Asia - South China Morning Post

When the Indonesian island of Sumatra was struggling to recover from devastating floods last week, local authorities in Aceh turned to an unconventional form of help to clear debris: elephants.

The move to deploy four trained elephants in Pidie Jaya Regency, however, has drawn mixed reactions, with some experts praising the effective response to extreme conditions and others criticising it due to the risks faced by the critically endangered species.

Triggered by days of torrential rain last...

Singapore police have arrested a US-sanctioned man who operated a superyacht for the alleged mastermind of one of Asia’s largest scam networks.

Nigel Tang Wan Bao Nabil was taken into custody on December 11 after he returned to Singapore, according to a police statement on Thursday. Tang is currently out on bail, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified for sharing non-public information.

Tang was arrested for his “suspected involvement in money laundering...

More than a year after former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol’s failed attempt to impose martial law, the country’s top court has announced changes to how politically explosive cases are handled, as public anger over delays and alleged bias continues to mount.

The Supreme Court said it would revamp procedures for high-stakes national security trials, including cases stemming from Yoon’s December 2024 martial law bid, in what it described as an effort to ensure swift and fair proceedings and...

Violence broke out in Bangladesh’s capital early on Friday after a youth leader of the country’s 2024 pro-democracy uprising who was injured in an assassination attempt died in a hospital in Singapore.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Dhaka after the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was announced, to demand that his killers be arrested.

Several buildings in the capital, including those housing the country’s two leading newspapers, were set on fire, according to authorities, with...

Japan reaffirmed its decades-old pledge never to possess nuclear weapons on Friday after local media reported ‌that a senior security official suggested the country should acquire them to deter ‍potential aggressors.

The unnamed official said Japan needed nuclear weapons because of a worsening security environment but acknowledged that such a move would be politically difficult, public broadcaster NHK and other outlets reported, describing the official as being from Prime Minister ⁠Sanae...

Washington is set to deepen its defence support for the Philippines after approving billions of dollars for a loan and a grant to its Southeast Asian ally next year to counter what an American senator has called “serious threats” from China and its partners.

Philippine defence officials have welcomed the approval by the House and Senate in Washington as further evidence of the US commitment to their alliance, even as analysts caution that the bill under the US National Defence Authorisation Act...

A newly opened shopping centre in Malaysia has reversed an attempt to brand its indoor space as pet-friendly after an online backlash, a reaction that underscores the sensitivities around dogs in public spaces in the Muslim-majority country.

Sunway Square Mall in Selangor, which opened on December 12, said on Thursday that pets are banned from its enclosed retail areas. Instead, pets are allowed at a designated outdoor zone and supervised routes through a car park in the mall’s basement.

The...

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Thursday formally removed the country’s impeached police chief for deploying hundreds of officers to support ousted former president Yoon Suk-yeol’s brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.

The court said Cho Ji-ho “actively disrupted” legislative activities by deploying hundreds of police officers to the National Assembly and trying to block lawmakers from reaching the main chamber to vote to lift Yoon’s decree.

Cho also infringed upon the...

Indonesia is pressing ahead with plans to restore parts of Sumatra devastated by a late November cyclone, pledging billions of dollars and a new coordinating body, even as experts warn that rebuilding in the same area risks a repeat of the disaster.

Flash floods and landslides that hit Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra on November 26 killed more than 1,050 people and left 192 missing, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

The disaster displaced about 577,600 residents...

Cambodia said Thailand’s military on Thursday bombed the casino town of Poipet, a major crossing between the two nations, as foreign powers pressured them to halt reignited border clashes.

Thai forces “dropped two bombs in the area of Poipet Municipality, Banteay Meanchey Province” at around 11am on Thursday, the Cambodian defence ministry said in a statement.

Thailand has not yet confirmed any strike on Poipet – a bustling casino hub popular with Thai gamblers.

The renewed fighting between the...