Asia - South China Morning Post

When 22-year-old Fandi Ramadhan phoned home from detention last May, he told his mother he had no idea drugs were aboard the ship he had just started working on as an engine-room oiler.

Indonesian prosecutors, however, allege he knew about the illicit cargo and are now seeking the death penalty for him and five other crew members of the Thai-flagged vessel Sea Dragon, after authorities said they found nearly two tonnes of methamphetamines on board in what officials called the largest drug...

Thailand is eyeing a billion-dollar tourist bounce over the next five years from hosting Tomorrowland, which makes its Asia debut in December 2026. Some 150,000 young ravers are expected to flood the resort city of Pattaya for the world’s largest electronic music festival.

Long a touchstone of global tourism, the country has seen its popularity wane in recent years as a strong baht deters some travellers while regional rivals Vietnam and Malaysia eat into its market share.

To reverse the trend,...

An Indonesian court has jailed nine people in a major corruption case involving subsidiaries of state energy firm Pertamina, including two former chief executives of its units, which prosecutors say caused US$17 billion in state losses.

The case, which centres on alleged illegal leasing of a fuel terminal and illegal imports of crude oil, among other offences, is one of the biggest launched under the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, who has vowed to eradicate corruption.

The nine...

Indian investigators have seized a US$410 million luxury condominium building owned by Anil Ambani as part of a widening investigation into alleged bank fraud by the tycoon.

The Enforcement Directorate, India’s anti-money-laundering agency, said on Wednesday that it had provisionally taken Ambani’s 17-storey property, known as “Abode,” in the upscale Pali Hill neighbourhood.

The agency alleged Ambani had defaulted on over 400 billion rupees (US$4.4 billion) worth of loans from Indian and foreign...

Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan including the capital Kabul on Friday, with Islamabad’s defence minister declaring the neighbours at “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes.

Journalists in Kabul and Kandahar heard blasts and jets overhead until dawn, as Pakistan launched air strikes on the Afghan capital and the southern power base of the Taliban authorities.

Pakistan’s latest operation came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night over...

Japan is likely to face another record-setting summer, climate experts have warned, as global warming continues to shrink Arctic ice, alter wind patterns and heat ocean waters.

The Japan Meteorological Agency on Tuesday released its seasonal forecast for the coming months, predicting a 60 per cent probability of above-normal temperatures across Kyushu, Shikoku and the southern and eastern parts of Honshu between June and August.

The southern islands of Okinawa, the northern prefecture of...

A man who raped a foreign domestic worker in the bushes near a Singapore railway station after pretending to be a police officer was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane on Thursday.

Sharveen Chetty, a 48-year-old Malaysian, had pleaded guilty to one count of rape on the second day of his trial. A second rape charge and a charge of impersonating a police officer were taken into consideration.

In sentencing, Justice Dedar Singh Gill said Chetty was aware that the victim was a...

Singapore’s unexpectedly large budget surplus arises from tough decisions to raise taxes earlier and means that the country is now in a position of strength, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has said, after MPs questioned the accuracy of his government’s budget forecasts.

Earlier this month, Wong revealed in his budget statement that Singapore expected a surplus of S$15.1 billion (US$12 billion), or 1.9 per cent of gross domestic product, for the 2025 financial year ending March, more than double an...

Malaysia is weighing new legal measures to curb LGBTQ dating platforms, widening concern among rights groups that the country is pushing deeper into morality-driven internet regulation, even as its control of global app stores remains limited.

Authorities have already blocked access to the websites of Grindr and Blued – two internationally used dating apps popular among gay, bisexual and queer men – Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said in a written parliamentary reply.

But while their...

Two men were arrested on Thursday after shots were fired at a car carrying the Malaysian border police chief, in what authorities believe was retribution for a crackdown on rampant smuggling.

The porous border between Malaysia and Thailand is a notorious crossing used by crime gangs trafficking people, drugs, weapons and other contraband, including food and subsidised diesel for sale into the Thai market.

Before dawn on Wednesday, two suspects wearing helmets on a motorcycle fired shots at a car...