https://www.scmp.com/rss/3/feed Breaking news, analysis and opinion from the SCMP's Asia edition. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Bloomberg Bloomberg Sentiment is warming among some Southeast Asian members towards easing Myanmar’s isolation five years after a coup, with diplomats signalling a possible opening to bring the crisis-torn nation back into the fold. Southeast Asian foreign ministers have agreed to a virtual meeting with their Myanmar counterpart, according to Asean’s secretary general on Thursday. In an interview during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit ‌in the Philippines on Thursday, Kao Kim Hourn said Myanmar had... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352831/asean-members-warm-towards-myanmar-raising-hopes-it-could-come-cold?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352831/asean-members-warm-towards-myanmar-raising-hopes-it-could-come-cold?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 May 2026 02:18:28 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall The young man on course to be Japan’s future emperor is attracting the attention of the country’s voracious media, with rumours of girlfriends and security challenges as a university student, and hints of unrest in the palace over succession. Royalists say the media should leave 19-year-old Prince Hisahito alone to concentrate on his environmental studies course at the University of Tsukuba, while a debate mounts on whether the constitution should be altered to allow his cousin to become Japan’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3352789/japans-prince-hisahito-steps-spotlight-succession-debate-heats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3352789/japans-prince-hisahito-steps-spotlight-succession-debate-heats?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 May 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones A bonfire of red tape to unleash investment and complete stalled projects across Vietnam may drive economic expansion but is unlikely to offset the damage caused by US tariffs and the fuel crisis which have threatened the country’s growth ambitions. Vietnam’s Communist Party General-Secretary and President To Lam, the most powerful leader in a generation, has set an annual growth target of 10 per cent until 2030 to galvanise a nation whose ponderous bureaucracy has snarled private investment and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352808/can-vietnams-bureaucracy-reform-boost-investment-amid-growth-threats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352808/can-vietnams-bureaucracy-reform-boost-investment-amid-growth-threats?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:17 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Two Australian women “kept a female slave” after travelling to Syria in 2014 to support Islamic State, police said on Friday after the pair were charged in Melbourne. The women returned to Australia on Thursday evening for the first time in almost a decade, travelling from a Syrian detention camp where they were stranded after the group’s collapse. They were immediately arrested after their Qatar Airways flight landed at Melbourne International Airport. Police accused the women – a mother and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3352825/islamic-state-linked-australian-women-charged-keeping-slave-syria?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3352825/islamic-state-linked-australian-women-charged-keeping-slave-syria?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 23:42:36 +0000 Göktuğ Çalışkan Göktuğ Çalışkan When the United States and the Philippines opened this year’s Balikatan exercises, the message travelled far beyond the parade ground. More than 17,000 troops are taking part in drills set to run until May 8. What matters is where the drills unfold, who has joined and what kind of regional habit they are helping to normalise. Japan took part in its first Balitakan live-fire exercises. Australia, Canada, France and New Zealand were also active participants. Then the exercises moved closer to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352387/why-chinas-warning-over-military-blocs-finding-listeners-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352387/why-chinas-warning-over-military-blocs-finding-listeners-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 21:30:05 +0000 Reuters Reuters The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia agreed on Thursday to pursue trust-building measures to advance a fragile ceasefire and establish peace, after rare talks over last year’s deadly fighting between the two neighbours. Troops remain deployed ‌on both sides of their long-disputed 817km (508-mile) border after battles in July and December when skirmishes quickly escalated into air strikes and heavy exchanges of artillery and rockets. The Philippines, which is hosting Asean meetings on the island... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352802/thailand-cambodia-pledge-forge-lasting-peace-asean-meet-after-border-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352802/thailand-cambodia-pledge-forge-lasting-peace-asean-meet-after-border-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 14:32:59 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India’s military is exploring alternative energy sources amid surging oil and gas prices caused by supply disruption from the Iran war, a trend that analysts say is set to accelerate among Asian countries heavily dependent on energy imports. According to local media reports, the Indian army plans to get biogas stoves to replace natural gas-fired appliances for cooking. It is also exploring the use of green fuels for army vehicles and administrative work, as well as solar and wind power for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352787/indias-military-turns-green-energy-options-iran-war-prompts-new-strategy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352787/indias-military-turns-green-energy-options-iran-war-prompts-new-strategy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 11:47:52 +0000 CNA CNA Two Singapore residents who were on board the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius are currently being isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), where they are being tested for the virus. “Their test results are pending. One has a runny nose but is otherwise well, and the other is asymptomatic. The risk to the general public in Singapore is currently low,” the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said on Thursday. CDA said it was notified on Monday and Tuesday that the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352771/singapore-isolates-2-residents-linked-mv-hondius-hantavirus-outbreak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352771/singapore-isolates-2-residents-linked-mv-hondius-hantavirus-outbreak?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 10:36:24 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesia’s economy grew 5.6 per cent during the first quarter of 2026, its fastest pace in more than three years, but analysts warn that the coming months will pose significant tests for Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. Statistics body BPS attributed the growth to robust household consumption – which made up 54.36 per cent of gross domestic product and grew by 5.52 per cent year-on-year – and a surge in government spending. Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, head of BPS and deputy minister for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352750/indonesia-posts-fastest-first-quarter-growth-3-years-headwinds-loom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352750/indonesia-posts-fastest-first-quarter-growth-3-years-headwinds-loom?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 09:37:58 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg AirAsia X co-founder Tony Fernandes said he is preparing to launch a new airline, betting that expanding while the aviation industry’s being roiled by high oil prices will pay off in the future. The new airline will be announced in the next month or two, Fernandes said in a video interview from Montreal late on Wednesday. The low-cost Southeast Asian carrier group is moving some planes for the business it is starting, he said, without providing further details. The expansion would come on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352749/airasia-launch-new-airline-flying-against-wind-high-oil-costs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352749/airasia-launch-new-airline-flying-against-wind-high-oil-costs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 09:28:46 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Myanmar’s appointment of a close confidant of US President Donald Trump to rebuild ties with Washington could offer the regime a sliver of hope to rebrand itself, even as a breakthrough on major issues, such as American investment in the country’s critical minerals sector, is likely to be limited. Naypyidaw’s Ministry of Information has hired veteran American political lobbyist Roger Stone to boost relations with the Trump administration, according to filings under the US Foreign Agents... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352715/myanmars-military-rulers-hire-trump-ally-us50000-month-lobby-washington?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352715/myanmars-military-rulers-hire-trump-ally-us50000-month-lobby-washington?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 08:00:34 +0000 The Korea Times The Korea Times South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday rebutted US President Donald Trump’s assertion that a South Korean-operated vessel was attacked as it was acting on its own without US protection in the Strait of Hormuz – a focal point of the ongoing Iran war. “For several days before the fire broke out, the ship had been anchored in the relevant waters near the United Arab Emirates on the inner side of the Strait of Hormuz,” the ministry said in a statement. The remarks followed an... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3352720/south-korea-rejects-trumps-claim-ship-was-hit-because-it-decided-go-it-alone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3352720/south-korea-rejects-trumps-claim-ship-was-hit-because-it-decided-go-it-alone?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 07:18:26 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Gunmen on motorbikes in India’s West Bengal ambushed and killed a political aide from the ruling Hindu-nationalist party days after it swept state elections, police said on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a resounding victory on Monday in the eastern state of more than 100 million people, taking 207 of the 294 assembly seats, for its first-ever state victory in West Bengal. Chandranath Rath, 41, a close aide of West Bengal’s BJP chief Suvendu Adhikari,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3352707/bjp-aide-shot-dead-indias-west-bengal-days-after-historic-election-win?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3352707/bjp-aide-shot-dead-indias-west-bengal-days-after-historic-election-win?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 05:47:06 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones The queues start to form before the lunchtime rush at Phed Mark, a Bangkok kitchen with a pop-up feel that dishes up steaming plateloads of pad kaphrao – a runny fried egg with fiery minced meat over rice – to a clientele of mainly Chinese tourists. Founded by YouTuber Mark Weins, Phed Mark has turned a Thai staple into a must-eat for Chinese visitors, who defy the heat to patiently wait each day on plastic stools for their turn outside the Ekkamai bus terminal. A lot has to do with its... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352704/thailand-targets-6-million-chinese-visitors-authentic-content-rednote-wechat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352704/thailand-targets-6-million-chinese-visitors-authentic-content-rednote-wechat?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 05:04:53 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar arrived in Moscow on Thursday for a high-profile visit that comes as Kuala Lumpur looks for alternative oil sources amid a fuel crisis linked to the Iran war. Sultan Ibrahim landed at Vnukovo-2 International Airport at 4.20pm local time on Thursday, according to Malaysian reports, and was received by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, senior protocol officials and Malaysia’s ambassador to Russia, Cheong Loon Lai. The king is attending Russia’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352696/malaysian-kings-visit-russia-expected-smooth-path-oil-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352696/malaysian-kings-visit-russia-expected-smooth-path-oil-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 03:48:18 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A South Korean appeals court reduced the sentence of former prime minister Han Duck-soo on Thursday by eight years for crimes relating to ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol’s martial law declaration. Yoon’s decree in December 2024 briefly suspended civilian rule and plunged South Korea into chaos, but only lasted around six hours as opposition lawmakers moved quickly to overturn it in a vote. A lower court had sentenced Han in January to a heavier-than-expected jail term of 23 years for engaging in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3352689/south-korean-court-cuts-former-prime-minister-han-duck-soos-jail-term-15-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3352689/south-korean-court-cuts-former-prime-minister-han-duck-soos-jail-term-15-years?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 02:40:52 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall In the weeks leading up to Donald Trump’s second inauguration, conservatives in Japan were delighted and hopeful that his return would usher in robust economic growth, new trade opportunities and a stronger security relationship with Tokyo. Barely 18 months later, many of those same conservatives admit to being shocked at the state of the bilateral relationship and the mounting global uncertainties the US president’s policies have produced. For some of his diehard supporters in Japan, the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352657/trumps-last-japanese-diehard-fans-lose-faith-iran-war-chaos-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352657/trumps-last-japanese-diehard-fans-lose-faith-iran-war-chaos-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 02:00:15 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg New Zealand is weighing the purchase of advanced warships from Japan or the UK to modernise its ageing fleet and bolster its defence capability. The South Pacific nation, member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network alongside Australia, the US, the UK and Canada, is focused on Japanese Mogami-class or the UK’s Type 31 frigates. Discussions are under way with the Royal Australian Navy and the UK’s Royal Navy about the frigate replacement and ongoing service arrangements, Defence Minister... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3352684/new-zealand-eyes-japanese-mogami-class-warships-possible-replacements-ageing-fleet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3352684/new-zealand-eyes-japanese-mogami-class-warships-possible-replacements-ageing-fleet?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 01:55:44 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse North Korea’s UN envoy said his country was not bound by the non-proliferation treaty (NPT) on nuclear weapons and external pressure would not change its status as a nuclear-armed state, official media reported on Thursday. Pyongyang threatened to withdraw from the treaty in 1993 and formally did so in 2003. It has since conducted six nuclear tests – prompting a raft of international sanctions – and is believed to possess dozens of nuclear warheads. Signatories of the NPT have been holding a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3352681/north-korea-says-nuclear-status-will-not-change-despite-external-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3352681/north-korea-says-nuclear-status-will-not-change-despite-external-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 01:23:18 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong North Korea has removed references to “national reunification” from its constitution and newly defined its territory as land bordering South Korea, a move analysts say may signal Pyongyang’s intent to avoid direct conflict with Seoul. The constitutional overhaul is widely seen as aligning with the North’s evolving stance towards Seoul – shifting away from reunification and towards a more formalised state-to-state relationship. Pyongyang took more than two years to revise the constitution after... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352662/north-koreas-constitutional-shift-move-towards-peaceful-co-existence-south?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352662/north-koreas-constitutional-shift-move-towards-peaceful-co-existence-south?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:13 +0000 Richard Heydarian Richard Heydarian “In an increasingly severe security environment, no single country can now protect its own peace and security alone,” declared Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last month, signalling a major shift in Tokyo’s defence posture. “Under the new system, we will strategically promote equipment transfers while making even more rigorous and cautious judgments on whether transfers are permissible,” she added, confirming long-running speculation that Tokyo would relax decades-old restrictions on... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352476/us-allies-asia-are-looking-build-middle-power-coalitions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352476/us-allies-asia-are-looking-build-middle-power-coalitions?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 21:30:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A passenger bus collided head-on with a fuel tanker truck on a highway on Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people and injuring four others, officials said. The crash occurred around midday on the Trans-Sumatra Highway in North Musi Rawas regency of South Sumatra province, when an intercity bus carrying at least 20 people struck a tanker truck travelling in the opposite direction, said Mugono, a local disaster management agency official. Mugono, who uses a single name... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352658/bus-and-oil-tanker-collide-indonesia-killing-least-16-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352658/bus-and-oil-tanker-collide-indonesia-killing-least-16-people?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 14:06:31 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow A visit by Vietnam’s leader to India is set to enhance New Delhi’s growing influence with Hanoi while allowing the Southeast Asian country to hedge against China in the event of any escalation in maritime disputes. Vietnamese President To Lam’s trip underscores concerns from both countries of being “overly dependent” on any superpower, according to political analysts. Lam arrived in Delhi on Tuesday for a three-day visit, marking his first trip to India since assuming office. The visit coincides... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352651/vietnam-india-seek-closer-ties-hedge-against-dependence-superpowers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352651/vietnam-india-seek-closer-ties-hedge-against-dependence-superpowers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 13:02:15 +0000 Yogi Putranto Yogi Putranto Beneath the surface of the world’s oceans lies an infrastructure so essential, modern life would stall without it – yet so invisible it rarely enters public debate. Submarine cables, slender fibre-optic systems laid across the seabed, carry over 95 per cent of global internet traffic, transmitting the data that underpins financial markets, diplomatic exchanges and everyday communication. What appears to be neutral infrastructure is, in fact, a deeply political system – one that exposes a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352215/power-flows-through-submarine-cables-law-sea-must-evolve?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352215/power-flows-through-submarine-cables-law-sea-must-evolve?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 12:52:34 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Thailand vowed on Wednesday to tighten oversight of tourists’ behaviour after a series of incidents involving foreigners caught having sex in public, warning they damaged the country’s image. Tourism is vital to the Southeast Asian nation’s economy but foreign arrivals are yet to return to their pre-Covid highs. Visitors displaying “inappropriate behaviour”, including illicit drug use, would face prosecution as it “contradicts the beautiful culture of Thailand”, the prime minister’s office said... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352645/thailand-vows-strict-tourist-oversight-after-public-sex-incidents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352645/thailand-vows-strict-tourist-oversight-after-public-sex-incidents?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 11:55:36 +0000 Aisyah Llewellyn Aisyah Llewellyn A chilling voice note from her husband was all the warning Indonesian housewife Shanty Shanaya received of his impending kidnapping in some of the world’s most treacherous waters. “I’m about to be attacked,” her 33-year-old husband, Captain Ashari Samadikun, said in the April 21 voice note threaded with fear as a group he assumed to be pirates approached. He was captaining the Palau-flagged MT Honour 25 tanker, which was carrying fuel from Oman to Somalia – a route once notorious for pirates who... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3352643/indonesian-captain-among-crew-held-somali-pirates-strike-again-horn-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3352643/indonesian-captain-among-crew-held-somali-pirates-strike-again-horn-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 11:49:19 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji After his party’s stunning conquest of West Bengal, Narendra Modi stands at a juncture that would have seemed implausible mere months ago. The prime minister who lost his parliamentary majority in 2024, briefly inviting talk of a weakened leader, now controls roughly 70 per cent of India’s state legislatures through his ruling coalition, the National Democratic Alliance. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) sweep of West Bengal, winning 207 of 294 assembly seats and ending three consecutive terms... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352627/what-bjps-historic-west-bengal-victory-means-modis-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352627/what-bjps-historic-west-bengal-victory-means-modis-india?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 11:00:07 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency is seeking to charge two unnamed individuals over a 1.1 billion ringgit (US$278 million) semiconductor deal with British chip designer Arm Holdings, as former economy minister Rafizi Ramli returned for a third day of questioning in the same probe. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said the investigation was nearing completion after officers recorded statements from 22 witnesses, including Rafizi and his former aide, political analyst James... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352636/malaysia-seeks-charge-2-over-us278-million-arm-semiconductor-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352636/malaysia-seeks-charge-2-over-us278-million-arm-semiconductor-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 10:42:47 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesia has unveiled a new vision to transform the holiday island of Bali into a global finance hub inspired by destinations such as Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore, but the tourist hotspot faces a raft of systemic and infrastructural hurdles before it can attain the lofty goal. Indonesian Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto earlier this week said the government was finalising regulations to establish a financial hub in the Kura Kura Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on Serangan island, 500... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352624/can-indonesia-turn-holiday-island-bali-global-financial-hub?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352624/can-indonesia-turn-holiday-island-bali-global-financial-hub?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 09:42:29 +0000 Genevieve Donnellon-May Genevieve Donnellon-May Asia’s next food crisis is under way. After the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed, sending shock waves across energy, fertiliser and food systems. Fuel, freight and fertiliser costs are rising sharply, amplified by skyrocketing insurance premiums – feeding directly into the price of every tonne of fertiliser that still reaches the market. The scale of disruption reflects the strait’s outsize role in global trade. It carries around one-third of globally... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352187/asia-must-unite-avert-iran-war-food-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352187/asia-must-unite-avert-iran-war-food-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 08:30:05 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Japan has long grappled with what to do about hikikomori – the social hermits who seal themselves off from the world, sometimes for years, retreating from all human contact. In the past, these recluses were thought of as a youth problem: troubled teenagers, rudderless young men. But that framing no longer holds. Japan’s shut-ins are growing old, and the parents keeping them alive are growing older still. The average hikikomori is now 36.9 years old, according to the Asahi newspaper, citing a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352591/japans-hikikomori-recluses-are-growing-old-so-are-their-carers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352591/japans-hikikomori-recluses-are-growing-old-so-are-their-carers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 07:49:45 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Across much of India, an energy crunch caused by the Iran war has prompted long queues for cooking gas cylinders. That is not a problem for Gauri Devi. On a stove with blue flames, she flips a chapatti flatbread, burning biogas produced from cow dung – an alternative fuel helping ease pressure on supplies. “It cooks everything,” the 25-year-old said in her courtyard kitchen in Nekpur, a village in Uttar Pradesh, about 90km (55 miles) from New Delhi. “If the pressure goes down, we let it rest for... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3352585/how-cow-dung-beating-indias-cooking-gas-crunch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3352585/how-cow-dung-beating-indias-cooking-gas-crunch?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 07:13:48 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Four paintings linked to one of the world’s most audacious financial frauds stood on easels at Malaysia’s anti-corruption headquarters on Wednesday: a Picasso, a Miro, a Balthus and an Ultrillo – all allegedly bought with money stolen from the Malaysian people. The unveiling of the works at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya marked the first public showing of artworks recovered from the multibillion-dollar Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal since... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352577/malaysia-unveils-recovered-1mdb-masterpieces-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352577/malaysia-unveils-recovered-1mdb-masterpieces-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 05:53:47 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A group of 13 Australians related to alleged Islamic State (Isis) jihadists is returning home from Syria, Australian authorities said on Wednesday, warning some will face arrest. The four women and nine children, who had been living in Roj camp in Syria, are expected to land in Sydney and Melbourne airports on Thursday, according to local media. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said he received an alert on Wednesday morning when the group’s travel booking was made. “The government is not... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3352571/australia-warns-arrests-13-people-linked-isis-set-return-syria?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3352571/australia-warns-arrests-13-people-linked-isis-set-return-syria?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 04:52:56 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Japan’s prime minister touched down in Australia on Sunday with a set of shared anxieties – about Trump, China and the fragility of supply chains that the two insular nations have long relied upon – to which she sought some small relief. By the time she departed, Sanae Takaichi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had signed an economic security pact, unlocked nearly US$1 billion in critical minerals funding and laid the groundwork for what observers describe as the most comprehensive... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352566/anxious-australia-and-jittery-japan-deepen-quasi-alliance-uneasy-age?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352566/anxious-australia-and-jittery-japan-deepen-quasi-alliance-uneasy-age?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 04:25:03 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong A South Korean appellate court judge who presided over a high-profile case involving former first lady Kim Keon-hee was found dead early Wednesday morning, police said. Shin Jong-oh, who had overturned a lower court’s not guilty verdict and imposed a harsher sentence on Kim, was discovered with severe injuries in a flower bed near the Seoul High Court building in Seocho district, southern Seoul. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital. Police suspect the 55-year-old died after... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3352562/south-korean-judge-who-handed-kim-keon-hee-4-year-term-found-dead-days-after-verdict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3352562/south-korean-judge-who-handed-kim-keon-hee-4-year-term-found-dead-days-after-verdict?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 03:39:55 +0000 Alan Robles Alan Robles Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa was once one of the most visible faces of Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs, a tough-talking national police chief who was seen as the hatchet man carrying out the former Philippine president’s crackdown against alleged criminals of the narcotics trade. Now a senator, Dela Rosa has somewhat fallen off the radar – for six months, he has not appeared for work after reports circulated that he could face arrest in connection with the International Criminal Court’s crimes... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352535/icc-fugitive-duterte-allys-paid-philippine-senate-vanishing-act-draws-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352535/icc-fugitive-duterte-allys-paid-philippine-senate-vanishing-act-draws-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 03:00:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse North Korea welcomed foreign visitors and firms to a trade fair this week, showcasing home-grown products including the latest model of its sleek Jindallae smartphone. Diplomatically isolated and under biting sanctions over its nuclear and weapons programmes, North Korea has an ageing manufacturing base which analysts doubt has the ability to make high-quality consumer technology. Still, Pyongyang has touted Jindallae – “azalea” in Korean – as a convenient way for citizens to stay connected,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3352553/north-koreas-new-own-brand-phone-sleek-colourful-and-possibly-watching-you?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3352553/north-koreas-new-own-brand-phone-sleek-colourful-and-possibly-watching-you?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 02:18:21 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall A pro-Kremlin Japanese politician has said Russia is trying to arrange a meeting of the two nations’ foreign ministers in July, although analysts suggest that Muneo Suzuki’s efforts to act as a go-between are unlikely to bear fruit. Suzuki, who represents a constituency in Hokkaido and returned to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in 2025 after 23 years as an independent member of the Diet, met senior Russian government officials in Moscow on Monday. Andrey Rudenko, deputy foreign minister in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352516/why-japanese-politicians-goal-reset-ties-russia-long-shot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352516/why-japanese-politicians-goal-reset-ties-russia-long-shot?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 01:30:13 +0000 Wenran Jiang Wenran Jiang Global attention is fixated on Japan’s strategic shift under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. From the strengthened US-Japan alliance to the tense stand-off with China, from advocating for constitutional reinterpretation to allowing weapons exports and deploying counterstrike capabilities – these moves have been dissected in capitals worldwide. But the real, and more decisive, story is unfolding on Japan’s home front. The domestic dynamic driving this change is often a footnote, yet it is the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352355/domestic-dynamics-driving-japans-remilitarisation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352355/domestic-dynamics-driving-japans-remilitarisation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 01:30:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The son of Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi demanded France’s help in seeking independently verified proof of his mother’s life after she was transferred to house arrest, her lawyers said. The country’s junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing on Thursday ordered the 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner to be moved, five years after putting her into detention in a coup. But her son, Kim Aris, says he has still not heard from his mother, who remains massively popular inside... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352550/aung-san-suu-kyis-son-asks-france-help-him-locate-mother-myanmar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352550/aung-san-suu-kyis-son-asks-france-help-him-locate-mother-myanmar?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 01:27:44 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg The US Army on Tuesday shot a Tomahawk missile from its Typhon Mid-Range Capability launcher system in the Philippines during a military exercise, marking the first time it has fired such a weapon since the system’s arrival in the country two years ago, which drew a rebuke from China. Built by Lockheed Martin, the Typhon system had been flown 13,000km (8,000 miles) from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state to Luzon in the Philippines as part of a military exercise called Salaknib and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352548/us-army-fires-typhon-first-time-philippines-during-balikatan-drills?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352548/us-army-fires-typhon-first-time-philippines-during-balikatan-drills?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 01:07:20 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau With Singapore facing a global energy crisis due to the conflict in the Middle East, the “storm clouds” that Prime Minister Lawrence Wong warned of at an election rally last year now appear to be an understatement. Under the scorching midday sun at a lunchtime speech in the heart of the city, Singapore’s leader last April urged voters to re-elect his tested People’s Action Party (PAP), arguing that voting for the opposition would weaken his team’s ability to navigate coming headwinds. On top of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352538/one-year-singapore-election-has-lawrence-wongs-team-delivered-promises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352538/one-year-singapore-election-has-lawrence-wongs-team-delivered-promises?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 00:00:12 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Japan’s defence minister pledged to deepen military cooperation with the Philippines during a visit Tuesday to Manila, aiming for the “early transfer” of Abukuma-class destroyers to the archipelago nation. The two countries’ shared grievances over Chinese territorial claims have seen them draw increasingly close in recent years, including the signing of a reciprocal access agreement allowing for the deployment of troops on each other’s territory. Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s visit came as... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3352529/japan-philippines-fast-track-transfer-navy-destroyers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3352529/japan-philippines-fast-track-transfer-navy-destroyers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 13:38:30 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and successive US presidents have spent the better part of the past three decades warning that a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten the whole world. Now, thanks to the illegal US-Israeli war, Iran may have to go nuclear by claiming self-defence. After all, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Israel would justify its clandestine nuclear weapon programme, which dates back to the 1950s, by claiming Arab states wanted to exterminate it. Well,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3352328/thanks-trump-and-netanyahu-everyone-now-wants-go-nuclear?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3352328/thanks-trump-and-netanyahu-everyone-now-wants-go-nuclear?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 12:30:06 +0000 Raissa Robles Raissa Robles The Philippine House of Representatives has moved Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment closer to a decisive vote, the first step in a week-long process that will test whether allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr have enough support to send the case to a Senate trial. The House placed the impeachment on its plenary agenda on Tuesday, a day after its justice committee endorsed the case, setting up a possible vote by all lawmakers on whether Duterte-Carpio should stand trial in the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352525/philippine-vp-sara-dutertes-impeachment-case-heads-plenary-vote-amid-coercion-claims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3352525/philippine-vp-sara-dutertes-impeachment-case-heads-plenary-vote-amid-coercion-claims?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 12:25:33 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesia is moving to reshape its ride-hailing industry from the inside, with officials saying the state has acquired stakes in app companies as President Prabowo Subianto seeks to raise drivers’ earnings and rein in commission fees. The move could mark a significant shift in one of Southeast Asia’s biggest on-demand economies, where millions of drivers for platforms such as Gojek and Grab have become a highly visible labour force and, analysts say, a potent political bloc. Last week, Prabowo... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352510/indonesia-caps-ride-hailing-commission-fees-8-radical-correction-sector?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352510/indonesia-caps-ride-hailing-commission-fees-8-radical-correction-sector?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 10:20:24 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall A Japanese infantry unit has withdrawn a new patch designed by artificial intelligence after it was criticised for being immature, “aggressive” and out of step with the public image of the country’s Self-Defence Forces (SDF). The 1st Infantry Regiment’s patch was unveiled on April 29 and features an elephant in a helmet and other combat gear, holding a machine gun across its chest. The elephant has chains across its shoulders and a human skull apparently attached to its chest, with blue flames... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352488/japan-army-units-gun-toting-ai-generated-elephant-logo-gets-trampled-critics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352488/japan-army-units-gun-toting-ai-generated-elephant-logo-gets-trampled-critics?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 08:38:32 +0000 Reuters Reuters Thailand on ⁠Tuesday cancelled a long-standing agreement ⁠with Cambodia to work towards joint offshore ⁠energy exploration, Thailand’s prime minister said, defying calls from its neighbour to stay the course on the 25-year-old pact. The Thai cabinet’s cancellation of the 2001 agreement, which seeks to develop a framework to jointly explore hydrocarbons in parts of the Gulf of Thailand ‌where the claims of Thailand and Cambodia overlap, had long been expected and follows two rounds of armed... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352487/thailand-scraps-25-year-old-agreement-cambodia-joint-energy-exploration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352487/thailand-scraps-25-year-old-agreement-cambodia-joint-energy-exploration?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 08:32:49 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Four men slipped aboard in the darkness. Armed with knives and moving fast, they descended into the engine room of the Taipan as the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker threaded its way through the Singapore Strait on the night of April 22. The crew managed to raise the alarm in time and thankfully no one was hurt. But by the time the vessel was searched the intruders were gone, vanished back into the water with a clutch of spare engine parts in tow. It was a modest haul. It was also the 16th such... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3352482/sea-robbery-fears-stalk-singapore-and-malaysias-busiest-waterways?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3352482/sea-robbery-fears-stalk-singapore-and-malaysias-busiest-waterways?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 08:00:54 +0000