Asia - South China Morning Post

In a move analysts see as both a survival strategy and a calculated signal of dissatisfaction with Asean, Laos has joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a dialogue partner.

The decision was confirmed on September 1 during the SCO summit in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, where Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith thanked the Eurasian bloc’s 10 member states for their unanimous support.

Laos was “ready to participate in the promotion of peace and stability in the region and...

The sole survivor of the Air India crash is still in India recovering from his injuries while British families of victims have told the Foreign Secretary they are still facing “silence and indifference” from authorities, according to reports.

Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, survived the disaster on June 12 that killed 241 people on board, and his wife has said he is grieving his brother Ajay, who had been sitting across the aisle.

Two families who received other victims’ remains in their...

Thousands took part in a pro-Palestinian march in Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city, on Saturday, in what organisers said was the largest rally of its kind since the war in Gaza began between Israel and the militant Islamist Palestinian group Hamas.

Some 50,000 attended the March for Humanity rally in central Auckland on Saturday morning, the Aotearoa for Palestine group said. New Zealand police estimated the attendance at 20,000.

Aotearoa for Palestine spokesperson Arama Rata said it was New...

A Myanmar ethnic minority armed group said on Saturday that a junta air strike killed at least 19 students, including children, in western Rakhine state.

The Arakan Army (AA) is engaged in a fierce fight with Myanmar’s ruling military for control of Rakhine, where it has seized swathes of territory in the past year.

The Rakhine conflict is one element of the bloody chaos that has engulfed Myanmar since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in a 2021 coup, sparking a...

Two years ago, it was unveiled with much fanfare as a grand riposte to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Today, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor is being steadily eclipsed by regional hostilities and global disinterest.

The architects of the US-backed IMEC, envisaged as a bridge linking India to Europe via the Gulf and Israel, have found themselves mired in deepening discord.

Instead of capitalising on the corridor’s transformative economic potential, analysts say its stakeholders...

The Philippine defence and military chiefs rejected a call for the country’s armed forces to withdraw support from President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr in response to public outrage over allegations of massive corruption in flood control projects that have implicated several congressmen and public works officials and sparked pockets of street protests.

Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr and military chief of staff General Romeo Brawner Jnr issued a joint statement late on Friday expressing their...

The waters of Lake Taal have long captivated visitors with serene vistas and storied myths. But this idyllic image of the Philippines’ third-largest lake has since been darkened by a chilling discovery.

Since July, divers have uncovered hundreds of skeletal fragments from its depths – and with them, an extraordinary story of gambling scams, alleged police pay-offs and men who never came home.

Investigators believe the ribs, skulls and other bones found may belong to at least 35 sabungeros, or...

Police in southern Japan are investigating what animal welfare advocates fear is a pattern of deliberate cruelty, after at least 10 stray cats were found with a leg amputated and left untreated.

The first case surfaced roughly a year ago in Niihama, Ehime prefecture, where a stray was spotted with a front leg severed just above the knee. Since then, similar injuries have been reported on multiple cats in the area, with the most recent victim brought to a veterinary clinic in August.

Kaoru...

In Thailand, elections do not necessarily decide who governs. Over the past few weeks, that paradox has played out once more, with a prime minister ousted, the country’s best-known political dynasty sidelined and a new leader taking the reins.

For young Thai activist Aitarnik Chitwiset, the endless chaos feels like it has no off-ramp.

“I’m disillusioned and exhausted by our politics,” she told This Week in Asia.

At just 28, Aitarnik is deeply invested in her country’s future. But like many young...

Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) has ordered the retraining of five lions that fatally mauled a veteran zookeeper at Safari World in Bangkok.

The case has since prompted the closure of the park’s predator zone and sparked a review of safety practices at wildlife attractions across Thailand.

Jian Rangkharasamee, a 58-year-old keeper who had worked with lions and tigers for two decades, was killed on Wednesday after reportedly stepping out of his...