Global interest in India’s BrahMos, Marcos family feud: 7 Asia highlights

From Malaysia’s new chief justice to doubts about Indonesia’s future capital, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting

The BrahMos missile system being set up for a rehearsal in January in New Delhi ahead of the Republic Day parade. Photo: Reuters

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. Everyone gets a BrahMos? Global interest in missile raises India’s profile

India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system has reportedly drawn interest from at least 15 countries spanning from Asia to South America after its use in cross-border strikes against Pakistan enhanced the global profile of the Indian weapons industry.

2. Viral knife attack on Chinese student shocks Malaysia

Malaysian police arrested a 21-year-old Chinese national on Monday on suspicion of slashing his ex-girlfriend’s neck with a knife at Taylor’s University on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

3. Marcos vs Marcos: the bitter truth behind the Philippine first family’s feud

Illustration: Mario Rivera
Illustration: Mario Rivera

As Ferdinand Marcos Jnr touches down in Washington this weekend, his mind may well be half a world away, fixed not on the security and trade talks that await him but on the family feud back home: one born of betrayal, blind ambition and the wounds of history.

4. Malaysia has a new chief justice but appointment stirs fresh controversy

Malaysia has named Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as its new chief justice, a move Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said should put to rest weeks of public criticism and accusations that his government was meddling in the judiciary.

5. Why Singapore restaurateurs are finding an appetite for Malaysia

A hawker food centre in Singapore’s Chinatown. Photo: Shutterstock
A hawker food centre in Singapore’s Chinatown. Photo: Shutterstock

Malaysia offers a lifeline for Singapore food businesses squeezed by rising costs and shrinking consumer spending, amid high closure rates.

6. Why Trump’s remittance tax will be ‘devastating’ for Filipino-Americans

A new tax on international remittances introduced under US President Donald Trump’s sweeping economic reform bill is drawing criticism from Filipino-American communities, who say the measure will hit working-class migrants hardest and threaten the livelihoods of their families in the Philippines.

7. Indonesia’s dream of a ‘smart forest’ capital becomes a vice-ridden nightmare

Indonesia’s future capital city of Nusantara is seen under construction in July last year. Photo: AFP
Indonesia’s future capital city of Nusantara is seen under construction in July last year. Photo: AFP

Indonesia’s dream of a gleaming new capital in the Bornean jungle is fast becoming mired in vice, ambivalence and growing doubts about its future under President Prabowo Subianto.

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