SCMP Asia·Tuesday, December 23, 2025

SCMP Asia - Tuesday, December 23, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

UN says Myanmar junta using ‘brutal violence’ to force people to vote

The UN said on Tuesday that Myanmar’s junta was using violence and intimidation to force people to vote in upcoming military-controlled elections, while armed opposition groups were using similar tactics to keep people away. “The military authorities in Myanmar must stop using brutal violence to compel people to vote and stop arresting people for expressing any dissenting views,” United Nations rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement. Myanmar’s junta is set to preside over voting starting..

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Australian policeman injured in Bondi terror attack wakes from coma

A police officer injured in the Bondi terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia has woken from a medically induced coma, his family said. New South Wales (NSW) police constable Scott Dyson, 25, was one of two officers wounded when investigators allege Naveed Akram and his father Sajid opened fire on a crowd of more than 1,000 people at Sydney’s Archer Park on December 14. The attack killed 15 people and injured dozens more. Accused gunman Naveed Akram, 24, faces 15 murder charges and.

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Rare Rafflesia flower rediscovery in Indonesia revives push to drop colonial name

A giant flower’s rediscovery in a West Sumatran forest of Indonesia has spurred a growing campaign among researchers to change the colonial-era name of one of the world’s most famous plants. Last month’s find of an extremely rare Rafflesia hasseltii – one of the giant, foul-smelling blooms often dubbed “corpse flowers” – has energised researchers and activists seeking to strip the genus of its association with Thomas Stamford Raffles, a figure widely credited with founding colonial Singapore but

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Economic ‘pragmatism’ powers Indonesians’ positive view of China, survey finds

China has emerged as a broadly positive partner for Indonesia in the public mind, according to a new survey, driven by visible economic engagement and investment on the ground, even as public support stops short of seeing Beijing as a full strategic partner. The 2025 China–Indonesia Survey, released on December 18 by Jakarta-based think tank Centre of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), suggests Indonesians increasingly view ties with Beijing through a transactional lens, welcoming economic and..

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Why Malaysian court ruling against Najib is dividing Anwar’s coalition

A court’s decision to keep former Malaysian leader Najib Razak behind bars has reopened fault lines between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling coalition and Umno, the country’s once-dominant ruling party. The Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday rejected Najib’s application to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest, ruling that a purported addendum to a royal clemency order “had no legal effect because it was never deliberated by the Pardons Board”. The decision meant the.

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Asia’s 2025 in extreme weather and natural disasters, from deadly earthquakes to typhoons

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest stories about extreme weather and natural disasters in Asia. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘It’s like apocalypse’: Myanmar, Thailand quake death toll tops 1,600 The death toll from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that rocked Myanmar and Thailand exceeded 1,600 on March 29, 2025, as rescuers in worst-affected Mandalay clawed chunks of debris with their bare hands to free the city’s trapped victims while ruptured...

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Prabowo, Trump to sign Indonesia-US trade deal in January as issues resolved

Indonesia said it has resolved all substantive issues in trade talks with the US and is on course to sign an agreement in late January, removing a major source of uncertainty for Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. Both countries have aligned on the “crucial issues” in their draft agreement, protecting the mutual interests of both parties, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said in an online presentation on Tuesday, after meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson...

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A year after South Korea’s Jeju Air crash, the fight for truth continues

Grieving mother Lee Hyo-eun returns every weekend to the airport where her daughter and 178 others died last year, desperate for the truth about South Korea’s deadliest airline disaster. Jeju Air flight 2216 was coming in to land at Muan International Airport from Thailand when it struck a flock of birds and was forced to make a belly landing that sent it crashing into a structure at the end of the runway. Only two flight attendants seated in the tail section survived. Lee vividly remembers that

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Philippines’ struggle for Chinese tourists, flood aid remarks spark ire: 7 Asia highlights

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. Mexico’s 50% tariff shock shuts Asia’s North American trade bypass For much of the past year, Asian exporters have been racing to stay ahead of a global tariff storm – re-routing shipments, reconfiguring supply chains and absorbing rising costs as the United States...

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Nepal to clean up Mount Everest’s waste by limiting climbers, flying more drones

For years, Nepal’s government has faced pressure to reduce rubbish in the Himalayas, where decades of commercial mountaineering have left large amounts of discarded gear, human waste and other debris on some of the world’s tallest peaks. Last week, the authorities in Kathmandu finally took firm action. They approved a landmark five-year plan to clean up Nepal’s mountains, seeking to curb waste through stricter monitoring and limiting the number of climbers on Mount Everest, the world’s highest..

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