Asia - South China Morning Post

The most common pairing in mixed marriages in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta was between local women and American men in the past few years, according to data from the civil registry, reflecting growing acceptance among Indonesians to tie the knot with foreigners.

Among Indonesian men in the city, they preferred to be married to Asians, with Singaporean brides being the largest group.

From 2020 to August 2025, there were 158 marriages between US citizens and Indonesian women, Witri Yenny, the...

Not long ago, the yen was seen as a refuge in times of turmoil. Japanese companies had a reputation for repatriating overseas earnings when sentiment in global markets deteriorated sharply. Japan itself was seen as politically and economically stable, encouraging investors to buy the yen as a hedge against volatility.

Even today, Japan is one of the most attractive markets among the world’s leading economies. The results of Bank of America’s latest Asia Fund Manager Survey on September 16 showed...

Malaysia’s famously pungent durian was a highlight at a gala dinner for Southeast Asian economic ministers this week, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim describing the divisive fruit as a symbol of regional unity.

“Some of you are not yet familiar with durian, but I would strongly suggest that you try it,” Anwar told attendees of the 57th Asean Economic Ministers’ Meeting gala in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday evening, as quoted by Bernama.

“It is like blue cheese – you either like it or you hate...

The global energy transition is an urgent necessity. But the global think tank and NGO World Economic Forum has warned that many challenges, including geopolitical conflicts, supply chain disruptions and economic volatility, have hampered the collective efforts of countries to reach the global goal of net zero – where harmful greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by removing the same amount from the atmosphere – by 2050.

Such delays will only worsen the present-day consequences of climate...

Malaysia lost US$8.5 million in unpaid road tax after politicians and VIPs skipped payments on their Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, a revelation that has triggered public anger over double standards and elite impunity.

Across Asia, anger at elite privilege is boiling, with resentment over the perceived excesses of “nepo babies” toppling the government in Nepal and sparking protests in the Philippines. Indonesians are pushing back against the owners of luxury vehicles abusing sirens to...

The Singapore government has ordered Meta to put in place measures such as facial recognition to curb Facebook impersonation scams in the first such directive under the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA).

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has until September 30 to comply.

Apart from implementing enhanced facial recognition measures, it is also required to prioritise the review of end-user reports from Singapore to reduce scam advertisements, accounts, profiles and/or business pages...

South Korea is digging in as negotiations stall over a US demand for a staggering US$350 billion in direct investments, a condition that critics warn could plunge Seoul into a financial crisis.

President Lee Jae-myung indirectly criticised Washington’s pressure tactics at a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in New York on Wednesday.

Stressing that any agreement should make sense commercially, Lee warned against forcing Seoul into a deal that could destabilise its economy. Kim...

A woman in South Korea has denied attempted murder charges in her first court appearance after she allegedly sliced off her husband’s genitals and flushed them down the toilet.

The unnamed defendant, 57, is accused of ambushing her husband with her son-in-law at an Incheon cafe on August 1, and attacking him over what they suspected was infidelity.

Prosecutors said the 39-year-old son-in-law acted as an accomplice and used tape to restrain the victim, with the woman then stabbing her husband in...

The execution of Malaysian national K. Datchinamurthy in Singapore has been halted.

The execution was initially scheduled to take place at Changi prison on Thursday morning.

Lawyer N. Surendran, who represents the inmate’s family, told an online portal that they received a call from the prison after midnight telling them of the matter.

“We have no further information at this point. We are praying for the best outcome,” he said.

Datchinamurthy, 39, was scheduled to be executed on Thursday for...

A person from billionaire Ong Beng Seng’s inner circle was behind the purchase of a superyacht previously owned by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, according to people familiar with the matter.

The 73-metre (240 foot) Capricorn was transferred to a new holding company in late October, according to filings reviewed by Bloomberg, which did not disclose the ultimate beneficial owner. The people did not identify or give further details about the buyer. Earlier that month, the real estate tycoon had...