Asia - South China Morning Post

A ⁠section of ⁠an overpass under demolition in the South Korean capital of Seoul collapsed on Tuesday, killing three people who were ‌conducting a safety inspection and injuring three others, fire and city officials said.

Television footage showed emergency workers conducting a search-and-rescue operation as a long segment ⁠of the structure lay collapsed on the street below, near a railway crossing in central Seoul.

Workers noticed that a part of the structure had slightly sunk while concrete...

Malaysia’s jailed former prime minister Najib Razak has become the unlikely face of a new prison food campaign, after an animal rights group urged Kajang Prison to serve him and other inmates vegan meals.

In a letter sent on Tuesday to Kajang Prison Director Mohd Sharin bin Hj Sabtu, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) said a vegan meals policy could help reduce costs, improve inmate health and promote “empathy and non-violence” inside one of Malaysia’s best-known...

Malaysia has seen growing numbers of sexual harassment complaints involving male victims in recent years, reflecting what advocates describe as the slow erosion of the stigma that has long kept many men silent.

More than 1,000 complaints involving male victims have been lodged through the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry’s complaints mechanisms since 2024, Minister Nancy Shukri said, describing the figure as a sharp increase in reports.

The complaints involving male victims...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to India this week will give Washington an opportunity to “get the optics right” regarding ties between the two sides, amid friction over unresolved trade issues and broader international cooperation.

Rubio stressed cooperation on trade, energy, defence and maritime security in meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Sunday as he arrived in New Delhi.

Jaishankar said that the two...

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

1. Did US restrictions sink Malaysia’s US$147 million Norway missile deal?

Norway’s revocation of export licences for a naval missile system sold to Malaysia has thrust into sharp relief the United States’ ability to kill an arms deal between two other sovereign nations...

Shinnosuke Abe – manager of the Yomiuri Giants, Japan’s oldest and most storied professional baseball team – stepped down on Tuesday following his arrest on suspicion of assaulting his daughter.

Abe, 47, resigned as manager of the team, viewed as Japan’s closest equivalent to the New York Yankees, and apologised for “tarnishing the proud tradition of Giants managers”.

He was taken into custody by the Metropolitan Police Department for allegedly grabbing his 18-year-old daughter and forcing her...

Shinsegae Group chairman Chung Yong-jin on Tuesday apologised to the public in person, eight days after Starbucks Korea, run by the conglomerate, sparked controversy with its “Tank Day” marketing event, which critics say inappropriately referenced South Korea’s pro-democracy movement of the 1980s.

“Regardless of the reason, the fact that we have hurt the hearts of our citizens carries a heavy responsibility,” Chung said during a press conference. “I will make no excuses. All responsibility for...

A rare visit by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr to Japan this week marks Manila’s latest bid to establish a counterweight to Beijing over the South China Sea dispute.

During the four-day trip, the first state visit by a Philippine leader to Japan in over a decade, Marcos is expected to discuss boosting defence and other ties between Manila and Tokyo amid the security challenge posed by China’s growing maritime assertiveness, according to analysts.

Marcos will meet Japanese Prime...

A reported US delay in delivering hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles could slow Japan’s plans to give its military a long-range strike option, analysts said, exposing a potential gap between Tokyo’s new defence ambitions and Washington’s ability to supply the weapons.

The missiles are central to Japan’s effort to build a counterstrike capability, giving it the ability to hit enemy bases if the country comes under threat, as Tokyo rethinks its defence posture in response to a more uncertain...

Cambodia’s acting head of state, former prime minister Hun Sen, pardoned opposition leader Kem Sokha on Monday from a sentence of almost three decades for treason.

Kem Sokha, who was convicted of trying to topple the former long-ruling leader’s government and sentenced to 27 years, “is pardoned”, Hun Sen posted on social media alongside a royal decree signed by him.

Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades, stepped down as prime minister in 2023 and handed power to his eldest son, Hun...