SCMP Asia·Wednesday, December 24, 2025

SCMP Asia - Wednesday, December 24, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Trump’s US$100,000 H-1B visa fee upheld by judge, as lottery system ends

A US federal judge on Tuesday upheld President Donald Trump’s US$100,000 fee to process H-1B visa applications, while also acknowledging it could “inflict significant harm on American businesses and institutions of higher education”. In a 56-page opinion, US District Judge Beryl Howell wrote that the president has “broad statutory authority” to address “a problem he perceives to be a matter of economic and national security”. The US$100,000 application fee announced in September gave companies..

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Indian doctor suspended, charged after viral video shows him assaulting patient

A senior resident doctor at a government hospital in Shimla, the capital of India’s northern state of Himachal Pradesh, has been suspended and charged by police after a viral video appeared to show him repeatedly striking a patient inside a ward, triggering an investigation and widespread public backlash. The mobile phone footage, filmed by an attendant at the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital on Monday and widely shared on social media, shows a masked doctor punching a man lying on a..

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US to grant South Korea exception on nuclear submarine fuel supply

South Korea and the US have agreed to pursue a separate agreement to formalise Seoul’s right to build nuclear-powered submarines, and working-level talks will begin early next year, the Asian country’s national security adviser said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters after visiting Washington, Wi Sung-lac said he discussed the issue and other security arrangements with senior US officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. His trip was aimed at...

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Thai marines rescue starving lions, bears from Cambodian border casino

Thai marines have rescued five starving animals – two lions and three bears – abandoned in cages at a bombed-out Cambodian casino complex amid a deepening border fight between the neighbours. Security forces were conducting a sweep of the seized building on Sunday in Trat province when they made the grim discovery, prompting them to send a veterinary team to the site the following day. Officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) evaluated the condition.

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Philippine ex-lawmaker accused of building 5-level basement to store money

A Philippine cabinet minister has claimed that fugitive former lawmaker Zaldy Co intends to build a five-storey basement within a luxury home to store money, as more revelations of the widening flood-control corruption scandal surface. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla made the claim at a press conference on Tuesday, saying government checks of applications to a private village association and building permits suggested the Forbes Park property in Makati – one of Metro Manila’s most exclusive...

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India’s new law to fuel energy needs, drive nuclear power growth

India has taken a decisive step to open its tightly controlled nuclear power sector to private and foreign capital, signalling a shift in how the country plans to meet soaring electricity demand while cutting emissions. Parliament earlier this month approved the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (Shanti) Bill, one of the most consequential overhauls of India’s civilian nuclear framework in decades, ending years of near-exclusive state control. Under.

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Najib’s children lament Malaysian court ruling – ‘we thought he was coming home’

The children of ex-Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak have been yearning for their father to leave prison and the family to spend the New Year together. But their hopes were dashed this week after a court ruled against Najib’s application to return home under house arrest. In a five-minute video posted online shortly after the decision on Monday, Najib’s eldest son, Mohd Nizar Najib, said the family had gone to court prepared for both outcomes, but had quietly believed the long fight – based..

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Thailand election 2025: caretaker PM Anutin officially joins ‘consequential’ February poll

Thailand’s caretaker leader Anutin Charnvirakul was picked by his party on Wednesday to stand as its candidate for prime minister in a ‌general election in early February, as he bids to benefit from a wave of nationalism ‍arising from an ongoing border conflict with Cambodia. Less than 100 days after he was elected premier, Anutin dissolved parliament earlier this month when his minority government faced the threat of a no-confidence vote. Speaking to party members and supporters on Wednesday,..

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South Korean webtoon slammed for heroine resembling Kim Jong-un’s daughter Ju-ae

A webtoon in South Korea has come under fire for a protagonist some say resembles the only publicly known child of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, with critics arguing the series normalises a clandestine regime notorious for alleged human rights abuses. Princess Goes to School, a fictional romantic comedy released last week on platform giant Naver, centres on Kim Seol – a seemingly ordinary high school student in South Korea who is unaware she is the scion of Pyongyang’s rulers – and her...

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India’s gem sector regains shine beyond US as exporters pivot to Asia, Middle East

India’s gem and jewellery exports, among the country’s biggest earners, are rebounding in ways that reflect a successful push to diversify trade away from the United States amid higher tariffs and a tougher global trade environment, analysts and industry executives have said. The industry’s shipments rose 19.64 per cent year on year to US$2.51 billion in November, even after Washington imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Indian goods – a move that had initially raised fears of a sharp hit to

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