Asia

Malaysia’s government could not interfere in the management of companies and only regulates ⁠shareholding structures, its transport ⁠minister said on Friday, following the appointment ⁠of former DP World chief Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem to lead the country’s largest port operator. Sultan Ahmed, who in February quit his top post at Dubai-based logistics giant DP World amid scrutiny over his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein, has taken ‌charge of Malaysian firm MMC Port Holdings. “We regulate only in...

A controversy in Malaysia over a foreign tech community in Johor state has raised questions on whether immigration scrutiny and political sensitivities could slow the country’s push to attract digital nomads and other global talent. Johor authorities are investigating Network School, a private co-living and co-working community based in Forest City and founded by American tech investor and former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan, following online allegations that Israelis were...

A Philippine coastal defence project in Palawan province could complicate Chinese operations near the Spratly Islands, but is unlikely to close Manila’s military gap with Beijing and could turn one of the country’s most important naval hubs into a more prominent target in a crisis, analysts have said. On Monday, the Puerto Princesa City Council approved a Department of National Defence proposal allowing the Armed Forces of the Philippines to establish Coastal Defence Regiment assets and...

Members of Afghan settlements in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border province hurriedly packed up belongings this week while others hid at home as police launched a “large-scale crackdown” on undocumented residents. Authorities in the northern province carried out housing demolitions, roadside identity checks and told Afghans to leave as part of a broader government pushback, community members and officials said. Residents of Mattani, a short drive from the provincial capital Peshawar, said...

On a 1,620-hectare (4,000 acres) site north of Manila, Philippine and US officials are pitching a hi-tech hub as a global gateway to AI, semiconductors and critical minerals. For critics, however, the proposed development – part of the US-backed global Pax Silica project – is concrete proof of another infrastructure push over contested land at the expense of local communities, threatening their livelihoods and scarce water supplies. It is, they argue, a further example of ambitious investment...

At a time of growing regional turbulence, nations across the region are seeking to equip themselves with more and better armaments.

South Korea plans to develop its own cybersecurity-focused artificial intelligence model by the end of this year, after a brief US clampdown on advanced systems exposed the risks of relying on foreign technology for national cyber defence. But Seoul’s more ambitious, longer-term goal of building a frontier model capable of competing with the world’s most advanced systems would require it to overcome a persistent gap in AI software, computing capacity and large-scale training, analysts said. The...

The Department of Foreign Affairs demanded the "immediate takedown” of the AI-generated video, in which the Philippines was depicted as a monkey.

A Singaporean man has been arrested in Bali after a woman was found dead in a rental unit, Indonesian police said on Thursday. The suspect, identified only by the initials MZ, was arrested in less than three hours by a joint police team, according to a post on the Denpasar police’s official social media account. The victim, a 26-year-old woman from Central Java, had been in a relationship with the suspect for about a year, a police spokesperson said. Preliminary investigations indicate that the...

Japan’s parliament approved on Friday a revised Imperial House Law to address the issue of the shrinking royal family, while retaining the long-standing male-only succession system, despite public support for female emperors. The first substantive revision to the 1947 law introduced two changes – permitting the adoption of males aged 15 and over from former branch families descended from emperors through the male line and allowing female members to retain their imperial status even after...

South Korean food exporters are no longer treating Vietnam as just another market for kimchi, instant noodles and premium fruit. As Southeast Asia emerges as one of South Korea’s most important trading regions, Seoul is positioning Vietnam as a logistics and distribution base for a wider push to turn the popularity of Korean culture into sustained demand for Korean food across the region. But analysts said the strategy would depend on more than hallyu-driven curiosity, with exporters needing to...

The reports come on top of the 300 people already reported missing or drowned in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal in 2026.

Japan’s firm support for Ukraine in its war against Russia is expected to be tested after Kyiv expressed interest in working with Tokyo to produce Patriot interceptor missiles. Such a move is unlikely because it would require Japan to cross a sensitive line on exports of lethal weapons and complicate its regional relations, according to analysts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that Kyiv was keen to work with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to manufacture Patriot...

A sudden crowd surge at a popular Hindu festival in eastern India’s Odisha state on Thursday left at least one person dead and many sent to hospital, a news agency reported. The incident occurred as tens of thousands of people gathered in the coastal town of Puri for the annual Rath Yatra chariot festival, according to the Press Trust of India. The festival is considered one of the world’s oldest and largest religious processions. The centuries-old festival involves the idols of Hindu deities...

The nation is looking to expand and balance its economic and security relationships – and India is at the top of the list.

In a ruling that could expose carmakers to greater liability over India’s ethanol-blended fuel policy, an Indian consumer court has ‌ordered Maruti Suzuki to provide a new car to a customer who alleged mandatory E20 fuel damaged his car. The first-of-its-kind ruling is likely to be closely watched as legal experts said it could embolden other vehicle owners who believe the fuel has caused problems with their cars to seek compensation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and carmakers –...

A controversy centered on Bangladesh's Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam brought students back out to protest.

Senior Philippine officers from the armed forces have emphasised continuity among the military leadership, with the expected retirement of chief of staff General Romeo Brawner Jnr coming at a sensitive moment for President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. The transition comes as Manila continues to face pressure from Beijing in the South China Sea and calls from several retired officers for the military to reconsider its support for Marcos. Whoever Marcos appoints to replace Brawner has to ensure that the...

For China, the decision to sell the J-35 would carry ramifications far exceeding those of any previous Chinese arms sale.

Malaysia’s largest Islamist party was wiped out in Johor’s state election last weekend, but PAS is now trying to turn that defeat into bargaining power. Its argument is that supporters who had no PAS candidate to vote for helped deliver a landslide victory to Barisan Nasional (BN), the coalition led by Umno, its long-time rival for Malay-Muslim voters. The two parties have spent years competing for influence among Malaysia’s Malay majority, but they have also explored cooperation when it serves...

One woman’s attempt to stand for election as mahalla chairperson reveals the barriers that remain to inclusive self-government in Uzbekistan.

International sport offers something that conventional diplomacy often cannot: a stage on which Taiwan can appear before a global audience.

Ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s vow to return to Bangladesh despite facing a death sentence has raised the prospect of a dramatic comeback for her and the Awami League. Her potential return could revive the rivalry between the banned party and the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), while curbing further gains for Islamist political forces, according to analysts. Hasina, who has been living in India since her government was toppled by a student-led protest movement nearly two...

Lured by promises of good money working aboard a foreign fishing vessel, Akhmad left Indonesia and headed out to sea, enduring months of abuse and exploitation while being cut off from the world. Indonesia is one of the top contributors of labour for the global fishing industry with several hundred thousand migrant workers, according to government figures. Many are recruited online and assigned to foreign-flagged ships without being properly informed about their rights, leaving them vulnerable...

Singapore consumers are expected to spend an additional S$1.05 billion (US$815 million) annually in Malaysia’s Johor state once a cross-border rail link connecting the two sides in minutes opens, according to a new study. The study, released on Thursday by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), the Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) and the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA), comes amid concerns from local businesses about cash flowing out to the city state’s northern neighbour,...

Jensen Huang, chief executive of US artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia, held a “yakitori summit” with Japanese executives from semiconductor materials and components companies while visiting Tokyo – a move appeared aimed at strengthening cooperation with local businesses. According to the Nikkei, Huang headed to a yakitori restaurant near Kanda Station in Tokyo, an izakaya specialising in grilled pork skewers and sake, on Wednesday. Located near Tokyo Station, the area is a popular...

The Retirement Fund Incorporated’s (KWAP) US$47.7 million investment in Indonesian agritech start-up eFishery was the victim of an orchestrated fraud, Malaysia’s finance ministry has confirmed. In a parliamentary written reply dated July 15, the ministry explained that KWAP’s July 2023 investment followed a robust evaluation and governance process. This included internal assessments, independent due diligence and the verification of financial statements by certified international auditors. KWAP...

A conversation with journalist and advocate Nathan Paul Southern.

The UN warned on Thursday that more than 500 people were feared dead following reports of two large shipwrecks off Myanmar since late June. The UN’s International Organization for Migration and its refugee agency UNHCR voiced alarm in a joint statement at reports “that two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off the coast of Myanmar in recent days”. Preliminary information indicated that the two vessels in question departed from war-torn Myanmar’s Rakhine state in late June,...

The growing negative sentiment about the community bears a disturbing resemblance to the narratives that justified their mass expulsion from Myanmar in 2017.