Asia

Two Mercury-bound spacecraft left their mother ship behind on Thursday and headed down the home stretch of their nearly decade-long voyage to the solar system’s smallest and closest-to-the-sun planet. The linked European and Japanese spacecraft separated as planned from their cruiser, but controllers had to wait two anxious hours to receive confirmation via radio signals. The crucial operation was broadcast from the European Space Agency’s control centre in Germany, more than 200 million km (124...

Another 777 students and teachers contracted food poisoning in Indonesia’s Central Java after consuming government-issued free meals, a school principal said on Thursday, bringing the total number of people made ‌ill by the scheme to more than 1,700 in just a week. In separate incidents in three other locations this week, 950 Indonesians had fallen ill as a result of food poisoning linked to the programme, a member of a parliamentary commission overseeing health said. President Prabowo Subianto...

An adult male orangutan found struggling to breathe in a palm oil plantation on Indonesia’s Borneo died hours after being rescued, authorities said on Thursday. The orangutan, named Sampurna and believed to be around 20 years old, was found by residents on Sunday morning in Ketapang district, West Kalimantan, an area affected by wildfires. He was unable to stand and was struggling to breathe when a joint team from the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency and the Indonesian...

India is touting its locally manufactured AK-203 Sher assault rifle – an advanced version of Russia’s powerful Kalashnikov – as an important milestone for the “Make in India” initiative to reduce reliance on foreign-made weapon systems. The Sher, or Tiger, will replace the older, heavily criticised Indian National Small Arms System (INSAS) service rifles used by the Indian Army. Complaints about the INSAS emerged just a year after it was adopted by the army. Indian soldiers fighting the...

Rajendra Lama’s phone has barely stopped buzzing. In between coordinating rescue operations for flood survivors with the Nepal Mountaineering Association and running his travel company, he spends his days communicating with anxious tour groups, trying to persuade them not to cancel their trips. “We have a crisis in one part of the country, but we’re open elsewhere and are not affected by the floods,” said Lama, a tourism entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience. “I’m just trying to...

Bangladesh’s potential entry into a defence pact with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan could give Dhaka fresh leverage in its dealings with India, but observers warn the move risks fracturing its long-standing strategic neutrality and alarming a hawkish New Delhi. Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman told parliament on August 27 that Bangladesh was considering joining the Mecca pact, a security framework signed last month. Earlier reports citing unnamed sources said the invitation originated from...

South Korean police are pushing for an indictment of music tycoon Bang Si-hyuk, the chairman of the agency behind K-pop supergroup BTS, over alleged investor fraud. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency referred Bang to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office on Thursday, asking him to be indicted on a charge of violating the Capital Markets Act, according to the police agency and the prosecutor’s office. Police have been investigating Bang, the billionaire founder and chairman of Hybe,...

The potential deployment of an American army specialist unit capable of integrated operations across domains, including cyberspace, to South Korea could further reorient the US military’s role on the peninsula from deterring North Korea towards containing China, analysts say. Recent reports that the Pentagon is considering moving elements of the Second Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF), currently deployed in Germany, to South Korea have drawn attention to potential changes in the structure of the...

A Malaysian royal’s plan to sell a tract of land in the heart of Singapore faces a complication: a tax bill that may exceed US$1 billion. A levy known as a land betterment charge has emerged as a sticking point in negotiations between some prospective buyers and the current owner, the eldest son of Malaysia’s billionaire king, according to people familiar with the matter. The owner wants any buyer to foot the bill, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is...

Another 14 luxury condominium units and a grade A office at Suntec Tower One forfeited in connection with Singapore’s largest money laundering case will be put up for sale at auctions this month. The properties, located in prime areas such as River Valley and Orchard, will be auctioned by real estate firms Edmund Tie & Company (ETC) and Knight Frank. As of Thursday morning, a total of 25 properties have been listed for auction. ETC will auction units at South Beach Residences, 8 Saint Thomas and...

Young professionals in Makati City are humorously redefining OFW as “overworked” or “on-site” Filipino workers, parodying the high costs and urban convenience of Metro Manila’s premier financial district. In the Philippines, OFW generally refers to overseas Filipino workers who move abroad in search of better opportunities and pay. But recently, the initialism has been given a new meaning by some Makati residents who post social media reels chronicling their expatriate-style lifestyle, complete...

“Friend-for-hire” services have started taking off in Thailand as the country’s social landscape changes with an ageing population and a rise in the number of unmarried people. The service is a new type of gig work in which people are paid to act as companions, for instance accompanying someone on a trip to take photos or even joining them in indoor rock climbing. Although no official figures are available, industry players say demand for professional companions has increased in recent years due...

Sayoko is watching her 13-year-old son more closely than he probably realises as he settles into his first year of junior high school in Yokohama. He is keeping up with his classes and is fortunate to be popular because of his sporting prowess. But Sayoko, who did not want to give her full name, remembers having a hard time at the same age, so she is alert to any sign that her son might be unhappy. “I was not good at sport and did not have a large circle of friends and, of course, there were...

Helen Clark spent nine years running New Zealand and eight more running the United Nations’ development arm. Now, the former prime minister has a warning for the country she once led: do not let the scramble for Pacific security deals crowd out its much-vaunted independent foreign policy tradition. Speaking to This Week in Asia in Singapore on Tuesday, Clark argued that Wellington’s recent flurry of defence diplomacy – including a defence cooperation pact with Papua New Guinea, a joint security...

Vietnamese police arrested a deputy health minister on Wednesday for allegedly accepting huge bribes, part of an investigation into a company accused of smuggling medical equipment, authorities said. Vietnam has pursued a high-profile anti-corruption campaign in recent years that has netted dozens of business leaders and senior government figures. Deputy Health Minister Tran Van Thuan, a leading oncologist in Vietnam, was taken into custody “due to his acceptance of bribes involving a large sum...

Singapore is positioning itself as a bridge between Central Asia and Asean, as both regions increasingly look to each other amid growing disruption to global trade and intensifying superpower rivalry. The political appetite exists, but analysts say trade benefits will still hinge on overcoming obstacles such as geography and a lack of connectivity. Singapore’s Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong pitched the city state to Central Asian businesses during his visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan from...

About 1.4 million students in six Indonesian provinces ⁠had shifted to online ⁠learning due to poor air quality ⁠triggered by forest and land fires, an official said on Wednesday. As of September 2, around 1.43 million students from 12,874 schools in six of the provinces hit hardest by forest and land fires had been studying remotely, Gogot Suharwoto, an education ministry official, told the media. Indonesia has intensified efforts to contain haze caused by wildfire in the six provinces, which...

Aptly dubbed the Pinglu 001, the first command and management vessel for the Pinglu Canal was delivered on Monday and will soon enter service as China prepares to open the strategic waterway designed to support surging trade with Southeast Asia. The delivery marks one of the final steps before the 72.7 billion yuan (US$10.8 billion) megaproject is expected to officially open later this month after years in the making. The canal is a signature project for the world’s second-largest economy as it...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian leader Masoud Pezeshkian at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit have put the spotlight on New Delhi’s ability to mediate major conflicts. Positioned between Russia and the West, and with working ties across rival camps in the Middle East, India is seen by some analysts as a potential bridge in conflicts where few countries can still speak to all sides, though they note access...

At Risa’s Massage, Fai cancelled her holiday to be at work this week; suitmaker Tito has laid on a made-in-24-hours special for US Navy visitors and hawker Pui is aiming to sell 15 watches in the five days the USS Abraham Lincoln will be in Pattaya. On Wednesday, the Thai resort city began to welcome over 5,000 sailors and Marines, finally on shore leave after being at sea for a record 286 days. It is a timely visit for the US crew – and an economic tonic for a city facing a sharp drop in...

India’s stronger-than-expected first quarter growth has bolstered analysts’ confidence that it can sustain its momentum through the rest of the financial year and remain the world’s fastest-growing major economy – even as it remains exposed to high oil prices caused by the US-Iran war. The Indian economy grew 7.8 per cent in the April-June quarter, comfortably beating the Reserve Bank of India’s forecast of 7 per cent growth, despite the disruption that the Middle East conflict has caused to...

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was born 25 years ago as a modest mechanism for managing borders between China, Russia and four Central Asian states. At its anniversary summit in Bishkek this week, it looks more consequential – and harder for the United States to dismiss. The timing is important. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remains unresolved, while the war between Iran and the US has turned the Persian Gulf into another theatre of strategic competition, with energy markets again...

Indonesia on Wednesday said the government was ascertaining reports that eight of its citizens who applied for civilian jobs allegedly ended up fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra said authorities were checking the identities and hiring processes involved, which offered attractive perks such as high pay, non-combat duties and fast-tracking Russian citizenship. “We are taking the information from...

Vietnam faces heightened security in the South China Sea amid reports of construction works in the Paracels archipelago – which Beijing calls Xisha Islands – with analysts saying that the latest developments could alter the strategic balance in the contested waters. Hanoi voiced its strong objection after reports citing satellite imagery said new Chinese infrastructure had appeared on Yagong Island, called Ba Ba Island by Vietnam. “Vietnam ⁠resolutely opposes this, has made serious...

The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) will summon a Malaysian participant in the Miss Equality World 2026 pageant in Thailand for questioning, following the circulation of social media posts. In a statement on Tuesday, Jakim director general Dr Sirajuddin Suhaimee said Jakim would work with state Islamic religious authorities and relevant agencies to take action against the individual in accordance with existing laws and regulations. He said the participant’s involvement in the...

A former Malaysian minister has been remanded for five days as part of an anti-corruption inquiry into the management of the country’s state haj fund. The suspect, who is in his sixties, was detained at about 4.30pm on Tuesday after he went to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya to have his statement recorded. MACC confirmed the arrest in a statement on social media but did not release the former minister’s identity. “The arrest was made around 4.30pm and it...

Cambodia says it has flushed out a scam industry estimated to have stolen tens of billions of US dollars last year alone, but a string of arrests in recent days suggests the gangs behind it may have simply changed address. Scam centres proliferated across Cambodia during the pandemic, when hundreds of thousands of jobless young people were pulled into defunct casino complexes to target victims worldwide with bogus romance, cryptocurrency and investment frauds. Chinese criminal networks found an...

Nepal urged international travellers not to abandon the Himalayas, declaring the country open for tourism as it continues to assess the human and economic toll from catastrophic floods that killed more than a thousand people. “Our mountain trails, trekking routes are still waiting for you,” Tourism Minister Khadak Raj Paudel said in a video message on social media, using the hashtag #NepalCalling. “Your coming to Nepal this time does not mean only a holiday. It’s a big support to the country...

Images of a migrant worker apparently guiding visitors around one of Kuala Lumpur’s best-known heritage sites have triggered a backlash in Malaysia, with critics asking why locals were not hired instead. The row erupted after photos and video circulated online showed visitors being shown around the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, a colonial-era landmark that has overlooked the capital’s Independence Square since the 19th century. Sharp-eyed viewers noticed that among the staff in KL City Gallery...

A thief was sentenced to 26 months and two weeks’ jail on Tuesday for his role in a Singapore Chinatown diamond heist. He had hidden a custom-made fake gem in his mouth, switched it for the real diamond and concealed the genuine stone the same way. Serasiya Milan Ramnikbhai, a 30-year-old from India, pleaded guilty to a charge of theft with common intention. His accomplice, 41-year-old Mangroliya Manojkumar Kurjibha, was handed the same jail term in July. The pair had commissioned a counterfeit...