Asia

An Indonesian police inquiry into the wiretapping of President Prabowo Subianto’s phone was a matter for law enforcement, the country’s police chief said on Thursday, as the scandal exposed the deepening cracks between Prabowo and his former backer and predecessor, Joko Widodo. “We assure you that this is ‌purely law enforcement and has nothing to do with rivalries or anything else,” police chief Suyudi Ario Seto told reporters without elaborating, adding that the arrests must serve as a lesson...

Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Thursday rejected a report that a power outage at Woodlands Checkpoint caused traffic congestion along the causeway and on several roads in Johor Bahru on Wednesday. In its account of Wednesday’s events, ICA said a build-up of Singapore-bound traffic occurred amid planned electrical maintenance works, while two vehicle breakdowns on the Malaysian side of the causeway subsequently contributed to traffic tailing back into...

Vietnam’s growing nuclear partnership with Russia could help Hanoi gain the expertise needed to fuel its ambitious nuclear programme amid doubts over Western sanctions against Moscow and financing challenges complicating the plans. The Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (Vinatom) and a subsidiary of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, which is leading the development of the MBIR International Research Centre, announced on Tuesday that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to...

A young Malaysian Muslim who took part in Hindu rituals to pray for his ailing mother publicly repented on Thursday in a ceremony live-streamed by state religious authorities, a day after a sharia court ordered him to undergo three months of faith rehabilitation. The spectacle has raised questions about the enforcement of Islamic orthodoxy in Muslim-majority Malaysia, where state religious departments wield significant influence to police the personal conduct and religious beliefs of...

Thailand has banned a textbook about the country on national security grounds, with the tome’s exiled editor saying on Thursday it was outlawed over its content on the Thai monarchy. The royal family holds revered status in Thai society and is shielded from criticism by a strict defamation law that critics say is used to muzzle dissent. The book, a second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Thailand published in English in August, was edited by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a prominent...

Thai conservationists are sleuthing for clues to help save the country’s last herd of dugongs by testing the mammal’s poop for stress hormones, its microbiome and other health indicators to prevent the extinction of this beloved yet critically endangered sea creature. But first they have to find the faeces – a green fist-sized ball consisting of the seagrass the gentle dugongs graze on daily in the coastal shallows of the Andaman Sea. It is literally drop-in-the-ocean work for the teams using...

Philippine investigators are examining whether Thomas Markle Jnr, the half-brother of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was involved in alleged child sexual abuse offences as an investigation into their father widens, according to the country’s interior secretary on Thursday. Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla said witnesses had alleged that underage girls were brought to the younger Markle’s home. Markle Jnr was being treated as a “person of interest”, not a suspect, Remulla told reporters...

The Philippines on Thursday voiced optimism that the Democratic Party’s resounding midterm election win would prompt the United States to adopt “a different approach” to President Donald Trump’s hardening immigration crackdown that has ensnared many Filipinos. Trump’s Republican Party was routed in Tuesday’s polls, with the Democrats taking control of both houses of the US Congress and gaining legislative power to check his policies. The drubbing has given hope to Jose Manuel Romualdez, Manila’s...

A man was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday for murder after being part of a group that abused his 19-year-old younger sister until she died. Huang Bocan, who joined his girlfriend and another man in starving the victim and chaining her to a toilet, was first charged in 2021 with common intention of committing murder by causing bodily injury to Huang Baoying. Huang, a 34-year-old Singaporean, was convicted on Thursday of committing murder by causing his younger sister’s death. The...

North Korea is bracing for a prolonged confrontation with the United States, analysts say, after sweeping Democratic gains in the US midterm elections diminished the likelihood of renewed diplomacy between Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump. As Americans cast their ballots on Tuesday, Pyongyang test-fired a new surface-to-air missile system and carried out a strike drill with long-range strategic cruise missiles early on Wednesday, Korean time – its fourth weapons test in a week. The...

South Korea is investigating hundreds of financial institutions after more than 470,000 data records were leaked from 37 firms over the past month, according to the country’s financial regulator. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) revealed the scale of the breaches on Thursday as authorities vowed to strengthen cybersecurity measures following a string of similar cases affecting the financial sector and government agencies. The FSC detailed the incidents at a meeting with officials from...

Cost of living issues are set to dominate Saturday’s election in New Zealand, but the outcome may also determine whether Wellington maintains its cautious approach to US President Donald Trump or pursues a more independent foreign policy. With the major parties locked in a close contest ahead of the vote, analysts say the next government’s defence priorities and its approach to Washington are likely to hinge on the minor coalition partners. Robert Patman, a professor of international relations...

A man who allegedly hid a camera in a toilet on a Scoot flight from Japan to Singapore was charged on Thursday. Hugh Lutley, a 52-year-old British national, was handed one charge each of voyeurism and obstruction of justice by deleting evidence. He is accused of operating a camera at about 5.10pm on October 7 with the intention of observing passengers performing a private act. The alleged offence took place on board Scoot flight TR821, which was travelling from Osaka, Japan, to Singapore,...

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s push for a centralised cybersecurity agency risks hitting a wall of indifference, despite his insistence that the move is a national security priority following a leak of his passport details. Tech experts warn that creating a new organisation will do little to address the deeper problem of complacency on its own, with businesses and government agencies viewing tighter cybersecurity as an unnecessary expense until a serious breach occurs. Lee’s proposal...

A massive power outage at the Woodlands checkpoint in Singapore caused a heavy traffic jam on most major roads leading to the Malaysian checkpoint in Johor Bahru on Wednesday. Although all counters were operating at optimum level at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex in the southern state of Johor, the jam lasted for many hours due to a build-up of vehicles from the Singapore side. It is learnt that the issue started at about noon on the Singapore side. A...

The refund is small – 10 Singapore cents (8 US cents) per bottle – for each return under Singapore’s Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS). But the uproar is big. Since BCRS reverse vending machines became fully operational on October 1, Singapore’s social media has been flooded with videos and posts criticising people for raiding bins and holding up others by returning containers by the bag-load. A recent controversy was sparked by a post on October 28 showing two town council workers...

India’s ambitious plans to construct high-speed railways, metro networks and strategic roads through the Himalayas could be hampered by China’s proposed restrictions on tunnel-boring machines, exposing a dependence on foreign technology that New Delhi may find difficult to overcome. Experts say while the curbs are unlikely to halt construction, they could slow major projects and have intensified calls for India to develop its own advanced tunnelling equipment. The restrictions also threaten to...

Philippine police said on Wednesday that three memory cards and a mobile phone turned over by the son of Meghan Markle’s estranged father contained child sexual abuse material. Last week, Philippine police said they were investigating a laptop found alongside images of child abuse at an alleged former residence of Thomas Markle, whose daughter is married to Britain’s Prince Harry. Philippine interior minister Jonvic Remulla said at the time the country planned to take “appropriate legal actions”...

Singapore’s parliament on Wednesday passed tougher penalties against companies responsible for forest fires in Indonesia, including curbs on related business dealings, as the city state doubles down on enforcement following one of its worst haze episodes in more than a decade. The amended Transboundary Pollution Haze Act will see penalties on such companies increase tenfold to a maximum fine of S$1 million (US$780,000) a day, capped at a total of S$20 million. The Act has been invoked twice...

A senior Indonesian diplomat said on Wednesday that dialogue “must not stop” among Asean members, amid a diplomatic row between Jakarta and Singapore over transboundary haze. Ties between the Southeast Asian neighbours have been tense after wildfires in Indonesia blanketed the city state in toxic smog for months. Complaints from Singapore over the air quality were met with sharp rebukes from Indonesian officials. Despite a visit to Jakarta by Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian...

Lawyers for Malaysia’s jailed former prime minister Najib Razak on Wednesday dismissed speculation about his imminent transfer to house arrest, as his former ruling party struggles to raise the 50 million ringgit (US$12.3 million) fine needed to bring him home. The rumours came as Najib’s United Malays National Organisation (Umno) seeks to build on recent electoral victories, with analysts saying his return to house arrest could give the party a boost among supporters ahead of the next general...

Indonesia has called on Russia to stop recruiting its citizens to fight in Ukraine, but the appeal may prove ineffective unless President Prabowo Subianto directly pressures his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the issue, analysts have said. On Sunday, Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Yvonne Mewengkang said: “The Indonesian government asked the Russian government to take all necessary steps to ensure that no Indonesians will be recruited into the Russian military or any...

An Indonesian military helicopter carrying eight people on a firefighting mission crashed in waters off Borneo island on Wednesday, killing a crew member, the army said. The Southeast Asian archipelago has for months been struggling to control wildfires that have burned through large swathes of Sumatra, Borneo and Papua islands, causing choking haze that drifted to neighbouring Malaysia, East Timor and Singapore. The helicopter took off on Wednesday morning from Seruyan district in Borneo’s...

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday took aim at former UK leader Liz Truss and the thousands of British backpackers flocking to cities like Sydney, as the government seeks to tweak visa rules and ease pressure on the local job market. Truss, who lasted just 49 days in office before being forced to resign in 2022, called the travel arrangement “a major achievement of our trade deal with Australia and hard fought!” “Young Brits no longer have to do farm work as part of their...

China is becoming increasingly important to the Gulf’s economic future. Yet the Gulf remains capable of disrupting China’s own. That is the contradiction exposed by the US-Iran war. Beijing’s importance as an energy customer, investor and technology partner has grown, but its ability to guarantee the maritime routes connecting the Middle East to East Asia remains limited. The next contest in global energy will concern not only who produces and consumes it, but who can preserve access when...

In one of the biggest scandals to hit the Indonesian National Police (Polri), President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday sacked his chief of staff, former national police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, after his arrest for allegedly wiretapping the president, cabinet ministers, politicians and journalists. The government raised the stakes on Wednesday when presidential spokesman Prasetyo Hadi addressed reporters in Jakarta, warning that the surveillance could amount to “treason” and endanger state...

Organisers of Malaysia’s first Hyrox fitness competition agreed on Wednesday to exclude the event from a partnership with beer brand Carlsberg after Muslim entrants threatened to pull out and authorities warned they would withhold approval over the alcohol sponsorship. The tie-up had angered some participants who said it conflicted with both their faith and the event’s promotion of fitness, highlighting tensions over alcohol marketing in Muslim-majority Malaysia. “We understand why this has...

Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister on Wednesday rejected holding any further talks with the United States, days after the FBI accused North Korea of stealing more than US$6 billion from a cryptocurrency exchange and Washington launched a new round of sanctions aimed at Pyongyang. Analysts say the latest developments have all but killed off the chances of another Trump-Kim summit, despite the US president’s continued warm words for North Korea’s supreme leader and apparent openness to meeting him...

Twelve South Korean ⁠industry groups ⁠urged the government ⁠on Wednesday to invest in and support production of Korean television dramas, known as K-dramas, warning that the country’s production ‌base risked collapse. K-dramas have been hugely popular globally, but the number produced has fallen about 30 per cent from 141 titles in 2022, according to the Korea Drama Production Association. Three domestic ⁠broadcast networks cut drama output from 91 titles in ‌2012 to 32 in 2023, and some...

Malaysian police have arrested a 25-year-old woman who allegedly caused a disturbance by assaulting visitors at a shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur, with the suspect admitting her involvement in the incident. Dang Wangi OCPD Assistant Commissioner Ahmad Azwan Amin Nordin said the local woman was arrested at about 5.40pm on Tuesday in Bandar Sri Damansara to assist in investigations. “Initial investigations found that the suspect admitted to being involved in the incident,” he said in a statement...