Asia News fra SCMP

“Where’s the anti-China sentiment? I don’t see it.” China’s ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian gave this assessment when asked whether China’s rapid economic rise and growing regional influence was spooking citizens in his host country. Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Bai Tian said he was heartened by overtures to China by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, contrary to speculation the leader would take a hawkish stance towards Beijing in keeping with his... […]

Indonesian officials say 166 people are missing from a ferry sinking Monday evening at a popular lake on Sumatra, a much higher number than previously believed. The boat didn’t have a passenger manifest and disaster officials have several times raised the number of people it was carrying as distraught relatives who rushed to Lake Toba in northern Sumatra provided information. On Tuesday, officials said 94 people were missing and expected the number to rise. Only 18 people were rescued and... […]

The rock python had just killed and eaten a goat, but perhaps more troubling, the reptile had crushed and consumed its meal within shouting distance of a school. Something had to be done. So worried residents in Jalpaiguri, a city in northeast India, called Sanjay Dutta, the local forest ranger, on Sunday. As onlookers stared, Dutta corralled the snake with an animal-control pole, then used thick gloves to grab the snake’s head and pick it up. A woman in Indonesia went to check her corn... […]

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping came to an understanding on issues that are being discussed at a summit between the two leaders, including denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, the North’s state media said on Wednesday. Kim and Xi assessed the historic meeting Kim had with US President Donald Trump in Singapore last week and exchanged opinions on ways to resolve the issue of denuclearisation, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The North Korean... […]

In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post this week, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad opened up about relations with China and his ideas for getting his country going again. But he deflected questions on whether he wants to stay on as premier beyond the two years he has promised to stay in office. Below is an excerpt of the interview at his Putrajaya office. *********** Q: Selamat Hari Raya. We hear you had a big Hari Raya celebration (to mark the end of Ramadan) at... […]

The Japanese government is arranging a meeting, to be held during the United Nations General Assembly gathering in September in New York, to discuss how to share the financing of North Korea’s complete denuclearisation, government sources said on Tuesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed readiness to support initial costs related to the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency inspections, but Japan is also planning to provide other funds needed to neutralise Pyongyang’s... […]

The Philippines’ top court heard arguments on Tuesday for the legalisation of gay marriage, a historic first in the overwhelmingly Catholic nation. Two same-sex couples denied licences to wed urged the Supreme Court to strike down a 1987 law that states marriage must be between a man and a woman. “When the right to marry, a decision so personal, so intimate and so life-changing, is denied to LGBT people, the state is not valuing their dignity,” lawyer Jesus Falcis, who is also... […]

Keep out the warships and instead have joint small-boat patrols – that is Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s prescription for maintaining peace in the disputed and resource-rich South China Sea. “I think there should not be too many warships. Warships create tension,” the 92-year-old leader told the South China Morning Post in an exclusive interview. “Someday, somebody might make some mistakes and there will be a fight, some ships will be lost, and there... […]

Imprisoned former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia is critically ill and needs urgent medical care, a top leader of her party said on Tuesday. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, a top aide to Zia, said the 72-year-old opposition leader had suffered a recent mild stroke and multiple complications. Doctors have warned that she could be paralysed if she isn’t treated quickly, he said, adding that she can no longer walk on her own. The government has offered to have Zia admitted to two state-... […]

South Korea on Tuesday presented a united front with the United States on a decision to call off a major military drill, one week after US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that he would suspend such exercises with the long-time Asian ally. Soon after the US and South Korean militaries formally announced the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises slated for August had been called off, Seoul’s Defence Ministry said the decision was necessary to support ongoing talks both... […]