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The secretary of state will meet with Asia’s richest men as Washington seeks a trade deal.

Helen Haines, an independent, remained in critical condition after she was struck by a vehicle. A 43-year-old man was charged and will appear in court on Wednesday.

Malaysia’s main opposition coalition lost its registration on Tuesday, just 11 days before nominations for a state election, drawing accusations that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government is using state powers to cripple its rivals. The decision leaves Perikatan Nasional (PN) – already fractured by a bitter dispute between its Islamist anchor, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), and estranged partner Bersatu – fighting to preserve its electoral identity ahead of Melaka’s November 14...

Two Singaporean men lost their positions in the armed forces after they were convicted of having sex with a 15-year-old boy. Former army captain Chaw Chia Jun, 41, was sentenced to 17 months’ jail on Tuesday, while his co-accused Owen Toh Wei Song, a former navy cook, was jailed for 12 months on September 22, according to CNA. Singapore’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed that both were suspended after their arrest in 2024 and were no longer in the military. “The Singapore Armed Forces holds its...

A country need not run out of money to find itself in a debt crisis. It only has to run short of US dollars to pay for its energy. At the recent International Monetary Fund-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, the IMF, which expects global economic growth of 3.1 per cent this year and 3.4 per cent the next, cautioned that energy-importing and lower-income economies face a harder road, even as those riding the artificial intelligence boom fare relatively well. According to the World Bank’s...

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Forgive us’: Indonesians urge Singapore, Malaysia to sue Jakarta over haze Many Indonesians are urging foreign governments on social media, including those of neighbouring countries affected by the haze, to take action against Jakarta over its handling of the fires. 2....

Calls to boycott a Malaysian Chinese-owned coffee-shop chain over its omission of Malay text from its menu have reignited arguments over race and national identity, as political parties jostle to court the country’s majority ethnic group ahead of the next general election. The Oriental Kopi boycott marks the latest saga fuelling ethnic grievances that politicians have been seen to capitalise on by portraying themselves as defenders of Malay identity. It comes ahead of the November 14 election in...

Universiti Malaya student Ummi Umairah Bakhit, who went viral recently for questioning the donation of money to former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, has spoken out against what she described as cyberbullying, political obsession and emotional loyalty. The youth stood by her criticism of donating money to the former prime minister, saying she would not apologise for raising the issue. In a social media post, Ummi Umairah said the response to a question she raised at the International...

Malaysia’s government will publicly release the findings of a special task force on corporate malfeasance in three months, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday, as his administration seeks to appease public anger over its perceived failure to clamp down on corruption. Anwar is facing a reckoning in the final stretch of his term after his ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition was handed bruising defeats in three state elections over the past year. Former supporters have accused the coalition...

Filipino seafarer Jay was on lookout duty aboard a vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz one evening in August when drones swarmed overhead, darting past his ship and two others it was following. Within seconds, an explosion rang out from the tanker ahead. “That was traumatic for me when I saw that the tanker ahead of our vessel had been hit,” said Jay, whose real name has been withheld to protect him from possible employer retribution. The 29-year-old and his fellow crew members made it...

Filipino seafarer Jay was on lookout duty aboard a vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz one evening in August when drones swarmed overhead, darting past his ship and two others it was following. Within seconds, an explosion rang out from the tanker ahead. “That was traumatic for me when I saw that the tanker ahead of our vessel had been hit,” said Jay, whose real name has been withheld to protect him from possible employer retribution. The 29-year-old and his fellow crew members made it...

While Hong Kong is betting on its established banking network to bring stablecoins into mainstream finance, Singapore is seeking to make regulated digital currencies easier to use. Both approaches reflect different priorities in the race to build global cryptocurrency centres: Hong Kong is linking stablecoins to its existing financial system, while Singapore is looking to strengthen the infrastructure for circulating and settling tokenised assets. Analysts said the ultimate test would be whether...