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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. ‘Not for sale’: Thais take to streets in rare protest against Israel
Hundreds of Thais, led by a veteran political activist, rallied outside the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok in a rare public protest against a group of foreign nationals.
2. Singapore ministers set for pay rise with entry-level pay up to US$1.4 million
Singapore’s ministers will receive gradual pay increases following a 60 per cent jump in their baseline salary benchmarks, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has announced.
3. India-Pakistan water row deepens after Hague court ruling

For 65 years, even as India and Pakistan fought wars, severed diplomatic ties and traded nuclear threats, one agreement held: the Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the river system sustaining roughly 300 million people across the subcontinent. That was until April last year, when New Delhi suspended the pact in the aftermath of a deadly militant attack on tourists in Kashmir that it blamed on Islamabad.
4. Up in smoke: why Southeast Asia failed to halt the haze

Dr Asma Zafirah doesn’t need satellite images to know when Kalimantan is burning. She sees it in the watery eyes and laboured breaths of the patients at her clinic in Sarawak, and the children who are kept home from school to protect them from the toxic air.
5. Thai PM Anutin’s US$90,000 amulet back in spotlight after disgraced monk’s arrest

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has come under intense social media scrutiny after photos resurfaced showing him wearing a high-value amulet created by a senior monk now at the centre of a fraud and sex scandal.
6. Philippines bets big on rail, but can it fix a broken transport network?
A two-hour commute for a 14km (8.7-mile) journey. For Julius Dalay and millions of other Filipinos, this is just how public transport works in Manila: a mishmash of jeepneys, trains and buses that commuters are left to figure out for themselves.
7. Malaysian woman who stabbed boyfriend to death over sex demand gets 12 years
A Malaysian court has nearly doubled jail time for a woman who stabbed her boyfriend to death for demanding sex after ruling that the sentencing court had been “over-sympathetic” towards the accused.


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SCMP Highlights

Protesters holding signs attend a rally demanding an end to alleged land-grabbing by foreigners in Bangkok on Thursday. Photo: AP

People gather on the Indus River near Hyderabad, Sindh province, Pakistan, in May 2025. The Indus River system sustains roughly 300 million people across South Asia. Photo: EPA

A woman covers her face as she rides on a road amid the thick haze from forest fires in Mempawah, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on Thursday. Photo: AP

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul showing the Nuea Duang amulet to journalists in October 2023. Photo: Handout

Southeast Asia weighs energy transition amid LNG supply crunch

People attend Gastech Bangkok 2026, in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Mohammad Taufik, CEO of Malaysian state energy giant Petronas, speaks during a session at Gastech Bangkok 2026 on Monday. Photo: Reuters

People look at a model at Thai state-owned oil and gas firm PTT Group’s booth during Gastech Bangkok 2026 on Monday. Thailand aims to boost its capacity to handle LNG as its power needs surge. Photo: Reuters

‘Cannon fodder’ Asians tricked to fight for Russia spur calls for intervention

Firefighters work at the site of a supermarket hit by a Russian air strike in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, in July. Photo: Reuters

A damaged residential building following a Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv on Tuesday. Photo: AP

A drone parade held on Ukraine’s Independence Day in Kyiv last month amid Russia’s invasion. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters

A picture printout shows Indian national Mohammed Asfan, who was deployed to the conflict in Ukraine, wearing a Russian military uniform. Photo: AFP

Indonesia orders Netflix to pay US$4.3m in music royalties or face shutdown

Netflix has not paid music royalties since entering the Indonesian market in 2016, according to a government agency. Photo: Netflix

People use mobile phones at a park in Denpasar, Bali. An Indonesian government agency has warned Netflix of the legal consequences for failing to pay music royalties it owes. Photo: EPA

Grab Singapore apologises over microdrama ad that raised passenger safety fears

A screenshot from the trailer for “I Fell In Love with My Grab Driver”, a new microdrama series by Grab Singapore. Photo: YouTube / GrabOfficialSEA 

A fleet of cars from ride-hailing firm Grab in Singapore. Photo: Grab

News

Asia

From Thai PM Anutin’s US$90,000 amulet to the Philippines’ big bet on railways, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting


From Thai PM Anutin’s US$90,000 amulet to the Philippines’ big bet on railways, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.


Thais stage rare Israel protest; Singapore ministers get pay rise: 7 Asia highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From Thai PM Anutin’s US$90,000 amulet to the Philippines’ big bet on railways, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting

1. ‘Not for sale’: Thais take to streets in rare protest against Israel

2. Singapore ministers set for pay rise with entry-level pay up to US$1.4 million

From Thai PM Anutin’s US$90,000 amulet to the Philippines’ big bet on railways, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting