Asia - South China Morning Post

Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency on Wednesday offered to pay for the flight of a London-based key witness to help with its investigation into possible corruption linked to a US$250 million deal signed last year between the government and British chip design firm Arm Holdings.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has for the past month been on the hunt for former government aide James Chai, whom it said was a key witness in its probe on possible abuse of power, fraud and governance...

Kim Bong-hwan, who runs a barbecue restaurant in Myeong-dong in central Seoul, is feeling the brunt of rising costs, with wholesale beef prices climbing from about 28,000 won (US$18) per kilogram to more than 40,000 won in recent weeks.

“Everything’s going up – beef, pork, eggs, vegetables and even disposable materials like plastic bags and containers,” he said. “Prices have risen 20 to 30 per cent in just a few weeks.”

Kim, who has operated the restaurant for more than 15 years, said raising...

The Malaysian government has entered “crisis mode” in response to the ongoing global energy supply disruption, its transport minister has warned.

“This is not a laughing or joking matter. It is a very, very serious matter,” Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on Tuesday, as quoted by the New Straits Times newspaper. “For the past month, energy costs have risen by more than 100 per cent.”

According to news website Free Malaysia Today, Loke said: “Even though at this moment our lights are still...

Pakistan is hoping that its role in building a diplomatic off-ramp from the US-Israel war on Iran will enable it to become a key actor in the Middle East after the conflict ends, analysts say.

If Islamabad can deliver without being sucked into the maelstrom, it can capitalise on its position as peacemaker by signing defence deals with Gulf monarchies and attracting investment from them to strengthen its weak economy.

This will help finance Pakistan’s military expansion for its envisioned new...

Japan on Wednesday raised tobacco and corporate taxes to finance a boost in defence spending, with income tax hike set to follow in 2027 as the government projects the tax increases will add some 1.3 trillion yen (US$8 billion) annually in revenue.

As the security environment surrounding Japan deteriorates and the government is set to further strengthen the country’s defence capabilities, the public is likely to face further tax burdens to finance the outlays, which have now ballooned to a...

China and Pakistan unveiled a joint five-point plan on Tuesday to restore peace in the Persian Gulf after five weeks of US-Israeli bombardment of Iran.

China, Pakistan five-point initiative for restoring peace in the Middle East by scmp

Japan has moved swiftly to contain the diplomatic fallout after a member of its Self-Defence Forces broke into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo last week.

But observers and local media say the incident has given Beijing an opening to reinforce claims of rising militarism and anti-China sentiment in Japan.

Yoshinobu Kusunoki, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, on Monday called the break-in on March 24 “extremely unusual and serious”, adding that it “should not have happened”.

His...

A Scottish crime boss is to be deported to Spain on Wednesday after he was arrested on the Indonesian resort island of Bali in connection with large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering, authorities said.

The 45-year-old, identified as Steven Lyons, was taken into custody by immigration officers at Ngurah Rai International Airport on Saturday on arrival from Singapore, Untung Widiyatmoko, head of Indonesia’s branch of Interpol, said on Tuesday.

The immigration system had flagged him as...

Tokyo’s Shibuya ward – home to the famous scramble crossing and one of the Japanese capital’s busiest shopping and nightlife districts – is abandoning its long-standing policy of asking people to take their rubbish home.

Instead, it is turning to on-the-spot fines as visitor numbers surge and litter piles up.

Under a new campaign branded “If you throw trash, you lose cash”, anyone caught dropping rubbish will be fined 2,000 yen (US$12.50), with enforcement starting on June 1 after a grace...

Rising fuel costs linked to the Middle East conflict could push more Filipinos deeper into debt, analysts have warned, with one regional study describing the Philippines’ credit card burden reaching a “critical” risk level.

Although credit card ownership in the Philippines remains relatively low, data indicates that cardholders appear to be using them far more intensively as living costs outpace income growth.

Credit card receivables in the Philippines have been growing consistently at more than...