Phumtham Wechayachai is poised to take over as Thailand’s acting prime minister, as the Pheu Thai-led government grapples with deepening political uncertainty following the suspension of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. He will replace Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit, who held the position for just one day. Phumtham’s assumption of the role hinges on his formal swearing-in as interior minister, scheduled for Thursday, following a royal decree approving a cabinet reshuffle....

China’s decision to bar former Philippine senator Francis Tolentino from entering its territories is unlikely to deter lawmakers in Manila from pursuing legislation that Beijing might oppose, according to analysts and current legislators. The indefinite travel ban on Tolentino, a former Senate majority leader who lost his re-election bid in May, was announced by China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday, a day after his term formally ended. The ministry accused Tolentino of “egregious conduct on...

The closure of a US$1.2 million James Bond museum aimed at wooing more tourists to southern Thailand after opening for only one day has prompted a lawmaker to call it a pointless project “dressed up to impress” and demand accountability from officials. The state-funded attraction in Phang Nga, a tribute to The Man with the Golden Gun for showcasing the kingdom’s multiple locations in the 1974 film, was built a year ago. But the museum has since become an eyesore, with its leaky roofs, broken...

The decision by Indonesia and Malaysia to jointly develop the resource-rich Ambalat sea block signals a pragmatic step towards defusing a decades-old territorial stand-off, even as legal uncertainties over sovereignty remain unresolved. The agreement was announced last week during Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Indonesia, where he met with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to discuss maritime and land border disputes, investment, and regional conflicts, among...

When South Korea reportedly halted its digital currency pilot programme this week in favour of stablecoins – cryptocurrencies pegged to a reference asset, typically a fiat currency – it sent shock waves through central banks across the world. It also left China – a pioneer in central bank-backed digital currencies with its digital yuan, or e-CNY – with an important question to answer, namely whether it should continue to explore such digital assets or revisit the possibility of adopting the...

Nearly 80 years after 15 young women were forced to “offer” themselves to protect their community from Soviet troops invading Japan’s Manchurian colony in 1945, the survivors among them have spoken out publicly about their horrific experiences. The accounts of the three survivors are at the heart of In Their Own Words: The Women of Kurokawa, a new documentary by director Fumie Matsubara, which will be released in Japan on July 12. Matsubara unveiled the film at a press conference at the Foreign...

The soaring global popularity of Labubu has prompted Australia to sound a warning over knock-off monster toys flooding online platforms as scammers try to exploit the collectibles frenzy fuelled by social media and celebrity endorsements. The pointy-eared, sharp-toothed dolls – designed by Hong Kong artist Lung Ka-sing and sold by Beijing-based Pop Mart – have attained cult status, commanding eye-popping prices and sparking in-store chaos as fans from Sydney to Singapore and London line up for...