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SCMP

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. Bus queue brawl at Malaysia-Singapore crossing spotlights border bottlenecks
Viral footage of two commuters wrestling on the floor of Johor Bahru’s main border terminal has once again highlighted the chronic congestion – and fraying tempers – at one of Southeast Asia’s busiest land crossings, where hundreds of thousands travel daily between Malaysia and Singapore.
2. Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death over 2024 uprising

A Bangladesh tribunal sentenced ousted former leader Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia on Monday, ruling she should be hanged for crimes against humanity committed during a crackdown on student-led protests that triggered the downfall of her 15-year regime.
3. ‘I saw her die before my eyes’: Namewee breaks silence on Iris Hsieh’s death
Malaysian rapper and filmmaker Namewee says he did everything he could to save Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh, but to no avail. This was his first public statement since he was released from detention over the police investigation into Hsieh’s death.
4. As ceasefire with Cambodia unravels, Thailand PM ‘no longer cares’ about tariffs
Thailand and Cambodia traded blame on Thursday for the breakdown of the ceasefire over their disputed border, with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet accusing Thai soldiers of killing a civilian, as villagers on both sides prepare for the conflict to return.
5. Climate collapse: Southeast Asia’s new normal?

With a 30th year of Cop climate talks under way in Brazil, for many of Asia’s most vulnerable populations, the crisis is already here.
6. Megan Khung’s father sues influencer in Singapore over post on his charity
A Singaporean influencer who has set up a children’s charity drive and named it after his late daughter Megan Khung, a victim of horrific child abuse, has sparked a debate over the move, culminating in a legal spat between him and another online personality.
7. Meet the Muslim trans woman whose 50-year-old secret reshapes Malaysian history

For 50 years, Sari Kartina Abdul Karim kept a secret that would reshape Malaysian history. In 1974, at the age of 26, she became one of the region’s earliest Muslim trans women to undergo gender-affirming surgery and, in a rare moment of religious recognition, married with the approval of a Johor mufti. For five decades, she kept her story to herself. But now she says that silence has finally outlived its purpose.


Sharla Cheung’s film career, rise and fall of Hong Kong comics: 7 Lifestyle highlights

Chip prodigy returns to China, coal waste used for critical minerals: 7 science highlights

Japan’s Russia concern, businesses choose Malaysia over Singapore: 7 Asia highlights

Chinese archaeologist pleads guilty, firms flee Singapore’s costs: 5 weekend reads you missed

SCMP Highlights

Brawl at Malaysia-Singapore crossing, Southeast Asia’s climate crisis: 7 Asia highlights

Motorists coming from Malaysia’s state of Johor form a queue as they approach the immigration checkpoint to enter Singapore. Photo: AFP

Sheikh Hasina gestures while speaking to the media, a day after she won the 12th parliamentary elections, in Dhaka, Bangladesh in January 2024. Photo: AFP

Illustration: Huy Truong

Sari Kartina Abdul Karim at her home in the Netherlands. Photo: Facebook/Sharina Abdul Karim

Uproar at Miss Universe event in Thailand, ‘da ka’ moments in Singapore: 7 Asia highlights

Chinese tourists take pictures near the Merlion statue in Singapore. Photo: AFP

Brittany Porter poses with Sultan Muhammad V. Photo: Instagram/its.brook.lynn

US Vice-President J.D. Vance and his wife Usha Vance attend a service at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington on January 20. Photo: AFP

Miss Universe Thailand’s host organiser Nawat Itsaragrisil has come under criticism for his “malicious” comments targeting several of the competition’s delegates at an event in Bangkok on Tuesday. Photo: YouTube/YouSawClipz

What Europe sees in Philippines, Malaysia’s Bukit Bintang upgrade: 7 Asia highlights

A screenshot shows a Philippine navy vessel anchored at Oyster Bay naval facility in Palawan province, West of Manila in June. Photo: AFP

People crowd the Bukit Bintang shopping area in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July. Photo: Getty Images

A street vendor pushes his cart through floodwaters following heavy rains in Jakarta. Photo: Reuters

News

Asia

From a Bangladesh court sentencing Hasina to a Muslim trans woman’s secret, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting


From a Bangladesh court sentencing Hasina to a Muslim trans woman’s secret, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.


Brawl at Malaysia-Singapore crossing, Southeast Asia’s climate crisis: 7 Asia highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From a Bangladesh court sentencing Hasina to a Muslim trans woman’s secret, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting

1. Bus queue brawl at Malaysia-Singapore crossing spotlights border bottlenecks

From a Bangladesh court sentencing Hasina to a Muslim trans woman’s secret, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting