SCMP Asia·Thursday, January 1, 2026

SCMP Asia - Thursday, January 1, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

China’s Ukraine war role, EU vs Shein and Temu, Trump-Modi call: 7 global relations reads

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. EU fears China’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine is deepening European officials were parsing evidence of an increase in battlefield weapons being shipped from China to Russia as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine prepared to drag into its fifth year, adding to the well-documented flow of goods with

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Thai fortune-teller predicts client’s bad luck, then gets arrested over stealing her phone

A Thai fortune-teller was arrested in Pattaya on Thursday after being accused of telling a client she would soon face bad luck and lose a valuable possession on New Year’s Day, then allegedly making good on the prophecy by stealing her phone. The suspect, identified by local media as Udomsap Mueangkaew, 38, allegedly denied the theft when confronted by the woman but told her the loss proved the accuracy of his fortune-telling. Local news outlet Khaosod reported that Udomsap, shabbily dressed,...

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K-pop stars BTS to reunite with March album and world tour after military service

K-pop megastars BTS will release a new album in March ahead of a world tour, the group announced on Thursday. South Korea’s biggest musical act has been on self-described hiatus since 2022 as its members undertook national military service required of all men under the age of 30. All seven members were discharged last year, and the group announced a comeback for the spring of 2026. They confirmed on Thursday that they would release an album on March 20, before heading on tour. The exact date...

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Malaysia tightens grip on major social media platforms – will it make the internet safer?

Malaysia on Thursday moved to bring some of the world’s biggest social media and messaging platforms under its licensing regime, closing a year-long gap in which several tech giants had operated without formal approval. From January 1, platforms with more than eight million users in Malaysia are automatically treated as licensed under local law, even if they had not applied, according to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). The shift coincides with the Online Safety Act

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Australia ‘disappointed’ with China’s 55% beef tariffs, as US$667 million in trade at risk

Australia’s government is “disappointed” with China’s decision to impose new beef import tariffs, with one industry group warning the move could damage trade worth over A$1 billion (US$667 million) between the two countries. China announced it would impose additional 55 per cent tariffs on some beef imports from countries including Brazil, Australia and the United States that exceed a certain quantity for the next three years. The country also said it would suspend part of a free-trade agreement

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Asian travellers brace for ‘chilling’ US social media scrutiny

Sheila Lim, 25, travels from Singapore to the United States every year to spend Christmas with her boyfriend and his family in California, usually staying for nearly a month. She has never had trouble entering the country, but on her most recent trip she noticed immigration queues moving more slowly than before. “This November, I waited two hours in line,” Lim told This Week in Asia. That experience has left her uneasy about a new US proposal that would require visa-exempt travellers to submit..

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Malaysia’s tourism minister urges warmer welcomes after ‘less than friendly’ complaints

Malaysia’s tourism minister has urged the public to be more friendly to visitors and take cleanliness seriously as the country ramps up preparations for Visit Malaysia 2026, after several government agencies flagged complaints from tourists about rude treatment when they sought help. Speaking on New Year’s Day at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing said he had asked for explanations after receiving the feedback. “I have received complaints and..

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Japan may lose GDP race to India amid weak yen, tourism woes and China row

Japan’s economy is likely to fall behind India’s in 2026 to fifth place in the world, according to an International Monetary Fund’s estimate, potentially diminishing the East Asian nation’s presence on the global stage. The subdued economic outlook makes Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s planned growth strategy, due out in the summer, all the more important to combat the burden from the country’s shrinking population, economists say. They call for productivity improvements and further efforts to..

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Stuck in Malaysia with no Wi-fi or Grab: how a stranger saved a family’s Hong Kong trip

It was like any other day for 24-year-old sales adviser Kanimolhi Krisnan from Shah Alam in Malaysia’s Selangor state. She was at the MRT station waiting for the bus to go home after work when a stranger approached her for help. Frida Pigny, an education strategist from Indonesia, was in Kuala Lumpur with her French husband Samuel Pigny and their daughter Axelle. “We were stuck at the Kuala Lumpur Sentral with no Wi-fi, no Grab, no taxi app; just faith and people,” Frida said. “We needed to go..

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North Korea hates K-culture but loves blatantly copying Seoul’s trends as craze grows

Even as North Korea spent 2025 pushing a political strategy centred on ignoring South Korea, the country simultaneously copied South Korean products, designs and cultural content – from food packaging to football fan zones – revealing what analysts describe as a contradictory yet calculated pattern of imitation. While Pyongyang continues to warn against the inflow of South Korean culture, it has selectively adopted popular elements and repurposed them as its own through what observers call...

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