Yusran first learned of the danger facing his teenage cousin, Elmi Febrianti, at an Indonesian tourist attraction in South Sulawesi when he received a frantic phone call from a family member.

Elmi, a 17-year-old Indonesian student, had been at a popular photo spot in Apparalang, Bulukumba regency, when she fell into the sea on the afternoon of June 7 while taking a selfie on the area’s picturesque limestone cliffs.

A friend who had been with the teenager at the time called her family, one of...

South Korean police have taken the rare step of placing three 12-year-old boys in juvenile facilities after they allegedly stole cars and drove without licences in two separate incidents within a week, underscoring growing concern over serious offences committed by children too young to face criminal prosecution.

Police in Cheonan, a city about 90km south of Seoul, said on June 17 that the boys had been placed in juvenile protection facilities following a series of car thefts in May.

“These...

A recent survey in Japan and South Korea has revealed that strategic elites in both countries remain sceptical about developing nuclear weapons.

However, should one of the two countries take the lead in acquiring nuclear weapons, support for such a move in the other country could rise rapidly, according to the survey published on Thursday by Washington-based think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

The impact of such a move could potentially exceed that of a...

North Korea’s Kim ⁠Yo-jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un, condemned a G7 call for the country’s denuclearisation as a violation of its constitution and an infringement of ‌sovereignty, state media KCNA said on Thursday.

Kim said denuclearisation was an “irreversibly finalised agenda” that could never be realised, and that nuclear possession was North Korea’s core interest and an irreversible line, the statement carried by KCNA said.

“Denuclearisation is the line ⁠of no retreat that...

A Vietnamese police operation rescued about 400 pet cats destined for the dinner plate, uncovering a nationwide racket fuelling the country’s rampant pet meat trade that uses a criminal corridor running from the south to the north.

Hundreds of desperate cat owners rushed to a Ho Chi Minh police headquarters over the weekend to see if their lost pet was among the cats rescued from traffickers by police.

In what is believed to be one of the largest busts of its kind, police said the cats were...

Trials are under way in China to roll out autonomous navigation and other smart shipping solutions to slash logistics costs ahead of the opening of the landmark Pinglu Canal, which will link its landlocked southwestern regions to Southeast Asia to spur trade and connectivity.

Intelligent barges and other vessels have been tested on the artificial waterway in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region since Wednesday, as part of preparations for the commissioning of the roughly US$10 billion...

A Thai police officer who tried to flee after allegedly shooting his wife and her mother with his service weapon outside a gym was chased down and detained by two fitness trainers.

Responding to reports of gunshots, officers from Nang Rong Police Station arrived at the two-storey fitness centre owned by the shooter’s wife behind Sra Ya Ma Market in Buriram province on Wednesday afternoon, according to the ThaiRath newspaper.

They found the 37-year-old gym owner lying in a pool of blood with a...

A sharp sell-off in Indonesian assets has taken on a political tone online, with some social media users alleging, without evidence, that Singapore stands to gain from a “Sell Indonesia” narrative around Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

The rupiah has slipped to multiple record lows and weakened about 8 per cent this year, crossing a key level and trading above 18,000 to the US dollar last week, while Jakarta’s stock market has lost about a third of its value since the start of the year.

As...

The mother of a 16-year-old girl who died from emaciation following lengthy detention and menacing interrogations by Japanese authorities is seeking compensation, in the latest “hostage justice” case.

The lawsuit, filed with western Japan’s Kobe district court on Wednesday, argues that the girl’s 18-day ordeal at a jail traumatised her so much that five months after her release, she weighed just 20kg (44lbs) – and died in December.

“My daughter was unrecognisable when she died,” the mother of...

Malaysian police have deported two Indian nationals wanted in connection with an explosion on a railway line in Punjab, in a case Indian media have linked to an alleged militant plot tied to the Khalistan separatist movement.

Royal Malaysia Police said the pair were sent back to India on Wednesday after Indian authorities requested help locating and detaining them.

M. Kumar S. Muthuvelu, director of the police’s criminal investigation department, said the two were believed to have been involved...