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SCMP

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. ‘We’ll be Taliban soon’: Malaysian state to jail Muslims for skipping prayers
Malaysia’s Terengganu state has warned it will start fully enforcing a sharia law enabling the imprisonment of Muslim men for up to two years if they skip Friday prayers without a valid reason – a move widely seen as emblematic of the multicultural country’s tilt towards religious conservatism.
2. Kim Jong-un weeps for North Korea’s Ukraine war dead as reality hits home

For the first time since its founding in 1948, North Korea has openly acknowledged the deaths of its soldiers fighting on foreign soil with a carefully staged ceremony that analysts say betrays supreme leader Kim Jong-un’s deepening domestic anxieties.
3. Zara’s death: 5 teenagers plead not guilty to bullying Malaysian student
Five teenagers were charged on Wednesday with bullying Malaysian schoolgirl Zara Qairina Mahathir, whose death has seen an outpouring of grief across the nation and triggered a movement against a pernicious bullying culture in the education system.
4. Modi’s ‘double Diwali’: India bets on tax overhaul to blunt US tariff shock

Faced with punishing US tariffs, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to turn crisis into opportunity, unveiling a historic tax overhaul that he says will deliver a “double Diwali” for households and businesses alike.
5. Philippine president fumes over flood corruption, ‘economic sabotage’
President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has expressed anger over failed flood-control projects in the Philippines, as he warned of “economic sabotage” charges against “big” offenders to stem entrenched corruption in the infrastructure sector.
6. Singapore prides itself on cheap hawker meals but who should foot the bill?

Safi Sharif, 35, is among the few young Singaporeans who have entered the hawker trade out of a genuine passion for cooking. But he is feeling the strain – physically from 14-hour days that begin at 6.30am, and financially from the pressure to keep prices low despite rising costs.
7. Smart policing: Seoul deploys hologram ‘officer’ to deter crime

A life-size hologram of a police officer, installed in a South Korean park to boost public safety, is doing a good job preventing crime, with reports of criminal activities down by more than a fifth since it went up.


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SCMP Highlights

Malaysian state to jail Muslims for skipping prayers, India’s tax cuts: 7 Asia highlights

Customers eat local foods purchased from hawker stalls at the Newton Food Centre in Singapore. Photo: EPA-EFE

A man walks past a mosque in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia’s Terengganu state, in December last year. Photo: AFP

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un embraces a serviceman at the ceremony last week for troops sent to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine. Photo: KCNA/KNS/AFP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation during Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort in New Delhi on August 15. Photo: EPA

Seoul’s holographic police officer appears nightly between 7pm and 10pm at Jodong 3 Park. Photo: Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

‘Singapore maths’ in US schools, Malaysians demand Zara justice: 7 Asia highlights

US schools aim to close the maths education gap and enhance student outcomes. Photo: Shutterstock

Singapore is known for its strict punishments for drug trafficking. Photo: Shutterstock

A signage of a host club in Kabukicho. Women have been lured into prostitution as a result of the predatory tactics of male hosts. Photo: AFP

New residential developments by the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo: Shutterstock

South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon-hee arrives at the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Cassy Turner (left) and Susan Resnick work with teachers at a two-day workshop on the Singaporean method of maths instruction at a school in Maryland. Photo: TNS

Protesters gather in Sipitang, Malaysia, on Sunday to demand justice for dead schoolgirl Zara Qairina Mahathir. Photo: Facebook/dunsindumin.sipitang.75

A labourer works inside a steel factory in Jammu, India, earlier this year. Photo: AFP

Grab halts Mandarin driver trial, Malaysia orders Zara’s exhumation: 7 Asia highlights

The view from Alice’s 39th floor Clementi flat in Singapore. Photo: Alice

The family of Zara Qairina Mahathir has raised questions about the process of evidence collection during investigations into the death of the 13-year-old Malaysian student. Photo: Facebook

A Grab car pick-up and drop-off point in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Shutterstock

Malaysian police are re-examining the case of Zara Qairina Mahathir to determine the cause of her death. Photo: YouTube

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a G20 summit in 2023. Photo: Reuters

A Long March-12 carrier rocket carrying a group of internet satellites blasts off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in south China’s Hainan province on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte walks after filing her counter affidavit regarding her alleged threat to President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr at the Department of Justice in Manila on May 9. Photo: AFP

Singapore’s government has taken several measures to curb the phenomenon of profiteering from the public housing scheme, which it calls the “lottery effect”. Photo: Getty Images

A plant from Thai breeder Jeera Jukmongkol that sold for 1 million baht (US$30,900). Photo: Bangkok International Exotic Plants Show

Singaporean F1 tycoon admits guilt, Indonesians misbehaving in Japan: 7 Asia highlights

A woman uses a portable fan to cool herself during a heatwave in Tokyo, Japan, on July 17. Photo: Reuters

Ong Beng Seng at the Marina Bay Street Circuit last year during a practice for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. Photo: Reuters



South Korean protesters tear a banner showing a caricature of US President Donald Trump as a robber during a rally in Seoul against Washington’s tariff policy on July 27. Photo: AFP

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Asia

From North Korea’s Ukraine war deaths to Singapore’s hawker trade struggles, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting


From North Korea’s Ukraine war deaths to Singapore’s hawker trade struggles, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.


Malaysian state to jail Muslims for skipping prayers, India’s tax cuts: 7 Asia highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From North Korea’s Ukraine war deaths to Singapore’s hawker trade struggles, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting

1. ‘We’ll be Taliban soon’: Malaysian state to jail Muslims for skipping prayers

From North Korea’s Ukraine war deaths to Singapore’s hawker trade struggles, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting