Asia - South China Morning Post

With the rise of social media and generative AI, how much of what we see online is true? In this series, SCMP Fact-Check, the South China Morning Post investigates claims circulating online and debunks viral misinformation impacting the daily lives of Hongkongers.

A video circulating online amid the US-Israel war on Iran falsely claims to show a downed American pilot captured alive by Iranians.

“Iranians Captured F35 Pilot alive,” read the caption of a Facebook reel.

The video appeared to show a...

Japan is expected to remain the most trusted power among Southeast Asian countries, even as it seeks to amend its pacifist constitution and continues its military build-up.

However, Tokyo will need to be transparent about its motives and reassure others that its military-related actions contribute to regional security, according to analysts.

In the latest annual survey conducted by the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Japan retained its ranking as the region’s most trusted power,...

A leading Indonesian university suspended 16 law students on Thursday after a sexually explicit group chat about their female peers went viral, sparking a debate about gender violence in the Muslim-majority country.

Screenshots of a conversation among 16 male students at the University of Indonesia were posted on social media this week, eliciting shock and anger from female peers and a wider societal discussion.

The university said in a statement on Thursday it had suspended the young men for...

A Japanese man arrested for abandoning the body of his stepson who had been missing for weeks has admitted to killing the boy and allegedly hiding the corpse in different locations amid an extensive search by police in Kyoto prefecture.

The arrest on Thursday morning marked a dramatic turn of events in the investigation, which was launched when 11-year-old Yuki Adachi went missing on March 23 after the stepfather claimed to have driven him to school.

The 37-year-old, also called Yuki Adachi, is...

Malaysia has deployed police to dozens of petrol stations along its borders as it moves to stop subsidised fuel from leaking out of the country, with the government linking the tougher enforcement to a global energy crunch triggered by the Iran war.

The Southeast Asian nation shares borders with Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei.

Police said 36 petrol stations had been classified as “hotspots” and another 55 as high-risk locations. The deployments began at 6am on Wednesday across Perlis,...

The partial closure of a major landfill site on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali is forcing thousands of residents to instead burn trash in their gardens, sparking widespread environmental and health concerns.

Suwung landfill, about 10km (six miles) northeast of Denpasar International Airport, used to handle some 1,000 tonnes (1,100 tons) of rubbish a day.

As the site nears capacity, authorities said it would stop taking organic waste as of April 1 in an attempt to direct that matter...

A fire at one of Australia’s two operating oil refineries could hit petrol production more than diesel and aviation fuel, authorities said on Thursday, as emergency crews worked overnight to extinguish the blaze.

Firefighters were battling flames as tall as 60 metres (200 feet) at Viva ‌Energy’s motor petrol production unit at its Geelong refinery in Victoria state, which processes crude into high-octane petrol. No injuries have been reported from the fire, which emergency crews were alerted to...

With fuel prices in the Philippines among the world’s hardest hit by the Iran war, consumer groups are urging the government to take bolder action, including tighter control over pump prices.

Economists say the more realistic options are tax relief, targeted subsidies and transport support rather than direct price controls.

Sharon Garin, secretary of the Philippines’ Department of Energy, said on a radio programme on Sunday that the country might no longer see diesel at 60 pesos (US$1) per litre...

Japan’s public has once again signalled strong support for a woman ascending to the Chrysanthemum Throne, but Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the country’s first female leader, is pushing in a different direction.

A Mainichi newspaper poll published on Wednesday found that 61 per cent of respondents believed the law should be changed to allow a woman to become emperor, against just 9 per cent who said the throne should remain reserved for a man.

The emperor is defined in the 1947 constitution as...

A stretch of awkward diplomacy is unfolding in the Indo-Pacific.

After India’s 2025 term as the Quad’s rotating chair ended without a summit, New Delhi is planning to host a foreign ministers’ meeting that could be framed as a leaders-level discussion, even if the top leaders do not attend, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The move is seen as a way to smooth India’s ruffled feathers on several counts.

“It’s akin to putting lipstick on a pig,” said Sourabh Gupta of the Institute...