Asia

Former Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, accused by the US of being a Chinese spy and linked to an extramarital affair with tech giant Nvidia’s co-founder Jensen Huang, has been barred from re-entering Singapore over inaccurate information provided to police. Alice Huang, a Hong Kong resident, was found to have downplayed her role in Megaspeed in investigations by Singapore police, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement on Thursday. On the same day, Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia...

Pakistan released two of former prime minister Imran Khan’s sisters from prison on Thursday, after weeks in jail ahead of a planned anti-government march by their brother’s party, their lawyer said. Uzma Khan and Noreen ‌Niazi were freed from Kot Lakhpat Jail in the eastern city of Lahore after the government suspended their detention orders, lawyer Mudassar Umar said. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said another of his sisters, Aleema Khan, remained in prison. Pakistan’s government said...

Indonesian police said on Thursday they have enough initial evidence to pursue treason charges against four suspects in a case involving the wiretapping of President Prabowo Subianto, as lawmakers urged detectives to uncover who ordered the ‌bugging. Former police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who is not related to the president, and three other senior police officials were arrested last week over accusations of unauthorised monitoring of phones belonging to Prabowo, government officials,...

Workers at New Zealand’s largest retailer have had to resort to defecating in the distribution aisles after their bathroom breaks were tracked by artificial intelligence, their union has claimed. More than 300 employees of The Warehouse protested in Auckland and Christchurch on Thursday against technology monitoring them and taking over their jobs, The New Zealand Herald reported. In recent months, the company had been using drones for stocktaking, a robot for packing orders and AI to monitor...

South Korea should use its growing economic clout over Laos to crack down on Pyongyang’s IT workers allegedly using the Southeast Asian nation as a base to secure remote jobs under false identities and funnel earnings to their regime’s weapons programmes, according to analysts. Authorities in Seoul and Washington have launched investigations into such schemes, with analysts warning that Laos is emerging as a hub for North Korea’s operatives exploiting its weak banking networks and...

A six-figure dinner bill in Japan involving Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s family has drawn scrutiny over her perceived lavish lifestyle, as ordinary Filipinos grapple with elevated inflation and a slowing economy. The 205,007-peso (US$3,220) tab was racked up at an upscale Tokyo restaurant in 2023 by a group of 11 people. Charged to the credit card of her lawyer-husband, Manases Carpio, the expense took centre stage on Thursday at Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial, which is...

Singapore has opened its national gold vault to foreign central banks, a move analysts say will sharpen its head-to-head rivalry with Hong Kong for the title of Asia’s leading bullion hub. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced that it would store gold for overseas central banks, international financial institutions and sovereign entities in its currency vault. The facility can hold 500 tonnes and has room for expansion. Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who chairs the...

South Korea is ramping up diplomatic efforts as fresh hurdles loom for its nuclear-powered submarine ambitions following a Democratic Party takeover of the US Congress. Seoul’s Defence Acquisition Programme Administration last week approved preliminary plans for the submarines, with design work set to begin next year under an initial budget of 96.6 billion won (US$72.5 million) and delivery targeted for the late 2030s or beyond. While US President Donald Trump endorsed the submarine plans at a...

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak is barred from political activity and media appearances under house arrest, according to the home minister on Thursday. Any breach will send him straight back to prison. The announcement will remove any ambiguity about Najib’s possible role in the Melaka state election on Saturday and help shore up the credibility of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government, already facing recriminations for not being able to stop the house arrest, an expert...

South Korean police sought an arrest warrant on Thursday for a 59-year-old man, surnamed Jin, suspected of killing a 15-year-old girl who was the alleged victim in a statutory rape case involving his son, as investigators continued efforts to establish the motive. The Seongbuk police station in Seoul requested the warrant on suspicion of murder. Jin was taken into emergency custody at around 1.40am on Wednesday after allegedly stabbing the girl to death at a shared accommodation property in...

Indonesia’s Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka formally resigned on Thursday in the midst of a scandal over his academic qualifications, leaving President Prabowo Subianto with a difficult choice over who should replace him. Gibran, 39, the eldest son of former president Joko Widodo, submitted his resignation letter to the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), a day after submitting a separate letter to Prabowo, bringing an end to a tense period that had seen mounting pressure for his...

A 17-year-old boy with autism was found alive on Thursday after six days lost in eastern Australian woodlands. The boy, whom police identified only as William, had begun camping with a teenage friend when he disappeared last Friday near Walhalla, a former gold-mining town 185km east of Melbourne, police said. A police helicopter crew found him surrounded by wilderness lying in a dry creek bed, and he was later reunited with his mother. William was in good spirits and mostly in good health, the...

For Malaysian content creator Iqbal Fatkhi, making news content credible to younger audiences sometimes means making it less like traditional journalism. Instead of polished broadcasts using formal language, the 33-year-old editor-in-chief of news portal CiliSos Media prefers conversational videos that speak to audiences on their own terms. “It’s ironic in a way that, to gain credibility, you have to look not credible in that sense,” he said. His approach reflects a broader shift in news...

A foreign man who allegedly hacked off a Malaysian policeman’s right hand during an attack at an apartment in Desa Amanpuri, Kepong, was shot dead. Armed with two machetes, the suspect charged out of a residential unit and attacked police officers, firefighters and health ministry staff at about 7pm on Wednesday. Selangor police chief Commissioner Shazeli Kahar said the suspect was shot after he was spotted near a playground, not far from the flat, between 7.30pm and 8pm, shortly after injuring...

Japan’s push to strengthen its armed forces is running into headwinds that money alone cannot overcome, analysts warn, pointing to prolonged delays in US weapon shipments and domestic manufacturing bottlenecks that undermine operational readiness. The issues have cast doubt on Tokyo’s ability to meet ambitious force expansion targets as the government prepares to overhaul its defence and security spending priorities. Observers say these setbacks highlight the need for Japan to build up its...

Australia’s new mandatory safeguards on AI companies could serve as a model for Southeast Asia, analysts say, but the region needs to build its institutional and technical capabilities first. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday that AI companies operating in Australia must immediately report incidents in which their models behave in a rogue or misaligned way and must open systems for evaluation. The measures followed a breach of Australia’s government health data system in June...

With domestic profits narrowing and production capacity expanding, China’s firms are continuing to widen their overseas footprints in search of new, more lucrative markets. In this series, we examine China Inc.’s next phase of “going global” and the complex, challenging international environment its companies have chosen to enter. On a weekday afternoon, the basement food hall of a central shopping centre was packed. Office workers queued for Chongqing noodles, while a different noodle joint...

Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s plan to return from exile in India could fuel renewed unrest and test Dhaka’s ability to maintain stability and pursue national reconciliation, analysts have warned. The prospect of her return has raised questions about how Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would handle a potential confrontation between supporters of Hasina’s Awami League and those who backed the student-led uprising that toppled her government in 2024. Tensions have intensified...

In a makeshift studio inside his public housing flat in Singapore, Shane Soh stands before his smartphone, running his fingers through a towel as he extols its softness to viewers watching his live stream. A ring light illuminates his face while more than a dozen other products sit on a shelf behind him, waiting for their moment on camera. “Don’t just buy one towel today, but get bedsheets as well. It’s perfect for Hari Raya or Christmas, and the thread count is 1,800 … It’s the best kind of...

Najib Razak, Malaysia’s corrupt former prime minister, may be back home to serve the rest of his prison sentence, but that does not mean he will be living in comfort with wife Rosmah Mansor and the rest of his family, a member of his party has confirmed. Najib returned to his house on Jalan Langgak Duta at about 9.30pm on Tuesday, after the High Court cleared the way for his release from jail. The start of his house arrest also marked the end of Anthony Loke’s stint as transport minister. Loke,...

Ukraine has captured its first Indonesian prisoner of war, exposing Jakarta’s uphill battle to stop its citizens from being recruited to fight for Russia in the war sparked by Moscow’s 2022 invasion. The 49-year-old contract soldier from Java was captured in the frontline Zaporizhzhia region after entering Ukrainian-held territory following a drone strike on his Russian unit, The Guardian reported, citing Kyiv’s state-backed “I Want to Live” surrender initiative. According to the project,...

World leaders began arriving on Wednesday to start formal discussions at the United Nations climate change conference in Turkey, hoping to agree on concrete actions to curb global warming after a year of deadly floods, heatwaves and other climate-related disasters. But what can and will be accomplished at the 11-day Conference of the Parties, called Cop31, remains to be seen. Past talks have been criticised for making promises that later fell flat, and some big names are missing from this year’s...

China has overtaken South Korea in monthly orders for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for the first time, challenging its rival’s long-standing dominance in a high-value shipbuilding segment where demand is surging. The country secured five of the seven large LNG carrier orders placed worldwide in October, compared with just two won by South Korean shipbuilders, according to data from British shipping consultancy Clarksons Research. In the first 10 months of this year, Chinese shipyards...

In the space of just two months, India’s navy has held joint exercises off the coasts of Britain, France, South Africa, Oman, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan and Russia’s far east. Such a run of exercises signals a bid for a larger maritime role on the world stage, analysts say. Yet it also raises questions about whether a navy currently short on submarines and struggling to expand can support such global ambitions while also guarding India’s home waters. Since mid-September, over a span of...

Malaysia is seeking to reassure Taiwanese investors that it remains a reliable destination for hi-tech manufacturing after Taipei suspended bilateral investment talks over Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks on China, raising concerns over the future of semiconductor investments in the Southeast Asian nation. Taiwan confirmed on Tuesday that it had paused negotiations scheduled for late October. The move came after Anwar told Al Jazeera in an August interview that he saw the self-governed...

Indonesia’s Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka submitted his resignation to President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday, setting the stage for a potential political shake-up amid competing interests within his governing coalition. Budi Arie Setiadi, a political aide to Gibran and chairman of the pro-Jokowi organisation Projo, reportedly confirmed the move in a text message to journalists. Budi also confirmed that Gibran had handed his resignation letter to Prabowo at Halim Perdanakusuma airbase...

The Philippine foreign affairs department’s rare rebuke of officials and agencies over anti-China rhetoric could signal Manila’s bid to rein in tensions ahead of the Asean summit next week – but also internal disagreements over strategy, according to analysts. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Sunday said public criticism of China could undermine diplomatic efforts. “In high-stakes diplomacy, a disciplined and coherent national voice remains essential to advancing our national...

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Wednesday that the cabin colour palette for its newly unveiled business class seats was “carefully selected” after the reveal drew criticism from some content creators and travel writers, including those who likened them to “dental chairs”. Much of the reaction has focused on the grey-and-yellow colour palette of the seats, which were developed by SIA in collaboration with seat manufacturer Recaro and creative design firm Designworks. An SIA spokesperson said the...

A mysterious, jellyfish-shaped light spotted in the skies over Sabah was from a Chinese rocket launch, not aliens, according to the Malaysian Space Agency. The glowing trail linked to the Long March 12 rocket, launched from southern China’s Hainan province in the early morning of Monday, sparked buzz and concerns over potential debris across the Borneo state. Malaysia’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation said it received a report about the rocket’s sighting from MYSA. MYSA was also...

Japan is considering including a commitment to strengthening its “capabilities to deny” an adversary’s aggression in coordination with the United States in a major defence policy document to be revised later this year, government sources said on Tuesday. The basic guidelines for the National Defence Strategy will also call for expanded Japan-US cooperation to strengthen the defence industrial base and deeper security ties with like-minded countries, the sources said. The National Security...