Asia

Senators seeking to lock impeached Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte out of politics for good may face an uphill battle with one of her staunchest supporters calling the movement against her family “insane and wicked”. Senator Imee Marcos, the older sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, said it was a “tragedy” that her own family had been given a second chance and “instead of grabbing it and leveraging it into great development and prosperity for the Filipino people, we’ve just wasted...

Vietnam’s globetrotting leader To Lam began his first trip to Thailand with trade and security talks dominating the agenda, as well as a symbolic visit to the former home of Ho Chi Minh, the founder of modern Vietnam who once lived in the northeast of the kingdom. To Lam, the president and general secretary of the Communist Party, is seen by many as the country’s most powerful leader since the era of Ho Chi Minh. The former secret policeman has been zipping across global capitals as he seeks to...

A partnership between Japan Airlines and a space start-up marks the first step for the carrier to explore diversification beyond Earth-bound aviation, potentially boosting Japan’s ambition to expand its footprint on the moon. The airline is teaming up with ispace to transport items of “precious cultural heritage and human activities” via a lander craft to the moon and protect them from the effects of climate change, natural disasters and conflict on Earth. “In the rapidly changing world, there...

Chinese energy companies are poised to play an important role in Southeast Asia’s ambitious green transition plans, which will see countries across the region integrate their power grids, according to a senior Singaporean official. The strategy could eventually lead to a cross-regional network running all the way from Singapore to southern China via nations including Malaysia and Thailand, according to Puah Kok Keong, chief executive of the Energy Market Authority of Singapore – the city state’s...

For more than a decade, Jeffrey Ongoco has watched much of his daughter’s childhood unfold through a screen. The 46-year-old, who works as a document controller for a construction company in Doha, left the Philippines in 2007 for a job in Saudi Arabia before moving to Qatar in 2010. He and his wife work in Doha to support their 16-year-old daughter, who has lived in the Philippines since infancy, cared for by relatives in Bataan province, about 130km (80 miles) northwest of Manila. It was a...

Months of disruption through the Strait of Hormuz have prompted a rethink of global supply chains, with South Korea now following China in pushing to commercialise the Arctic shipping route to Europe. South Korea aimed to open a regular route through the waters by 2030, following a trial voyage set to debut later this year, according to a broader maritime development plan released on Tuesday by Seoul’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. “To prepare for the Arctic shipping era approaching after...

China’s military said on Wednesday that it had used measures including electronic interference to drive away a Dutch warship near the disputed Paracel Islands, and in a rare move accused the Dutch navy of triggering “miscalculation”. The People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Southern Theatre Command, which oversees the South China Sea, said in a post on its official WeChat account on Wednesday evening that the Dutch frigate De Ruyter had “illegally intruded into China’s Xisha Islands” and that its...

A Cambodian court sentenced six Chinese men, reportedly from a scam-linked crime ring, to life in prison on Wednesday for the murder of a South Korean student last year. The torture and killing of the college student in Cambodia sparked a public outcry in South Korea, which dispatched a task force to the Southeast Asian nation in an effort to jointly tackle transnational cyberscam networks. The multibillion-dollar scam industry ballooned in Cambodia in recent years, with thousands of foreign...

A buffalo in Bangladesh nicknamed “Donald Trump” for its flowing blond hair has been spared from sacrifice after shooting to fame, and will instead be cared for at the national zoo. Muslim-majority Bangladesh, a South Asian nation of 170 million people, celebrates Eid al-Adha, the “feast of the sacrifice”, on Thursday. The 700kg (1,500-pound) bull, a rare albino buffalo with a flowing helmet of light hair resembling the signature look of the US president, was due to be slaughtered to mark the...

Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte will face a crimes against humanity trial at the International Criminal Court from November 30, the presiding judge said on Wednesday. Duterte faces three counts of crimes against humanity, with prosecutors alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders between 2013 and 2018 during his so-called “war on drugs”. The 81-year-old will be the first Asian former head of state to face trial at the ICC, which prosecutes individuals for the world’s worst...

A wave of AI-generated deepfakes and fake endorsements has pushed Indian celebrities, from cricket stars to Bollywood actors, towards the courts seeking stronger protection for their name, image, voice and likeness. Lawyers say the litigation has exposed a widening gap in Indian law, with courts increasingly recognising personality rights even though the country lacks a dedicated statute to enforce them. The campaign gained momentum last December, when Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar...

Five of the seven villagers trapped deep in a flooded cave in Laos for a week were found alive cramped on a rocky ledge on Wednesday afternoon, rescuers said, in a mission that included some of the same expert cave divers who saved a Thai youth football team in 2018. Around 4.30pm, a Thai-led rescue team finally broke through to an area where they found five of the missing villagers perched on the ledge just above the floodwaters, after diving for four days and navigating swamped narrow passages...

At least six newborn babies died in the same hospital ward in Bangladesh within hours of each other on Wednesday, said health officials, who launched an investigation. The newborns, aged between one and three days, were in the post-delivery ward of Ad-Din Hospital, a private facility in the capital Dhaka. “An investigation is under way, and we need some time to determine the cause of the deaths of the newborns,” Nahida Yasmin, a director at the hospital, told reporters. Prabhat Chandra Biswas,...

One of the two Samoan men arrested by Vietnamese police over the killing of an Australian with reported links to Sydney’s criminal underworld outside a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City has admitted that he was hired to carry out a hit on a rival. Lorenzo Lemalu, 24, was gunned down outside the restaurant last Thursday, in a rare gangland murder involving foreigners using Vietnam as a base for their crime. Shocking images of the shooting caught on CCTV show flashes from a gun wielded by a hooded...

As India and China work to steady their relationship after years of border tension, Indian filmmakers say projects inspired by the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes are being reworked, delayed or shelved following official warnings against “China-bashing”. Bollywood heavyweight Salman Khan’s war drama, initially titled Battle of Galwan, was reportedly asked to change its name to Maatrubhumi: May War Rest in Peace, with several scenes requiring reshoots. A separate film, The Lion of Galwan, has been...

Japan’s parliament enacted a law on Wednesday to establish a new National Intelligence Council to centralise information gathering in response to overseas threats, marking a first step in plans to boost capabilities that have raised concerns over civil liberties. Establishing the council is a key aim in the governing agenda of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a security hawk who has pledged to strengthen intelligence and counter-espionage capabilities in response to what her government calls the...

The unravelling of a S$1.43 billion (US$1.12 billion) merger between Singapore mobile operators M1 and Simba has highlighted the city state’s brutally competitive telecoms market, revealing a potential regulatory minefield around scarce radio spectrum. The foiled deal would also mean Singapore’s mobile network operators – Singtel, StarHub, M1 and Simba – will continue to operate in a cutthroat price war environment while M1’s owners look for new ways to divest, according to experts. Singapore...

At a sprawling bazaar ⁠on the outskirts of Vietnam’s capital, the trade in counterfeit goods is bustling despite government crackdowns and the threat of US tariffs over the issue, two visits by Reuters journalists to the market found. “Police come once a year with a TV crew. They film the seizure of a shop, and then it’s business as usual,” said a seller at her stall displaying fake Ralph Lauren polos at Hanoi’s Ninh Hiep ‌wholesale market. Ninh Hiep is among about 30 “notorious markets”...

For two years, some of them never touched the ground. Locked in tiny wire cages and destined for a life of being drained of bile through syringes or surgically implanted taps, the 27 Asiatic black bears rescued in northern Laos this week had known almost nothing of what it means to be a bear. Now, for the first time in years, some are finally drinking clean water freely. Others are feeling solid earth beneath their paws for the first time. The rescue, completed this week by conservation group...

A year after South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun broke down in tears at a high-profile press conference over allegations involving late actress Kim Sae-ron, the controversy has entered yet another dramatic phase. Kim Se-ui, head of controversial YouTube channel HoverLab, also known as Garo Sero Institute, was taken into custody this week, as police reportedly concluded that audio files previously presented as evidence against Kim Soo-hyun were generated using AI technology. According to the Seoul...

Malaysia’s recently retired anti-corruption chief, Azam Baki, is under police investigation for allegedly threatening a whistle-blower linked to a mineral licence scandal involving politicians in Sabah. Azam accused Albert Tei of “playing games” and spreading misinformation after the businessman lodged a report earlier this month, which prompted the police to pursue the case under criminal intimidation provisions. Officers also recorded statements from Tei and his lawyer, who was allegedly used...

Japan’s call to maintain “impeccable” defences on its northern frontier reflects Tokyo’s deepening concern over growing Russian military activity in the region, analysts say. They also point to rapid north-south troop deployment exercises as preparation against a potential “diversionary operation” around Hokkaido: a scenario in which Russia could open a second front if Japan were already focused on a crisis with China in the south. During a visit to military bases in Hokkaido on Saturday,...

South Korea’s push to acquire its first nuclear-powered submarines is moving back up President Lee Jae Myung’s defence agenda, but analysts say delayed US consultations, non-proliferation concerns and budget pressures still stand in the way. Lee on Tuesday urged faster efforts to secure the submarines, describing them as core strategic assets for the country’s future defence capabilities. “We need to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence and drone technologies, while speeding up the...

At 2am, Kim, a 25-year-old office worker, opens a site designed to look like a food delivery app, though he has no plan to order. He chooses menu items, drops them into a cart and simulates the experience of placing an order. “It somehow feels like I actually ordered something,” he said. Kim said the habit helps him resist late-night cravings. “There are many times when I crave food late at night but hold back to save money. It feels like a real delivery app, so I somehow keep looking at it,”...

The collapse of UN talks on the future of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has sharpened concern in Japan that outer space could become the next arena for nuclear and military rivalry. With Russia accused of developing a nuclear anti-satellite capability, China and Russia advancing weapons that can disable satellites and the US pursuing space-based missile defence systems, some in Tokyo are calling on Japan to take the lead in drawing up new rules for the peaceful use of space. Analysts say...

When Washington, Beijing and Moscow begin to treat one another as bargaining partners again, northeast Asia feels the pressure. Taiwan, Korea, sanctions, energy routes, nuclear risks and missile defence are no longer separate theatres. They increasingly belong to one strategic conversation between the US, China and Russia. Northeast Asia itself is already being reorganised through three trilateral structures with different purposes, degrees of institutionalisation and strategic effects. Thus the...

The foreign ministers of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, nations gathered in New Delhi on Tuesday in a coordinated display of unity aimed at reaffirming the bloc’s relevance amid recent shifts in geopolitical dynamics. The Quad, comprising the United States, Japan, Australia and India, aims to promote a “free and open” Indo-Pacific and balance China’s expanding influence in the strategically vital region. With US President Donald Trump fresh from talks with Chinese President Xi...

Indonesia has blocked predictions market ⁠Polymarket as part of its crackdown on online gambling, its communications and digital ministry said, days after the site took bets on a premature end to Prabowo Subianto’s presidency. Gambling is illegal in Indonesia and authorities have been clamping down on online betting. “The government will not allow any form of online gambling in Indonesia,” the ministry said in a statement. Ministry official Alexander Sabar late on Friday said Polymarket was...

James Bernardo, 30, was delivering food on Teodoro street in Angeles City in the Philippines when a nine-storey building under construction on the opposite side of the road collapsed behind him. “What I heard behind me sounded like an aeroplane landing. The sound was unlike anything normal. When I looked at my side mirror and then turned around, what I saw were pylons falling and power lines sparking,” Bernardo told This Week in Asia. In just seconds, the structure had morphed into a twisted...

Malaysian police have arrested 51 men in a drug raid at a luxury Kuala Lumpur hotel, describing the scene as a “gay party” with “immoral activities” committed. The language has drawn scrutiny from lawyers and rights advocates who say the terms risked prejudicing suspects and stigmatising LGBTQ people. Bukit Aman narcotics chief Hussein Omar Khan said four raids were carried out between 2.35am and 5am on Sunday after police received intelligence about what they described as a “drug party” and...