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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. Malaysia’s tourism minister urges warmer welcomes after ‘less than friendly’ complaints

2. Japan’s shoplifters hate a simple ‘hello’ more than cameras

3. Debate on Singapore’s elite schools flares as ex-student recalls ‘privileged’ years

4. Netflix-Warner deal sparks concern in India’s entertainment sector

5. Ageing Asia needs domestic helpers, but can it keep them safe?

6. Why Japan’s notorious Setagaya murders still haunt police and public, 25 years on

7. Fair or fowl? Malaysia struggles to stomach its US trade pact



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SCMP Highlights

Singapore’s elite schools spark debate; concern for domestic helpers: 7 Asia highlights

Mikio (right) with his family and mother (second from right) shortly before the murders. Photo: Handout

Tourists take pictures with Malaysia’s Petronas Twin Towers in the background in Kuala Lumpur. The country aims to attract 47 million international visitors during the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign. Photo: AFP

Shoplifting has grown steadily worse in Japan in recent years, with police recently dismantling a Vietnamese crime ring who had targeted Uniqlo stores across the country. Photo: AFP

Sunrise in Singapore with the iconic Merlion statue in the background. A viral video on elite schools has sparked a debate on whether such schools may lead to wider social stratification. Photo: Shutterstock

A Netflix sign atop a building in Los Angeles, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. Photo: AP

Filipino domestic workers gather on a street in Hong Kong. Indonesia and the Philippines have provided millions of helpers to the rest of Asia over the decades. Photo: Dickson Lee

On the night of December 30, 2000, an assailant managed to get into the home of the Miyazawa family, in Tokyo’s upmarket Setagaya ward and strangled or knifed all of them to death. Photo: Handout

A woman shops at a wet market in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 13, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Rise of Peranakan Chinese networks, Malaysian ex-PM jailed in 1MDB saga: 7 Asia highlights

The Long San Tong Khoo Kongsi clanhouse in Penang. Photo: Ushar Daniele


Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak is escorted by prison guards at the Kuala Lumpur Court complex on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Screenshot from a video filmed by an attendant at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital on Monday showing a masked doctor punching a man lying on a bed. Photo: X

Bonnie Blue pins the Indonesian flag to the back of her dress, causing it to drag on the ground. Photo: Instagram

US captures Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro: everything you need to know

Venezuela’s captured President Nicolas Maduro poses next to US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator Terry Cole as he is led in custody from a US federal airplane, at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, on January 3, 2026. Photo: Handout via Reuters

A pro-government, armed civilian in Caracas, Venezuela, attends a protest demanding the release of President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores, after US forces captured and flew them to the United States. Photo: AP

US President Donald Trump during a news conference at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday. Photo: EPA

Government supporters gather in Caracas on January 3 after US strikes on Venezuela and the capture of its leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Photo: Reuters

A firefighter walks past a destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military base in Caracas following a US strike that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

A protester holds a Venezuelan flag during a protest in Argentina calling for a democratic transition after the US military strikes on Caracas. Photo: Reuters

One of the helicopters carrying Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores arrives at the Westside Heliport in New York City on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Protesters gather outside a courthouse in New York on Monday where ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made his first appearance after he was seized by US forces in his country. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese zodiac predictions, secrets to a long and healthy life: 5 Lifestyle highlights

Find out what is in store for your Chinese zodiac animal in the coming month with predictions from fortune-teller Andrew Kwan. Photo: Shutterstock

Dai Jun heads the kitchen at Lamdre in Beijing, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant that sits at the vanguard of the Chinese vegetarian food scene. Photo: Lamdre

The Three Stallions, by Xu Beihong. The piece is just one example of the many horse paintings that Xu was known for.

News

Asia

From Malaysia’s struggle over trade pact to increased risk to domestic helpers, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting


From Malaysia’s struggle over trade pact to increased risk to domestic helpers, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.


Singapore’s elite schools spark debate; concern for domestic helpers: 7 Asia highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From Malaysia’s struggle over trade pact to increased risk to domestic helpers, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting

1. Malaysia’s tourism minister urges warmer welcomes after ‘less than friendly’ complaints

From Malaysia’s struggle over trade pact to increased risk to domestic helpers, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting