Asia - South China Morning Post

The finger-pointing over violence purportedly initiated by a black-clad group during Sunday’s protests in the Philippines has led to critics accusing officials of trying to divert attention from mounting outrage at corruption-ridden flood control projects.

During demonstrations that stretched from Luneta Park in Manila to the EDSA People Power Monument in Quezon City, violent outbursts emerged in pockets of the capital, such as on the Ayala Bridge and Mendiola, where masked individuals torched a...

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has called for “fair and balanced trade” with Asean in talks with his counterparts from the bloc, as the region continues to grapple with the prospects of slower economic growth due to the impact of US tariffs, and businesses worry about narrowing access to the world’s largest consumer market.

Washington’s trade tsar, who was in Kuala Lumpur to attend a meeting with the economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said on Wednesday...

A 67-year-old man was arrested for murder on Wednesday after a noise dispute turned deadly at a Yishun housing block in Singapore.

A 31-year-old Vietnamese woman was taken unconscious to hospital, where she died, police said.

Two others were taken to hospital – the suspect and a 33-year-old man.

The police said they were called to the scene at Block 323 Yishun Central at about 7.25am (local time) on Wednesday.

“Upon arrival, police saw one woman and two men lying injured at the sixth-floor...

South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung has unveiled what he calls a “realistic” path to peace on the Korean peninsula, proposing that exchanges and trust-building take precedence while shelving immediate demands for Pyongyang’s denuclearisation.

Analysts say the initiative departs from the long-standing stance shared by Seoul and Washington that North Korea must first embark on denuclearisation in return for exchanges and moves towards diplomatic ties with the United States.

Lee’s proposal came...

A 50 metre-deep sinkhole opened in front of a Bangkok hospital early on Wednesday, sucking in cars and electricity poles in a collapse that shocked city residents and was linked to the construction of a nearby underground railway station.

Local authorities closed roads around the Vajira Hospital on Samsen Road in the Thai capital’s historic old town at around 7am as the crater emerged, ripping apart pipes that spewed out torrents of water while toppled electricity cables sent out dangerous...

China’s decision to establish a national nature reserve at Scarborough Shoal – known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines – has hit regional headlines as the plan involving the contested South China Sea feature swiftly became a diplomatic flashpoint.

Approved by China’s State Council and announced by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the plan covers some 3,500 hectares of ecologically sensitive reef and waters, divided into “core” and “experimental”...

US President Donald Trump’s announcement of an up to fifty-fold increase in the cost of skilled worker permits under the H-1B visa programme has rattled India’s tech industry, which has provided highly qualified manpower and services to American enterprises for decades.

On Friday, Washington announced that the H-1B fee would be raised to US$100,000, from a range of US$2,000 to US$5,000 previously, based on the manpower strength of the company applying for the visa.

The H-1B is a three-year...

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he is expected to urge sweeping reform of the UN Security Council, which Tokyo has long criticised as “dysfunctional” and unfit for today’s world order.

Ishiba left for New York on Tuesday morning, telling reporters just before his departure, “After reflecting on the 80 years since the founding of the United Nations, I would like to state that now is the time to...

The race to replace coal in Indonesia, the world’s largest coal exporter, has become a contest between the US and China. At stake is not only Indonesia’s climate future, but also which superpower sets the terms for the next generation of energy in the developing world.

Like much of the developing world, Indonesia faces a choice between two stark energy futures.

Chinese companies signed more than US$54 billion in agreements in 2023 with Indonesian state utility PLN, while Indonesian President...

Storms uprooted trees and ripped roofs across Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur on Monday night, as forecasters warned of a potentially dangerous collision between the seasonal monsoon and La Nina climate phenomenon that could dump more rain over the coming weeks.

The northeast monsoon brings heavy rains and strong winds to Malaysia all the way through March, while La Nina – a Pacific Ocean climate pattern – amplifies rainfall, compounding the power of storms that hit the region.

The...