SCMP Asia·Thursday, December 18, 2025

SCMP Asia - Thursday, December 18, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Japan PM office source hints at need for nuclear weapons amid policy review

A source within Japan’s prime minister’s office said on Thursday that the country needs nuclear weapons, remarks that deviate from the country’s long-standing non-nuclear principles and could trigger backlash at home and abroad. “I think we should possess nuclear weapons,” said the source, who is involved in devising security policy under the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, while also indicating that such a move is unrealistic. The remarks came as Takaichi, known for her hawkish

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Philippines to get up to US$3.5 billion defence aid to counter ‘serious threats’

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.

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In Malaysia, uproar over mall’s pet-friendly policy forces U-turn

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...

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South Korea’s police chief removed for supporting Yoon Suk-yeol’s martial law plot

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...

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Experts warn Indonesia not to rebuild in disaster-prone zones as Sumatra recovery starts

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..

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Thai-Cambodia border conflict intensifies with bombing claims of casino town

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.

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Hong Kong fire: Indonesian helper ‘was always there’ for others up to the end

Indonesian domestic worker Desi Widiana had spent half her life in Hong Kong, caring for other people’s families while her own waited thousands of kilometres away. Now, her relatives in Sambi village in East Java are waiting again – this time for her final homecoming. Widiana, 40, was among nine Indonesian domestic helpers killed in a massive fire that tore through Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on November 26, leaving at least 160 people dead and thousands homeless. She had come.

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Japan demands response from Finland over beauty queen’s ‘slanted eyes’ photos

Japan’s top government spokesman on Thursday expressed concern over images posted online of the winner of a beauty pageant and some lawmakers in Finland showing them pulling back the corners of their eyes, a gesture widely regarded as racially offensive to Asian people. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara also said at a press conference that Japan expects the Finnish government to “appropriately respond” to the matter, which has been dubbed the “slanted eyes” scandal by Finnish media. Kihara..

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Viral 24-carat gold logo find turns old AC units into hot property in South Korea

A 20-year-old air conditioner has suddenly become the hottest, most sought-after vintage find in South Korea after a video showing that its logo was made of pure gold went viral. The YouTube clip, titled “Is there gold in air conditioners?”, shows a Seoul-based gold shop owner known as Ringring Unnie examining a handful of crumpled metal pieces brought in by a customer. “What is this?” she asks on camera. “It was removed from an LG Whisen air conditioner. It was the logo attached to the front of

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Denial, deflection, dodgy data worsen India’s air crisis: ‘not able to breathe’

Recent remarks about pollution from two Indian officials have increased frustration among residents who say policymakers are unwilling to acknowledge the severity of India’s air quality crisis. When Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav told parliament earlier this month that India’s capital, New Delhi, has seen 200 days with good air quality readings, pollution experts and opposition leaders said he chose a figure that overlooked the worst pollution months. A week later, Delhi Chief Minister...

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