Asia - South China Morning Post

Thousands gathered across Australia on Monday to protest the arrival of Israeli ‍President Isaac Herzog, who is on a multi-city trip aimed at expressing solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community following a deadly mass shooting last year.

Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the December 14 shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach ⁠that killed 15.

The visit has attracted the ire of some...

South Korea grounded an ageing fleet of military helicopters on Monday after a chopper crashed during a training exercise and killed two people on board.

The AH-1S Cobra was training for emergency landings when it “crashed due to an unidentified cause” in Gapyeong county west of Seoul, the army said in a statement.

Two service members were taken to hospital and later pronounced dead.

Photos in local media showed the helicopter’s crumpled fuselage lying on a rocky river bank.

“Following the...

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday warned against allowing disputes over “illegal” houses of worship to spill into communal confrontation, after police detained 19 people linked to a planned rally in central Kuala Lumpur that authorities said risked inflaming racial and religious tensions.

The “Anti-Illegal Houses of Worship” rally had been scheduled for around 8pm on Saturday near Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, close to the Sogo shopping complex. Police denied permission on security...

Abandoned for months on their fishing boat off West Africa, Indonesian sailor Surono and his shipmates face a dilemma: return home without almost a year’s wages or stay on the docked vessel.

He is among a growing number of migrant workers abandoned by shipowners, who flout their obligations and desert crews without paying the salaries owed.

“My family cries because I can’t get any money. My children and wife need money to eat,” Surono, 47, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said from...

Malaysia’s ringgit may have rebounded against the Singapore dollar, but its recent strengthening has done little to deter cross-border shoppers from flocking across the causeway for Lunar New Year bargains.

Traders at festive markets across Johor Bahru have reported brisk business from Singapore-based visitors, with many expecting sales to climb further as celebrations draw nearer.

Kenny Ng, 29, who sells traditional Malaysian Chinese snacks at the Johor Jaya Lunar New Year market, said more...

Australia has emerged as an alternate defence partner to long-time US ally the Philippines amid mounting uncertainty over American commitment to security in the Indo-Pacific.

Canberra’s evolving ties with Manila hinge on its own strategic interests that may now align more closely with the Southeast Asian country’s than even those of Washington, observers say.

Australia has committed to building eight infrastructure projects this year at five military bases in Luzon. Canberra will lead the...

China has almost finished building the US$10 billion Pinglu Canal to deepen trade ties between its southwestern provinces and Southeast Asia. Now, it is considering an even more ambitious – and expensive – project further inland.

The Xianggui Canal would be a 300km (186 mile) waterway that effectively acts as an extension of the new Pinglu Canal, giving cities right at the heart of the Chinese interior direct access to the Gulf of Tonkin, known in China as the Beibu Gulf.

Like the earlier...

Japanese police officers who had to be disciplined hit a 10-year high last year, prompting calls for an overhaul for the force.

Figures released by the National Police Agency on Thursday showed that 337 personnel had to be disciplined over the course of the year.

The problem has become so serious that a leading Japanese newspaper published an editorial on January 26 describing the scale and sheer number of incidents as “hard to believe” and demanding that senior management “rebuild the...

Bears entered areas near human dwellings despite being adequately nourished, even during years when acorns were scarce in their natural habitats, likely attracted by fruit trees left on abandoned farmland, a recent study in western Japan showed.

Japanese black bears are encroaching on human settlements not necessarily out of desperation, but because they are lured by the easy meals found on abandoned farms.

A recent study in western Japan showed that bears entered areas near human dwellings...

The rapid increase in data centres in Malaysia came under the microscope on Saturday, with the AI-driven build-out drawing its first public protest in the Southeast Asian country.

More than 50 people gathered in front of a data centre construction site close to a residential area in the southern state of Johor, demanding an end to dust pollution and compensation for any negative impact that the project might have on their health. The protesters also expressed concern that the facility will...