Asia - South China Morning Post

⁠South ⁠Korean President Lee Jae Myung said ‌on Tuesday security and safety must be ⁠a top priority for ‌a concert by ‌K-pop band BTS ⁠on ⁠Saturday in ‌Seoul, including readiness for ‌any ‌possible acts ‌of “terror”, ⁠according to a live TV ⁠broadcast of a ‌cabinet meeting.

The free comeback concert for the boy band ⁠in central ⁠Seoul is ⁠expected to draw up to 260,000 people, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said last Wednesday, making it one of the largest public gatherings in the area...

A Malaysian woman has accused her husband of choking, slapping and threatening her with a knife in an alleged case of domestic violence after she asked him to buy ayam gepuk (pounded fried chicken).

Cheras Assistant Commissioner Mohd Rosdi Daud said police received a report from a 33-year-old housewife about the incident at a flat in Sri Sabah, Cheras, last Wednesday.

“In the incident at 3.30pm, the victim had asked her husband to buy her ayam gepuk as she was craving for it,” he said in a...

Japan has identified nearly 1,500 additional facilities that could serve as shelters in the event of missile or bomb attacks, amid mounting fears over the deteriorating security situation in northeast Asia.

The government launched a study in 2024 to expand the existing list of facilities where the public could take cover during an attack and has since confirmed 1,489 sites – including subway stations and underground car parks – as suitable for short-term protection.

The aim, the Sankei newspaper...

Vietnamese authorities have warned the country’s aviation industry to prepare for potential flight reductions from April after China and Thailand halted exports of jet fuel due to the Iran war, increasing the likelihood of shortages.

Vietnam imports more than two-thirds of its jet fuel needs, with 60 per cent coming from China and Thailand, according to documents from the ‌aviation regulator and importers seen by Reuters.

“There are risks of jet fuel shortages for Vietnamese airlines from the...

South Korea is unlikely to rush into joining a US-led military effort to secure the Strait of Hormuz, officials and analysts have said, after President Donald Trump urged other nations to send ships to the strategic waterway.

Seoul is expected to seek parliamentary consensus before making any decision and is waiting for the outcome of a summit on Thursday between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, as well as a formal request through diplomatic channels.

A key US ally, South Korea...

South Korea and Japan have led declines in global stock markets amid the oil shock, underscoring how supply disruptions in the Middle East are weighing on growth in economies heavily reliant on fuel imports.

The Kospi index in Seoul has slumped 12 per cent since the US-Israel war with Iran broke out on February 28, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 has slid nearly 9 per cent. South Korea last week moved to cap oil price increases to limit inflation, while rising crude costs added to price pressures in...

Afghanistan accused Pakistan of killing at least 400 people in an air strike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in the Afghan capital late on Monday.

It marked a dramatic escalation of a conflict that began late last month and has seen repeated cross-border clashes as well as air strikes inside Afghanistan. International calls for a ceasefire have gone unheeded.

Pakistan dismissed the accusation that it had hit a hospital, saying its strikes, which were also conducted in eastern Afghanistan, did...

Draped in garlands, Bhumika Shrestha on Monday became Nepal’s first transgender woman lawmaker, marking a proud milestone for the marginalised community in the Himalayan nation.

Nepal’s Election Commission confirmed the 37-year-old as a proportional representation MP from the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which won a majority in parliament with 182 seats last week.

“I am very excited but also feel the responsibility on my shoulders,” said Shrestha, an LGBTQ rights advocate.

“Our...

Singaporean businessman David Yong was given 12 new charges on Monday for conspiring to make false entries in accounts and for his company’s illegal issuing of loans amounting to more than S$1 million (US$780,000).

The 38-year-old, whose name in court papers was indicated as Yong Khung Lin, pleaded not guilty in court.

The chief executive officer of multinational business and holding company Evergreen Group Holdings, who is on bail of S$1 million, said he would contest all charges.

The new...

Malaysia’s highest court on Monday allowed national energy firm Petronas to pursue a legal bid to challenge several laws passed by the state of Sarawak, amid a protracted dispute over gas distribution rights.

Sarawak, on Borneo island, is home to more than 60 per cent of Malaysia’s gas reserves and has long sought greater control over its natural resources.

In recent years, it has passed laws and appointed its own firm Petros to procure, distribute, supply and sell all natural gas in the state,...