Thailand, Cambodia seek to calm escalating dispute over US$300 billion seabed

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...

Helen Haines, an independent, remained in critical condition after she was rammed by a vehicle. The country has reacted with shock and confusion.

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...

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...

Australian barber Ricky Jefferies has been hailed as a hero ⁠for running out of ⁠his store to detain a man who ⁠authorities allege deliberately drove a car into lawmaker Helen Haines in the small town of Wangaratta, an incident that has shocked the country. Jefferies had just finished haircuts for a young family on Monday when he said he heard a “loud bang” outside his shop and realised the ‌driver of a Toyota LandCruiser had struck Haines, leaving her badly injured. “It was crazy, I just ran...

Australian barber Ricky Jefferies has been hailed as a hero ⁠for running out of ⁠his store to detain a man who ⁠authorities allege deliberately drove a car into lawmaker Helen Haines in the small town of Wangaratta, an incident that has shocked the country. Jefferies had just finished haircuts for a young family on Monday when he said he heard a “loud bang” outside his shop and realised the ‌driver of a Toyota LandCruiser had struck Haines, leaving her badly injured. “It was crazy, I just ran...

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to dial down the rhetoric and use a hotline between their navy commanders to avoid flashpoints over a vast contested patch of energy-rich seas in the Gulf of Thailand, according to a UN-backed mediation panel at The Hague tasked with helping to settle the dispute between the neighbours. The Southeast Asian countries have also squabbled for decades over the demarcation of their 800km (500-mile) land border, where clashes last year killed scores on both sides and...