growth in the grouping – the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, along with China, Japan and South Korea – is projected to reach 4.1 per cent in 2025, the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) said in a new quarterly...

Japan’s scientific community is celebrating two Nobel wins this week, but the accolades have also reignited concern over the country’s ability to retain its top researchers amid growing competition from overseas.

The wins have renewed scrutiny of the country’s research system, with observers citing poor funding, job insecurity and rigid institutions as factors driving talent abroad – particularly to China.

On Monday, the Nobel Assembly announced that Shimon Sakaguchi and two American colleagues...

After years of rapid expansion, Chinese carmaker BYD saw sales fall for the first time in over five years in the third quarter of this year on an annual basis. Amid fierce competition at home, BYD’s vehicle sales in September alone fell by 5.5 per cent year on year. This comes after a 30 per cent profit drop in the second quarter.

The company’s sales and profit drops reflect the fortunes of many other Chinese carmakers as domestic demand for electric vehicles slows. But what does this mean for...