Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr faced a stern challenge on Tuesday after the influential Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) religious movement staged a protest on Metro Manila’s busiest highway to demand that the presidential palace stop going after one of its members, Senator Rodante Marcoleta.
The rally at Edsa – the highway where a 1986 people power uprising helped topple Marcos’ father, who was the country’s long-time dictator – has raised the stakes of a looming criminal case involving…
Does Gojek co-founder’s guilty verdict test Indonesia’s investor climate?
Indonesia’s former education minister Nadiem Makarim, one of the country’s best-known tech founders, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after a Jakarta court found him guilty of abusing his authority in a corruption case linked to US$87 million in state losses.
The verdict against the Gojek co-founder could unsettle business sentiment and dampen foreign investment appetite in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, adding to concerns about legal certainty in cases involving government…
Australia’s first ban on NDAs in sexual harassment claims introduced
The Victorian state government has introduced new laws restricting the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in workplace sexual harassment claims, becoming the first Australian jurisdiction to do so.
South Korea’s World Cup early exit sparks fury, death threats, restaurant bans
South Korea’s World Cup squad is set to be greeted on arrival by heightened police security rather than the usual airport welcome ceremony, as fury over head coach Hong Myung-bo’s failed campaign spills into online death threats, viral restaurant bans and renewed calls for sweeping changes inside the country’s football establishment.
Hong and eight players, including Kim Min-jae, Hwang Hee-chan, Hwang In-beom and Lee Kang-in, were due to arrive at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday morning…
Malaysia narrows hunt for replacement missiles after Norway axes contract
Malaysia has narrowed its search for a replacement anti-ship missile system to four potential suppliers after Norway revoked an export licence for a deal that Kuala Lumpur said was already more than 90 per cent paid for.
The cancellation came after Oslo tightened arms-export rules in a shift that analysts say reveals how access to advanced arms can depend as much on supplier-country politics as on signed contracts.
Turkey, South Korea and two unspecified European nations were being assessed as…
Singapore’s Pritam Singh wins vote of no confidence by landslide
In his greatest test since taking the helm of the Workers’ Party (WP) in 2018, secretary general Pritam Singh has survived by a landslide a vote of no confidence within his party, inside sources have confirmed.
The Aljunied MP, who leads Singapore’s most prominent opposition party, faced a special conference on Sunday morning called by 25 cadre members who were pushing for him to step down for breaching the WP’s constitution.
Sources confirmed that about 79 per cent of the 107 cadres present…
Australian arrested after Thai teen girl found dead in suitcase
The family of a 17-year-old Thai girl whose body was found in a suitcase in Pattaya said they were devastated by her death, for which an Australian man has been arrested and charged with murder.
Thai police said they arrested an Australian man in his 40s at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport early on Saturday in connection with the killing in Pattaya, about 150km (93 miles) east of Bangkok.
The suspect, identified as Simon Peter Carman, faces charges of murder, concealment of a body, moving or…
Australia PM: ‘too many children on social media’, ban too easy to avoid
Australia said on Saturday it would double the maximum penalty it can impose on tech firms found to have failed to uphold a groundbreaking social media ban for children, as evidence mounts that the ban has had little effect on teen use.
The government will also strengthen the information-gathering powers of its internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, allowing it to compel social media companies to provide evidence of what they have done to stop under-16s from getting an account.
Under the…
Malaysia’s Johor election campaign begins as federal allies clash
Malaysia’s southern Johor state was braced for a bruising 14-day election campaign on Saturday after 172 candidates were cleared to contest a poll pitting Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s federal allies against each other in one of the country’s most economically important battlegrounds.
The state, which borders Singapore, goes to the polls on July 11, with 2.72 million voters eligible to choose representatives for 56 seats. Analysts said the contest would test both the reach of federal partners…
Southeast Asia’s ‘red alert’ haze fight faces economic test
A potentially dangerous haze season looms for Southeast Asia, as rising energy and fertiliser costs threaten to weaken fire-prevention efforts just as extreme weather patterns raise the risk of forest and land blazes.
Analysts warn that agricultural companies facing pressure from higher production costs may cut corners on sustainable land-clearing practices, including by using fire instead of machinery.
The warning comes as the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) issued a rare…