Asia - South China Morning Post

Two prominent ⁠former Malaysian ministers said on ⁠Sunday they would vacate their parliamentary seats ⁠and resign from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling coalition party to join a small party that they would take over.

The move by Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who resigned from cabinet last year after losing leadership posts in internal party elections, ‌could create a challenge for Anwar, amid speculation of an early election this year. The next general election is not due until...

Philippine government lawyers have urged the Supreme Court to reject the bid of fugitive Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who is wanted for alleged crimes against humanity linked to his role in a bloody “war on drugs”, to block his arrest and surrender.

Dela Rosa, ‌the former police chief who oversaw former President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-narcotics crackdown, had asked the Supreme Court to stop authorities from arresting and surrendering him to the International Criminal Court.

He is facing the same...

North Korean women’s football club Naegohyang FC arrived in South Korea on Sunday for an Asian Women’s Champions League semi-final, marking the first visit by athletes from ‌the isolated state to the South in eight years.

The delegation of 27 players and 12 staff entered the country ahead of Wednesday’s match against South Korea’s Suwon FC Women in Suwon.

The visit has been approved under the inter-Korean exchange law and covers their stay through next weekend, though the team could leave...

Calls by hardline Indian political figures to resume backchannel talks with Pakistan, a year after their latest conflict, reflect the realisation that both countries cannot afford another war for the time being, analysts say.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) secretary general Dattatreya Hosabale’s push earlier this week for so-called Track 2 diplomatic engagement with Pakistan has raised hopes for a reduction in the tensions between the two countries.

In an Indian media interview on Wednesday,...

The Singapore Police Force has obtained footage of the AI-generated Zoom video conference that was part of a scam involving the impersonation of senior government officials, including Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, it said on Saturday.

In one case, a victim lost at least S$4.9 million (US$3.8 million) in what was claimed to be funding help related to the Strait of Hormuz, police said earlier.

Victims would typically receive a WhatsApp message from a scammer impersonating the secretary to the...

A surge in arrests of suspected foreign scammers in Sri Lanka has authorities concerned that the island is fast becoming a hub for online crime, following sweeping crackdowns in hotspots Cambodia and Myanmar.

Officials say some scam networks forced out of countries in Southeast Asia have simply shifted to new bases, increasingly moving operations to Sri Lanka – an attractive destination due to a relaxed visa regime and reliable, high-speed internet.

Since the start of the year, police have...

The face of beauty in Asia is changing, says Dr Dissapong Panithaporn. He should know, as he sees it every day in Thailand.

The younger generation, women and men in their mid-twenties, are edging away from plastic surgery and fillers towards something more natural, the leading Thai dermatologist said.

‘’The whole trend has shifted from anti-ageing to longevity of skin, prevention and preservation rather than correction or repair,’’ Dissapong – better known as Dr Joe – said from his Bangkok...

Australia’s Qantas was forced to divert a flight bound for the United States over a disruptive passenger, with local media reporting the man bit a flight attendant.

The flight from Melbourne was headed to Dallas on Friday when it was forced to make a stop-off in Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, due to the disruptive passenger.

The man was restrained by fellow passengers, with local media including national broadcaster ABC reporting he bit a member of Qantas staff.

The man was met by...

Southeast Asia stands at the threshold of a nuclear renaissance. Vietnam and Russia signed an agreement in March for the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant. The Philippines and Indonesia aim to have operational reactors by the early 2030s. Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore are studying small modular reactors.

Given heightened energy insecurity, climate commitments and the imperative to meet surging electricity demand from industrial growth, data centres and AI development, nuclear energy is...

The young woman in the stands simply sighed, turned her head and sat there, looking impossibly composed, while 15 million strangers fell briefly in love with someone who had never existed.

She was, according to the caption accompanying one of many posts, “the average Korean woman”. Her admirers quickly crowned her a “baseball goddess”, analysing her every feature with the forensic enthusiasm reserved for internet obsessions, as the five-second clip went viral across South Korea’s online...