Asia - South China Morning Post

The Bali heat proved too much for Zhang Min, a 30-year-old tourist from Chengdu, one afternoon last month. She had made it to a cliff above one of the Indonesian holiday destination’s most sought-after scenic spots, but was exhausted by the journey.

“The roads are really poor,” Zhang said as her group stopped above the T. Rex-shaped headland – a unique land mass that has made Kelingking one of the world’s most photographed beaches.

Her group opted against hiking down a steep, sun-exposed trail...

Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner Jnr has revealed he recently rebuffed a group of eight retired generals and colonels who urged him to tackle rampant corruption in the country, a call sources have described as a push for a “soft coup” to withdraw support from President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and back Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio.

General Brawner, who spoke to This Week in Asia after a briefing with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) on Friday, said the...

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is the world’s largest trade bloc. Including all 10 economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), mainland China, Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, the group contributes to 30 per cent of global gross domestic product and over 25 per cent of global exports.

In September, Asean’s economic ministers issued a joint statement affirming their desire to accelerate the addition of four new members into the RCEP –...

India’s leading body of pilots has asked the civil aviation regulator to inspect all Boeing 787 Dreamliners operating in the country for electrical issues after one of the planes abruptly deployed an emergency power system mid-air over the weekend.

The device, a small propeller that acts as a backup generator and is known as the ram air turbine, or RAT, normally would be activated when an aircraft’s engines lose power, its hydraulic systems register critically low pressure or its electrical...

Sanae Takaichi is poised to make history as Japan’s first female prime minister, but her government may be imperilled before it even begins amid a deepening rift within the ruling coalition.

The Liberal Democratic Party Takaichi now leads and its long-time junior partner, Komeito, have been in coalition for 26 years. Without Komeito’s parliamentary support, the LDP would lose its majority in the Diet, forcing its leader to seek new political allies.

Yet analysts warn that Takaichi’s hardline...

A viral video of an interaction between a fitness influencer and an elderly toilet cleaner in Singapore has sparked discourse on the city state’s work culture for seniors.

In the Instagram clip, Jaden Laing, an Australian strongman, greets the older man, who is dressed in his work uniform, in a washroom. The latter shares that he is 91 years old and on a 12-hour shift that would end at 7pm.

“How are you so healthy?” asks Laing, who follows up with questions on the man’s exercise routine. The...

With Sanae Takaichi poised to become Japan’s first female prime minister, economists warn her policies may have “mixed” results: expansionary measures that spur growth but exacerbate fiscal strain, and coalition partners who temper a more hawkish stance on China amid a push for higher military spending.

The 64-year-old conservative was elected leader of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Saturday, paving the way for her to become the next prime minister as head of a coalition government –...

Shimon Sakaguchi, the Japanese immunologist who won this year’s Nobel Prize in medicine, said on Monday he hoped the award would help further advance research and patient care.

“I sincerely hope that this award will serve as an opportunity for this field to develop further … in a direction where it can be applied in actual bedside and clinical settings,” Sakaguchi, a 74-year-old distinguished professor at Osaka University, told a news conference.

Sakaguchi was jointly awarded the 2025 Nobel...

Cambodia’s powerful former leader Hun Sen on Monday blasted a social media video of a man shooting at his image during a carnival in Thailand, amid simmering tensions over the nations’ disputed border.

Territorial tensions spiralled in July into the deadliest military clashes between Cambodia and Thailand in decades, killing more than 40 people and forcing around 300,000 to flee their homes.

The two countries agreed to a ceasefire after five days of fighting, and have since repeatedly traded...

Alice Guo, the controversial former mayor linked to a raided scam hub and accused of faking her Philippine citizenship, is facing 70 new criminal complaints along with her relatives, including document fraud and violations of laws barring foreigners from owning property or running businesses.

Analysts say the case highlights how foreign syndicates have exploited gaps in the country’s legal and political systems to gain a foothold in sensitive sectors – from local government to online gambling –...