Asia - South China Morning Post

Seoul said on Monday that an “explosion and fire” had struck a South Korean ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial Middle Eastern waterway effectively blocked following US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

The foreign ministry said that, at around 8.40pm in Seoul, “an explosion and fire occurred on a vessel operated by a South Korean shipping company … anchored in waters near the United Arab Emirates inside the Strait of Hormuz”.

There had been “no casualties to date” among the 24 crew members on...

A Bangladeshi man who jumped onto the train tracks to shield his baby with his body as a train ran over them has gained kudos but also criticism from social media users after a video went viral.

The family had been travelling on the Dhaka-bound Titas commuter train at Bhairab Railway Station, according to a report by Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Sun.

When the train, which was delayed by about 1½ hours, pulled into the station at about 3.30pm on Tuesday, the family reportedly failed to get...

North Korean athletes are set to step onto South Korean soil for the first time in eight years, raising hopes that sports could again help ease bilateral tensions even as Pyongyang continues to define Seoul as a hostile state.

Naegohyang Women’s FC of North Korea have confirmed their participation in the 2025–2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Champions League (AWCL).

“We have been informed by the AFC that Naegohyang Women’s FC have expressed their intention to participate in the...

Malaysia’s Umno is making a heady gamble by planning to strike out on its own, experts say, as the former ruling party looks to rally support from among the country’s Malay-Muslim majority in preparation for national polls that must be called in less than two years from now.

Umno President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Sunday said the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition that the party led was “almost certain” of standing alone in the coming general election, after more than three years as a junior partner...

Singapore and New Zealand on Monday signed the world’s first legally binding bilateral agreement to keep essential supplies – including food, fuel, healthcare products and chemical and construction materials – flowing even during crises.

The Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies was signed by Singapore’s Minister-in-charge of Energy, Science and Technology Tan See Leng and New Zealand’s Minister for Trade and Investment Todd McClay at the Singapore-New Zealand Annual Leaders’ Meeting in...

South Korean scientists have identified a potentially promising new pathway for treating ischemic stroke, long considered one of the most difficult challenges in modern medicine.

According to the South Korean team, doctors in China are interested in a partnership and learning more about an experimental drug that it has developed to combat the disease.

The team’s study, titled “Oxidative stress-induced astrocytic collagen biosynthesis drives glial barrier formation and neuronal death in ischemic...

More than 300 families have been evacuated after massive amounts of ash billowed from the Mayon volcano over the weekend due to the collapse of lava deposits from its slopes, Philippine officials said on Monday.

There was no explosive eruption from Mayon, which has been erupting mildly on and off since January, but huge deposits of lava on its southwestern slope suddenly cascaded down in a pyroclastic flow – an avalanche of hot rocks, ash and gas – before nightfall on Saturday, said Teresito...

Select FamilyMart convenience stores in Japan have installed boxes to collect used clothing and household goods for reuse, joining similar initiatives taken by retailers, as a step to reduce waste and attract more customers.

In a trial launched jointly with Bookoff Group Holdings, which buys and sells used goods, boxes were installed in around 30 FamilyMart stores in residential areas of Tokyo. Bookoff plans to sell some of the collected items overseas, including to Malaysia.

FamilyMart said...

Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency on Monday questioned former economy minister Rafizi Ramli over a billion-ringgit semiconductor deal with British chip designer Arm Holdings, escalating a politically sensitive inquiry that has swept up ministers, senior officials and one of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s most outspoken former allies.

Rafizi, the Pandan MP and a former senior figure in Anwar’s reformist People’s Justice Party, arrived at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC)...

On a quiet March morning at Incheon International Airport, the head of a government agency responsible for administering industrial accident insurance stood before a memorial adorned with flowers and a photo of Nguyen Van Tuan.

The 23-year-old Vietnamese worker had died 10 days earlier in a conveyor belt accident at a gravel factory in Icheon, Gyeonggi province.

Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service (K-Comwel) President Park Jong-kil bowed deeply, offered flowers and placed his hand on...