Asia - South China Morning Post

Police in Sri Lanka arrested 152 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, on Friday for allegedly running a cyberscam operation out of a hotel in the island’s northwest, officials said.

The raid took place in the coastal town of Chilaw, 80km (50 miles) north of Colombo, following a tip-off, said police spokesman Frederick Wootler.

“Those involved in scamming will be dealt with under our criminal law, while others could be deported,” Wootler said.

Local police sources said two Chinese men who tried to...

The dust and debris of the US-Israeli war on Iran have yet to settle, but its strategic shock waves have reached East Asia. From Tokyo to Taipei, a reassessment is under way. The conflict, intended to project American resolve, has been a brutal stress test for the US-led order – with catastrophic results for Washington’s credibility.

Far from cementing its primacy, America’s misadventure has revealed a superpower that is overstretched, vulnerable and seen as an unreliable partner. This erosion...

Pakistanis faced record fuel price increases on Friday, as petrol and diesel prices rose by up to 54 per cent driven by the war in the Middle East that has caused global oil prices to surge.

The increase adds pressure to a cash-strapped nation already grappling with high inflation, as economists warned the hike would push up food prices and living costs.

Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Pervez Malik said late on Thursday that the increase was “unavoidable”.

He said the government was forced to...

Malaysia has given the family of missing pastor Raymond Koh access to a long-classified government report after dropping a legal challenge, but questions remain unanswered over his case, according to rights groups and lawyers.

The situation surrounding Koh has revived memories of other Malaysians who are believed to be victims of enforced disappearances in the country.

Koh has not been seen after the then 62-year-old was abducted in broad daylight in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, on February 13,...

A New Zealand doctor has sent the US embassy in Wellington an invoice for his clinic’s fuel bills, saying that President Donald Trump and his administration should take responsibility for starting a war that has sent oil prices spiralling.

Shane Dunphy asked the embassy to reimburse him for the NZ$2,790.95 (US$1,600) in petrol vouchers he gave staff at Onslow Medical Centre in the capital so that they could travel to work, The Guardian newspaper reported.

“Because of the current fuel crisis,...

Human remains have been found aboard a cargo ship struck by Iran while transiting the Strait of Hormuz last month, the vessel’s owner said on Friday, after three crew members were reported missing following the attack.

US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February prompted Tehran to respond by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial artery for global oil supplies.

The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree was struck in March while travelling through the strait after departing Khalifa port in the...

Malaysia has so far been spared the worst of the regional energy crunch, but experts say the government needs to move quickly and take more aggressive measures to prevent a worsening economic crisis if the Iran war becomes a drawn-out conflict.

Much of Southeast Asia has been hit hard by the energy crisis, with thousands of motorists ditching their vehicles over the lack of fuel and governments burning through billions of dollars and scrambling to find alternative fuel sources to rein in prices...

The Iran war is rattling Asian chipmakers as damage to Qatar’s gas facilities chokes off supplies of helium, an essential ingredient in manufacturing products ranging from smartphones to medical scanners.

Analysts warn that the supply disruption is expected to trigger ripple effects across the global economy for some time.

Pradeep Philip, head of Deloitte Access Economics, said that while there had been considerable focus on the energy shock arising from the conflict, the crisis over helium...

Indonesia and Malaysia have ordered civil servants to work from home to save fuel amid the Iran war but with digital surveillance measures far stricter than those used during the pandemic.

Civil servants in Indonesia must activate location tracking and respond to work communications within five minutes. Their Malaysian counterparts must log into a geolocation monitoring system every hour. Those who fail to comply face escalating sanctions.

The work-from-home policies, announced within days of...

Fourteen Chinese nationals and a Malaysian man have been detained by the immigration department for various offences in Kuala Lumpur.

In the first case, three Chinese nationals were detained for using fake passes as supporting documents to obtain entry visas to the United States.

Immigration director general Zakaria Shaaban said the arrests were made following intelligence gathering and an enforcement operation conducted on Wednesday.

“A team from the enforcement division detained one man and...