⁠Australia has raised concerns with ⁠China following an “unsafe and ⁠unprofessional” encounter between two military helicopters, the defence department said on Friday.

An Australian military helicopter was flying over international waters in the Yellow Sea when it was intercepted by a Chinese helicopter on Wednesday, a statement ‌said.

The Chinese helicopter matched the Australian aircraft’s altitude before “closing in to an unsafe distance”, increasing speed and then rolling towards it,...

Indonesia will begin restricting access to some social media platforms for users under 16 from March 28, marking one of the region’s toughest moves yet to curb children’s exposure to harmful online content.

Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid announced the measure on Friday, saying the government had signed a regulation that would gradually stop children under 16 from holding accounts on platforms deemed “high risk”.

Hafid said the rule would apply to platforms such as...

Mutilated human remains, including a severed head, that were discovered on a Bali beach last month have been identified through DNA testing as those of a Ukrainian tourist who police say was kidnapped earlier in the resort island’s south, according to Indonesian authorities.

Bali police said forensic analysis had confirmed that body parts found near Ketewel Beach in Gianyar Regency belonged to Ihor Komarov, a 28-year-old Ukrainian national who had been reported abducted in mid-February.

The...

Two tankers loaded with fuel from Reliance Industries in India ⁠that were headed to Europe ⁠made U-turns and are now bound for ⁠Asia, according to two trade sources and ship-tracking data, as the refiner capitalises on firm Asian margins with the Iran war squeezing supply.

The Advantage Life, which loaded around 100,000 metric tons (745,000 barrels) of diesel at Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery on February 28, is currently bound for Singapore, ‌according to Kpler, LSEG data and two trade...

Sri Lanka began transferring more than 200 sailors from an Iranian vessel to shore on Friday after the ship sought help while anchored outside the country’s waters, as tensions mounted in the Indian Ocean following the sinking of an Iranian warship by a US submarine.

Sri Lanka navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said the sailors of the IRIS Bushehr were being brought first to the port of Colombo and the ship will later be moved to an eastern port on the island.

“The disembarkation is in...

Asia is bracing itself for another energy shock after a disruption to Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) output sent regional gas prices to their highest level in about three years, exposing what observers say is a dangerous reliance on Middle Eastern fuel supplies.

The increase follows Iran’s drone strikes on Qatar in retaliation for Israeli and US attacks in a widening conflict, alongside a blockade of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz – a key artery for global oil and gas trade.

Spot LNG...

Malaysia’s football association said ⁠on Friday it ⁠was disappointed by a Court ⁠of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling to partially uphold sanctions on seven footballers who played for the national team using falsified naturalisation documents.

Deportivo Alaves’ Facundo Garces was among seven players banned for ‌a year by Fifa in September after it found that doctored documentation had been used so that they could play in an Asian Cup qualifier for Malaysia against Vietnam last year.

The other...

Indonesia could face a sharp fiscal squeeze if the US-Israel war on Iran pushes oil prices higher, analysts warn, as this risks inflating the country’s fuel subsidy bill at a time when global ratings agencies and investors are already scrutinising Jakarta’s budgetary discipline.

A prolonged war could force policymakers into a difficult choice: maintain fuel subsidies and risk breaching the legal deficit ceiling – potentially unsettling investors further – or cut funding to keep the budget within...

A Malaysian mother who allowed her underage son to drive her car, which later got into an accident claiming three lives, was fined 1,500 ringgit (US$379) by the Magistrate’s Court in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan state.

Magistrate Nurul Azuin Mohd Talhah also ordered 40-year-old Nur Farahidayah A Rahman to be jailed for three months in the event she was unable to pay the fine.

“After considering the guilty plea by the accused, mitigating factors and submissions by parties and the aggravating...

What began as a US-Israeli assault on Iran is rapidly evolving into a conflict with the potential to spread far beyond the Middle East.

Iranian missiles and drones have already struck or reached Turkey and Azerbaijan, while European powers are rushing additional warships, fighter jets and air defences to the eastern Mediterranean and Gulf to contain the fallout.

Analysts warn the longer the war continues, the greater the risk that long-simmering regional fault lines – from Kurdish militancy to...