Politics

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Tuesday. Photo: Yonhap/via EPA-EFE

‘Outrageous’ nostalgia for journalist’s stabbing puts Korean media on notice

A chilling warning from a senior presidential aide about possible terror attacks against dissenting journalists has put President Yoon Suk-yeol’s war on ‘fake news’ under the spotlight.

1 minute ago
Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh. Photo: Reuters

Singapore opposition chief pleads not guilty to charges of lying to parliament

Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh was charged with two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee in hearings involving his party’s former MP Raeesah Khan.

3 hours ago
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (left) meets his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on March 18. Photo: AFP

Singapore minister’s visit to Palestinian territories a ‘visible gesture’

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan’s Middle East tour comes as Singapore becomes ‘more vocal’ on Israel’s actions in Gaza, observers say.

6 hours ago
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (right) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after their meeting at the presidential office in Seoul in May last year. Photo: AP

Can a new South Korea-Japan agreement take bilateral ties to the next level?

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol reportedly hopes to build on the Japan-Republic of Korea Joint Declaration made in 1998 that outlined a future-oriented relationship.

19 Mar 2024 - 8:21AM
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr at Malacanang Palace on November 3, 2023. File photo: EPA-EFE

Could 3-way meet with the US draw Japan to help Philippines in South China Sea?

Biden, Kishida and Marcos Jnr are set to meet next month in a landmark summit over the issue deemed by Manila to be the top ‘flashpoint’.

18 Mar 2024 - 9:23PM
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari (left), army officers and others attend the funeral of Lieutenant Colonel Syed Kashif Ali and Captain Muhammad Ahmed Badar, who were killed in an attack on a military post in North Waziristan district on Saturday. Photo: Handout via Reuters

‘Grave threat’: Pakistan justifies air strikes on Taliban rebels in Afghanistan

Monday’s operation targeted the Hafiz Gul Bahadur militant faction, which claimed responsibility for the attack on a military outpost that left seven soldiers dead.

18 Mar 2024 - 11:17PM
An aerial view of Sihanoukville. The city has become known as a hub for scam operations over the past few years. Photo: Shutterstock

Why Chinese scammers may still be running Cambodia’s ‘sin city’ amid crackdowns

Observers say to truly extinguish the criminal operations, Cambodian officials must go after ‘key figures’ protecting the industry dominated by Chinese scam gangs.

18 Mar 2024 - 6:47PM
Philippine Air Force jet fighters join the maritime patrol of the Philippines and the United States over Batanes and areas in the West Philippine Sea in November 2023. Photo: Philippine Air Force via AP

US to fund a port on Philippine island near Taiwan. What will it be used for?

The port in Batanes could facilitate rapid troop deployment and serve as a transit point for supplies and evacuated Filipinos in the event of a conflict.

18 Mar 2024 - 2:10PM
An activist holds a placard during a protest against the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act in Bengaluru, India, on March 13. Photo: AFP

India’s citizenship law slammed as anti-Muslim and Modi’s election ploy

New Delhi announces the long delayed implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, which sparked violent protests in 2019 when it was unveiled.

17 Mar 2024 - 11:50PM
Toronto skyline stands on the waterfront. One initial push for French civic Republicanism – which is the basis for Quebec’s laïcité – came in 1838, when all ties between church and state were abolished. Photo: Reuters

‘I feel alienated’: secularism law vexes minorities in Quebec

Opponents of the rule banning public sector employees from wearing religious items at work plan to take their fight to the Supreme Court after a judge refused to quash the law.

16 Mar 2024 - 7:43PM
Israel-Gaza war: fears grow of an impending humanitarian disaster as ceasefire talks stall. Image: SCMP

In Gaza at Ramadan, starvation adds to deaths amid Israel-Hamas truce impasse

With ceasefire talks stalled, fears are growing that events will ‘spiral out of control’ in Gaza, where deaths from malnutrition and dehydration are adding to the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed by Israel’s months-long bombardment.

18 Mar 2024 - 8:36AM
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with the leaders of (from left) Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos and Indonesia at the 2024 Asean-Australia Special Summit on March 5. Photo: dpa

What’s behind Australian investors’ reluctance to venture into Southeast Asia?

A lack of risk appetite for developing markets and different ways of doing business are among the factors holding back Australian investors, experts say.

16 Mar 2024 - 9:30AM
South Korea’s home-grown space rocket Nuri lifts off from Naro Space Center on May 25, 2023. File photo: YNA/dpa

Can South Korea’s star shine on global stage as it seeks to join space race?

South Korea is set to build an aerospace hub to house some 1,000 firms to tap on the sector’s ‘limitless opportunities and a huge market’.

15 Mar 2024 - 5:00PM
A migrant worker collects bunches of palm oil fresh fruit in Selangor in June 2022. Photo: Reuters

Malaysians deride fancy work title for palm oil jobs: ‘the pay must be worth it’

A minister has been ridiculed for his suggestion that marketing palm oil plantation workers as ‘professional harvesters’ could help solve chronic labour shortages.

15 Mar 2024 - 4:36PM
An AI-generated image showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi playing guitar live on stage at a concert. Photo: Photo: Instagram/@_a.i_guy_

India’s politics descends into an AI arms race as deepfakes threaten elections

The emergence of generative AI has left governments around the world scrambling to legislate against the risks posed by the fast-evolving technology. But India is especially vulnerable – and even Modi’s concerned.

14 Mar 2024 - 11:38PM
Protesters burn tyres during a rally on March 5 in Jakarta demanding the impeachment of Indonesian President Joko Widodo over allegations of election meddling. Photo: AP

Some cry foul play as Indonesia’s Prabowo is set to be named president

The Election Commission last week stopped displaying its ongoing official vote tally online, sparking criticism from activists, watchdogs and backers of Prabowo’s rivals.

14 Mar 2024 - 4:15PM
Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis says Australia’s purchase of nuclear-powered submarines would only force “China’s political class to close ranks around an authoritarian core”. Photo: Shutterstock

Australia should ‘end servility to US’, defuse Aukus deal: ex-Greek minister

Yanis Varoufakis says diplomacy is a ‘far better way’ for Canberra to engage with Beijing, and that the Aukus deal would ‘turbocharge a new Cold War’.

14 Mar 2024 - 12:46PM
Under the current law, only Malaysian men who marry non-citizens and have a child abroad can pass their citizenship to their children. Photo: Shutterstock

Malaysia to amend citizenship law, give equal rights to foreign-born children

The amendment will allow foreign-born children to Malaysian mothers and their non-Malaysian spouse to automatically get citizenship, ending years of struggle for many.

14 Mar 2024 - 3:25PM
Then-president-elect Mohamed Muizzu (centre, in light blue shirt) of the Maldives delivers a speech in Male following the country’s presidential election on October 2, 2023. Photo: AFP

Can India mend fences with the Maldives amid China’s gambit to gain clout?

India should take steps to counter China’s ‘timely opportunism’ to draw closer to the Maldives, analysts say.

13 Mar 2024 - 9:04PM
A live-fire drill carried out by the People’s Liberation Army in 2021 in the Gulf of Tonkin, referred to as “Beibu Gulf” by Beijing. Photo: Weibo / PLA

Are China and Vietnam on collision course over Beijing’s Gulf of Tonkin marking?

The demarcation could also be an “inevitable step” towards the disputed Spratly Islands being the next area where Beijing wants to set its lines.

13 Mar 2024 - 6:03PM