Asia - South China Morning Post

A Malaysian mother of two broke down in tears as she begged for leniency from the sharia High Court in Melaka for attempting to have sex with another woman’s husband last year.

According to Sinar Harian, the accused, Siti Iqbar Mazlan, 35, during the proceedings before Judge Abu Bakar Daud on Thursday said that she regretted her actions and also apologised to the man’s wife, Puteri Norfatimah Ishak, 25.

According to the charges, Siti Iqbar and Hairul Mokhsin Zaini, 24, were found to have...

The Philippine Senate’s political crisis has spilled into cyberspace after its official website went offline on Thursday following its defacement with a warning accusing lawmakers of betraying public trust.

“The people deserve truth. The people deserve accountability. The people deserve better. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect Us,” the message said, using a closing phrase long associated with the global hacktivist collective Anonymous.

The incident comes as the Senate remains locked...

The People’s Bank of China, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and Bank Indonesia signed an agreement on Thursday to create a framework for bilateral transactions between Indonesia and Hong Kong.

The parties aimed to implement a currency transaction framework for the direct exchange and settlement of Indonesian rupiah and Chinese yuan in cross-border trade and investment activities among companies and institutions in Indonesia and Hong Kong, according to an HKMA statement.

This initiative was...

Malaysia’s search for alternative crude supplies is complicating Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s “friends with all” foreign policy, analysts have said, with the country potentially tapping Russian oil despite Western sanctions against Moscow.

On Thursday, oil prices rose again after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, 103 days after the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28. Washington has signalled it wants sanction waivers over Russian oil to end “as soon as possible”.

Economy...

Three Indian sailors on a commercial vessel hit by the United States off the coast of Oman are dead, New Delhi’s shipping minister said on Thursday.

“It is deeply unfortunate to learn of the tragic incident aboard the Palau-flagged MT Settebello,” Sarbananda Sonowal said in a statement, referring to the strike on the vessel a day earlier.

“Sadly, three Indian seafarers initially reported missing are now confirmed dead after bodies have been located and identified.”

India’s foreign ministry...

The Philippines may be taking steps to curb gambling addiction, but the surge in calls to the Bridges of Hope hotline suggests the problem is worsening, according to the rehabilitation centre’s founder and director, Jon Ty.

Ty said gambling now accounted for nine in 10 calls to the centre’s hotline so far this year, up from seven in 10 in 2025.

Many of the callers were desperate family members reaching out because their loved ones were gambling addicts. Ty said many gamblers had also resorted to...

Zou Jiayi is president and chairwoman of the board of directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a multilateral development lender headquartered in Beijing and inaugurated in 2016.

Before leading AIIB, Zou was deputy secretary general of the national committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body. She previously held senior roles at the Ministry of Finance, including as vice-minister, and as part of her three decades of...

Three men were charged on Thursday for their alleged involvement in a scheme to falsely declare China-made mattresses as Singapore goods in an apparent attempt to evade US import duties.

Singaporeans Loh Yew Kong, 68; Leong Yu Fong, 41; and Loh Chen Sing Darren, 37, as well as three companies – Brighture Et Riche, Brighture Et Riche (Int) and Zenova International – were charged in connection with the alleged scheme, Singapore Customs said.

Authorities commenced investigations in February last...

A Thai court on Thursday sentenced two ethnic Chinese Uygur men to death for the 2015 bombing of Bangkok’s Erawan shrine, the deadliest attack on the city in recent history that killed 20, including tourists from China, Malaysia and Singapore.

The men, Bilal Mohammed, 41, and Yusufu Mieraili, 36, were arrested in a manhunt that followed the August 17, 2015, bombing which brought carnage to the heart of Bangkok at rush hour.

Thai police said they found bomb-making materials at a Bangkok address...

The mayor of a southern Philippine town that was devastated by a powerful earthquake pleaded on Thursday for helicopters to transport food to stave off hunger in several landslide-isolated villages.

The 7.8 magnitude offshore quake, one of the strongest to hit the archipelago in half a century, struck on Monday off the southern province of Sarangani and has left at least 47 people dead and 688 injured, with 31 still missing.

More than 45,000 people remained displaced, about half in emergency...