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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. How the Peranakan Chinese built one of Southeast Asia’s most powerful networks
Born of trade and migration, the Peranakan community has forged a distinct identity that has bridged China and Southeast Asia for centuries.
2. Philippine court upholds murder verdict in Duterte’s drug war case
The Philippine Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of three policemen who killed a teenage boy at the height of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs in 2017, a watershed moment that legal analysts say affirms the country’s justice system.
3. Malaysia’s Najib sentenced to 15 years in jail for abuse of power in 1MDB saga

A Malaysian court on Friday sentenced jailed former prime minister Najib Razak to a further 15 years in prison after convicting him on all 25 charges linked to the plundering of billions of dollars from the scandal-tainted state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
4. Singapore’s young graduates feel the heat in ‘draining’ job hunt
A dearth of entry-level jobs has forced some young Singaporeans to pivot to stopgap roles and entrepreneurship.
5. Indian doctor suspended, charged after allegedly assaulting patient

A senior resident doctor at a government hospital in Shimla, the capital of India’s northern state of Himachal Pradesh, has been suspended and charged by police after a viral video appeared to show him repeatedly striking a patient inside a ward, triggering an investigation and widespread public backlash.
6. Hair-raising: Malaysia arrests 2 over video of man in headscarf drinking alcohol
Two people have been arrested in Malaysia after a viral video showing a man wearing a headscarf while drinking alcohol at a hair salon triggered religious sensitivities in the Muslim-majority country.
7. Red, white and Blue: Indonesia lodges complaint over porn star’s flag stunt

Controversial British adult film star Bonnie Blue has again earned the wrath of Indonesia after a video of her insulting the Southeast Asian nation’s flag went viral on social media.


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The Long San Tong Khoo Kongsi clanhouse in Penang. Photo: Ushar Daniele


Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak is escorted by prison guards at the Kuala Lumpur Court complex on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Screenshot from a video filmed by an attendant at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital on Monday showing a masked doctor punching a man lying on a bed. Photo: X

Bonnie Blue pins the Indonesian flag to the back of her dress, causing it to drag on the ground. Photo: Instagram

Asia’s 2025 in extreme weather and natural disasters, from deadly earthquakes to typhoons

Residents inspect the collapsed Maha Myat Muni Pagoda in the city of Mandalay, Myanmar, following a devastating earthquake. Photo: EPA-EFE

A woman walks along a mud-covered street in Liloan, Cebu province, in the aftermath of Typhoon Kalmaegi on November 6. Photo: AFP

A car is seen stranded on a stretch of collapsed road in Aomori prefecture, northeastern Japan, December 9 following a powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake. Photo: EPA

Locals look for items in a collapsed house in Manay, in the province of Davao Oriental on October 11, after two powerful quakes struck off the southern Philippines on October 10. Photo: AFP

Six areas in Peninsular Malaysia experienced maximum daily temperatures of between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius for three consecutive days last week. Photo: Reuters

10 times Asia overtourism and ‘limits’ to hospitality became a problem in 2025

Foreign tourists relax on Kuta Beach on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali in November 2023. Photo: AFP


People walk along Nakamise shopping street in Tokyo’s Asakusa area. Photo: Kyodo

The viral video has stirred debate on whether he was right to be offended or overreacted to the Mandarin greeting. Photo: Handout

Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, a Russian vlogger who went viral on social media for harassing Filipinos in Taguig City. Photo: Philippines Bureau of Immigration

Tourists crowd a street near the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto earlier this year. Photo: AFP

Tourists walk past go-go bars and night clubs in Pattaya, Thailand. Photo: Shutterstock

Philippines’ struggle for Chinese tourists, flood aid remarks spark ire: 7 Asia highlights

Chinese tourists from Beijing enjoying Cambugahay waterfalls in Siquijor, Central Visaya, Philippines. Photo: SCMP / James Wendlinger


People unload aid supplies for distribution in Aceh Tamiang, Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, on Monday following heavy flooding earlier this month. Photo: AFP

The death of Vu Tu Anh, a 25-year-old Vietnamese woman, amid a South Korean immigration raid in October has intensified scrutiny on the country’s restrictive work visa rules for international students who graduate from local universities. Photo: handout

A Malaysian police officer is seen wrenching a suspect’s car door open with his bare hands in a dashcam video that has gone viral. Photo: TikTok/Mazmar93

News

Asia

From Indonesia fuming over flag stunt to Duterte’s drug war verdict upheld, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting


From Indonesia fuming over flag stunt to Duterte’s drug war verdict upheld, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.


Rise of Peranakan Chinese networks, Malaysian ex-PM jailed in 1MDB saga: 7 Asia highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From Indonesia fuming over flag stunt to Duterte’s drug war verdict upheld, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting

1. How the Peranakan Chinese built one of Southeast Asia’s most powerful networks

From Indonesia fuming over flag stunt to Duterte’s drug war verdict upheld, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting