South Korean opposition party threatens to impeach acting president

South Korea‘s opposition party has threatened to impeach acting president Han Duck Soo should he fail to proclaim a law to launch a special counsel investigation into Yoon Suk Yeol‘s botched attempt at imposition of martial law.

Mr Yeol was impeached on 14 December through a second vote in parliament over his attempt to impose martial law earlier this month, a move that threw the nation into chaos and split his party. Prime minister Han has since taken over as Yoon’s presidential powers remain suspended.

The main opposition, Democratic Party, passed a bill this month to appoint a special counsel to pursue charges of insurrection, among others, against Mr Yoon, who faces a Constitutional Court review, and to investigate his wife over a luxury bag scandal.

The opposition has accused Mr Han of aiding Mr Yoon’s martial law attempt and reported him to the police. The Democratic Party said it would “immediately initiate impeachment proceedings” against the acting president if the legislation was not promulgated by Tuesday.

“The delays show that the prime minister has no intention of complying with the constitution, and it is tantamount to admitting that he is acting as a proxy for the insurgent,” Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan Dae told a party meeting.

Mr Han is a technocrat who has held leadership roles in South Korean politics for 30 years under conservative and liberal presidents. Mr Yoon appointed him prime minister in 2022.

He has previously said he had tried to block Mr Yoon’s martial law declaration, but apologised to parliament for failing to do so.

The opposition leader also accused Mr Yoon of hampering the Constitutional Court trial by repeatedly refusing to accept court documents.

“Any delay in the investigation and impeachment trials is an extension of the insurrection and an act of plotting a second one,” Mr Park said.

Mr Yoon has failed to comply with summons by authorities investigating whether the martial law constituted insurrection. Mr Yoon denies the insurrection charges and will present his position in court if a public hearing is held during his impeachment trial, his lawyers told the media.

He is under investigation for alleged insurrection by both South Korean prosecutors and a joint team of police, the defence ministry and anti-corruption authorities.

Last week the leader of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party resigned for backing Mr Yoon’s impeachment over his attempt to impose martial law.

Han Dong Hoon, once a close ally of Mr Yoon, said he was concerned about violence breaking out if martial law hadn’t been lifted, and defended his decision as a stance against illegal actions.

The deadly tsunami hit Thailand 20 years ago – trauma will never go

The 20-year-old freshman student was still asleep that Sunday morning at the family’s house on the Andaman Sea coast of southern Thailand when her mum, sensing something wasn’t right, woke her up saying they needed to leave right away.

The day is forever seared in Neungduangjai Sritrakarn’s memory: Dec. 26, 2004, the day the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami struck across South and Southeast Asia, after a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island.

It was one of modern history’s worst natural disasters.

Neungduangjai’s mom had noticed a strange pattern of whitecaps on the sea, just as a relative who returned from a fishing trip came by to warn them. They grabbed all the family members’ essential documents and hopped on motorbikes.

Within minutes, Neungduangjai, her mother, father, brother and sister were speeding away, trying to get as far as they could from their village of Ban Nam Khem. Looking back, Neungduangjai saw a surging wall of water, taller than her home, moving toward shore from far away.

She had never seen anything like it.

They got about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) away when the wall of water crashed into the shore of Phang Nga province and caught up with them, knocking them off their bikes. The water was dark, sweeping all kinds of objects, man-made and natural.

Nuengduangjai pulled herself to her feet but could barely stand in the moving mass — the water was almost up to her knees.

She didn’t know at the time that the tsunami had hit a dozen countries, leaving about 230,000 dead, around a third of them in Indonesia. Some 1.7 million people were displaced, mostly in the four worst-affected countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

Along Thailand’s Andaman coast, at least 5,400 people were killed and some 3,000 remain missing to this day, according to the Thai government.

The shrimp farm where Neungduangjai’s family worked and lived was wiped out.

In its place today is a thriving bar and restaurant — the fruits of Neungduangjai’s rebuilding efforts — with a porch looking out to a beautiful sea view. A view she said wouldn’t be there if not for the tsunami that destroyed parts of the coast.

In Phang Nga, life has been rebuilt and the tourists are back — on the surface, all is fine.

Neungduangjai, who was home from her studies in Bangkok for the New Year break when the tsunami hit, said her immediate family survived but they lost five relatives, including her grandparents. One of her uncles was never found.

After a week of staying with relatives in nearby Ranong province, she went back. She remembers the stench of death and how she thought everything had been moved from its original place.

“There were bodies everywhere,” she said. “When I returned to the village, I couldn’t recognize a single thing. … Everything was different.”

Though tourists have little reason to notice them, reminders of the tragedy abound today in Phang Nga — signs showing an evacuation route, tsunami shelters near beach areas, several memorials and museums displaying wreckage and photos that tell the story of that day.

Sanya Kongma, the assistant to Ban Nam Khem’s village chief, said development has come a long way, and that the quality of life in the village is good compared to 20 years ago.

But the haunting memories and the trauma of what they lived through are very much present and fear is never far away, he said.

“Even now … if there’s an announcement from the government on TV, or whatever, that there’s an earthquake in Sumatra, everyone will be spooked,” he said.

About once a year, a siren blares off in a tsunami evacuation drill. But what is meant to reassure residents of their safety can cause some survivors to relive their pain.

Somneuk Chuaykerd lost one of her young sons to the tsunami while she was out at sea, fishing with her husband.

The 50-year-old still lives in the same spot, the sea right at her backyard. In evacuation drills, she has learned to keep an emergency tote bag with all important documents. The bag is in her bedroom, along with a photo of the little boy she lost.

But the siren freezes her up every time and sends her heartbeat racing. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to grab,” she says. “It’s so scary.”

But she has made peace with the tragedy and has no plans to move away.

“I live by the sea. This is my living. I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she said.

As for Nuengduangjai, for years after the tsunami, every time she looked at the sea she would get a panic attack. A roaring sound of waves haunted her in her sleep.

She chose to move back home after college and make a living right next to the sea. She is proud of her bar and restaurant.

“I’m still scared, but I have to live with it, because it’s my home,” she said. “Some people moved away, but I did not. I’m still here.”

Ho Chi Minh City gets first ever metro line after a decade of delays

Ho Chi Minh City has launched its first metro line after 17 years of planning and delays, with thousands of excited residents flocking to ride the metro.

The $1.7bn, 20km project, mostly funded by Japanese loans, was initially approved in 2007 with a budget of $668m but faced major hurdles over the years. The metro aims to ease traffic congestion and pollution in the city of 9 million people.

The city was one of Asia’s last major urban centres not to have a metro, according to Nikkei Asia.

The opening of Ho Chi Minh City’s (HCMC) first metro line generated a lot of excitement among the residents, with hundreds queuing at the Ben Thanh station for a free test ride.

The city, burdened by 8.4 million motorbikes and increasing road congestion from automobiles and trucks, urgently needed a mass rapid transit solution to alleviate its traffic chaos, local residents said.

The project faced numerous challenges, including a funding shortage from the Vietnamese government, which prompted Japanese contractors to escalate their concerns through the Japanese embassy in Vietnam, The Bangkok Post reported, citing government reports.

The escalating costs required repeated approvals from Vietnam’s parliament, the outlet reported – a process that proved to be excruciatingly slow.

The metro line stretches from the historic Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to suburban Thu Duc City, ending at Suoi Tien Amusement Park in District 9 in HCMC. Ticket prices range from 6,000 to 20,000 Vietnamese Dong (£0.19 to £0.63), though rides are free for the first 30 days of official operation, which began on Sunday.

The service will run 200 trips daily.

Reactions to Ho Chi Minh City’s new metro ranged from enthusiasm to sarcasm. A VnExpress reader praised its beauty – “it is so beautiful. I can’t wait to try it” – while a Facebook user humorously noted that while the world has reached the moon, HCMC is just getting its first metro.

The city plans six additional lines, but funding remains a challenge.

“I know it (the project) is late, but I still feel so very honoured and proud to be among the first on this metro,” office worker Nguyen Nhu Huyen said.

“Our city is now on par with the other big cities of the world,” she added.

Last year, Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung urged the central government to address financing for future projects.

While celebrated as a milestone, experts say its short-term impact on traffic may be limited due to only 14 station stops. Professor Vu Minh Hoang at Fulbright University Vietnam told AFP that the metro line’s “impact in alleviating traffic will be limited in the short run”. However, he said that it was still a “historic achievement for the city’s urban development”.

The metro “meets the growing travel needs of residents and contributes to reducing traffic congestion and environmental pollution”, the city’s deputy mayor Bui Xuan Cuong said, but added that the authorities had to overcome “countless hurdles” to get the project over the line.

Japanese ambassador to Vietnam, Naoki Ito, said: “We hope this will set a good precedent for urban development in Vietnam and lead to further development of the country.”

Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, director of Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Tourism, said the metro line would boost tourism by offering “convenient connections” to cultural, historical, and entertainment sites, creating “a complete journey for both local residents and international visitors”.

Additional reporting by agencies.

Former US pilot accused of training Chinese army to be extradited

An Australian pilot accused of illegally training Chinese fighter pilots is set to be extradited to the US in early 2025 after the Australian government approved his surrender.

Daniel Duggan, 56, has been in a maximum-security prison for over two years, fighting the extradition. He faces charges related to training Chinese fighter pilots in South Africa between 2009 and 2012, including conducting carrier-arrested landings, in violation of arms trafficking laws.

He was arrested in Australia in October 2022. His arrest followed an investigation by Australian authorities into the practice of former military personnel being offered lucrative contracts to train pilots in China.

Mr Duggan, who maintains his innocence, could face up to 60 years in prison if convicted.

His family expressed their devastation at the decision, with his wife, Saffrine Duggan, saying: “We are shocked and absolutely heartbroken by this callous and inhumane decision which has been delivered just before Christmas with no explanation or justification from the government.”

Mr Duggan’s family is considering their legal options, including requesting specific reasons for the government’s decision. “We feel abandoned by the Australian government and deeply disappointed that they have completely failed in their duty to protect an Australian family,” she said.

“It is very difficult to explain to the children why this is happening to their father, especially now, at this time of year. We are all terrified that we may not see him for a very long time. My children are very, very sad.”

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus, on Monday confirmed he had approved Mr Duggan’s extradition to the US.

“Acknowledging the public interest in this matter, I confirm that on 19 December 2024 I determined under section 22 of the Extradition Act 1988 (Cth) that Daniel Duggan should be extradited to the United States to face prosecution for the offences of which he is accused,” Mr Dreyfus said in a statement.

“Mr Duggan was given the opportunity to provide representations as to why he should not be surrendered to the US. In arriving at my decision, I took into consideration all material in front of me,” he said.

“To ensure the safety of all persons involved and to uphold the integrity of the surrender process, as a matter of longstanding practice, the Australian government does not comment on operational matters relating to extradition, including the timing of, and specific arrangements for, a person’s surrender.”

Earlier, the father of six had made a final effort to avoid prosecution in the US, submitting an 89-page document to Mr Dreyfus detailing reasons why the extradition should not proceed.

Mr Duggan, a former US Marine who served for over a decade, moved to Australia in 2005 and founded a flight school in Tasmania. He has been an Australian citizen for nearly 13 years but is now set to be extradited by February next year.

In 2014, Mr Duggan moved to China to work as an aviation consultant for the Test Flying Academy of South Africa.

North Korea suffers ‘1,100 casualties’ fighting for Russia

North Korean troops have reportedly suffered heavy casualties while fighting for Russia in Ukraine, according to South Korea‘s spy agency, which also claimed to have detected signs of Pyongyang preparing to send additional soldiers and kamikaze drones to Moscow.

At least 12,000 North Korean soldiers are fighting in Russia’s nearly three-year-long war against Ukraine, according to Seoul, Washington and Kyiv.

The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Monday said at least 100 North Korean soldiers have died while another 1,000 suffered injuries in the bordering Kursk region, where Moscow’s forces have been battling a Ukrainian ground incursion since August.

Last week, the South claimed the North’s leader Kim Jong Un was personally overseeing the training of soldiers to be sent to the frontline to fight for Russia.

North Korea has already provided 240mm multiple rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled howitzers, and was seen preparing to produce more suicide drones to be shipped to Russia after Mr Kim guided a test last month, the South’s military said.

“Suicide drones are one of the tasks that Kim Jong Un has focused on,” a JCS official said, adding that the North had expressed its intention to give them to Russia.

Such drones have been widely used in the Ukraine war, and Mr Kim ordered mass production of aerial weapons and an update of military theory and education, citing intensifying global competition.

The US and nine other countries have condemned Pyongyang’s alleged export of ballistic missiles and other military equipment to Russia for use in the Ukraine war in a joint statement on Monday. The North’s direct support for the Russian war effort, they said, marked a “dangerous expansion of the conflict”.

North Korea’s foreign ministry said its relationship with Russia was being “distorted” by the West, calling its alliance with Moscow “normal” and “very effective”.

Along the heavily fortified Korean border, the North has dispatched up to 10,000 soldiers to turn the area into a wasteland and install barriers and barbed wire in recent weeks, though the numbers fell to several hundred over the weekend, the South said.

The JCS released photos that it claimed showed a group of North Korean troops testing an electrified wire fence using a goat. It also noted that there is a possibility that the North will test-fire an intermediate-range hypersonic missile around year-end, ahead of US president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, while continuing to send more garbage balloons to the South.

Additional reporting by agencies

Japan’s former emperor Akihito turns 91

Japan’s former emperor Akihito celebrated his 91st birthday on Monday by spending most of his time caring for his wife who is recovering from a broken leg, according to reports.

The former emperor, who abdicated the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019, has been spending his days reading newspapers and watching television during meals to keep abreast of domestic and world affairs, the Imperial Household Agency said.

He has also been caring for Japan’s former empress Michiko, who underwent surgery for a broken right femur after losing her balance and falling at her residence in October. The empress emeritus is still recovering but she can walk without using a walking stick, the Japan Times reported.

Since abdicating the throne, the couple has largely withdrawn from public appearance to enjoy their life together, taking daily walks inside the palace gardens or occasionally taking private trips, hosting small gatherings for book reading and music, the agency previously said.

The former emperor is reportedly concerned about the extensive damage in the Noto Peninsula, which was hit by a powerful earthquake on New Year’s Day 2024, killing about 280 people.

The agency said the former emperor and empress continue to observe a moment of silence each year on days commemorating the Okinawa Memorial Day, the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the anniversary of Japan’s surrender.

The couple retired after Akihito abdicated and their son, Emperor Naruhito, ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne. His wife, Masako, became empress. He won overwhelming public support for stepping down from a role with symbolic but no real political power, and the nation celebrated the imperial succession.

The couple broke with traditions and brought many changes to the monarchy: They chose to raise their three children themselves, spoke more often to the public, and made amends for war victims in and outside Japan. Their close interactions have won them deep affection among the Japanese.

Akihito had devoted his three-decades-long reign to making amends for a war fought in his father’s name while bringing the aloof monarchy closer to the people. His era was the first in Japan’s modern history without war.

Akihito continues to actively research the classification of Japanese freshwater goby fish at a palace laboratory and his residence, officials said.

China warns US ‘playing with fire’ by supplying weapons to Taiwan

China has warned the US that sending weapons to Taiwan is akin to “playing with fire” and risks severe consequences.

The US recently announced $571.3m (£473m) in military assistance to the island and approved $295m in arms sales.

A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said on Sunday that the move violates the “One China” principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, Global Times reported. The principle lays down that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China to be unified one day.

The decision to send more weapons is also a breach of commitments made by US leaders to not support “Taiwan independence” and sends a gravely wrong signal to “separatist forces” on the island, the state media outlet quoted the spokesperson as saying.

To aid Taiwan’s independence by arming the island is like playing with fire and will get the US burned, it said.

In any case, the outlet added, the strategy of using “the Taiwan question” to contain China is doomed to fail.

Beijing has lodged a formal protest with Washington against the arms sales. It has also urged the US to immediately stop arming Taiwan and put an end to moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

“We will take all measures necessary to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” the spokesperson said.

China sanctioned five Western arms manufacturers earlier this year after a previous round of American weapons sales to Taiwan.

The Joe Biden administration’s military assistance package for Taiwan, the third this year, comes alongside the sale of upgraded tactical systems and naval weaponry. Chinese strategic analysts have dismissed the significance of the new weapons for Taiwan but noted their cost and accused the US of exploiting the island to benefit its arms manufacturers.

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait remain at boiling point, with Beijing ramping up military drills near the island in October in what it described as “punishment” for president Lai Ching-te vowing to “resist annexation” or “encroachment upon our sovereignty”.’

China considers Taiwan as its own territory and president Xi Jinping has vowed to unify the island with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Thailand Oscars entry is taking the world by storm – where to watch it

Thai blockbuster How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, one of the 15 films shortlisted under the International Feature Film category at the Oscars, will be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland next week.

The only Southeast Asian film shortlisted in its category, How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies has been a hit both at the domestic box office and with critics. Grossing an estimated $78.3m worldwide, the film has become the highest-grossing Thai film of 2024 and eleventh-highest of all time in the country even, as well as breaking box office records in other Asian countries.

The family drama is Thai director Pat Boonnitipat‘s feature film debut, and follows a cancer-stricken woman named Mengju (Usha Seamkhum) and her college dropout grandson M (Putthipong ‘Billkin’ Assaratanakul), who volunteers to take care of her in the hope of an inheritance. There are others also in the running: Mengju’s conscientious daughter and single parent to M, Sew (Sarinrat Thomas), well-to-do son Kiang (Sanya Kunakorn), and youngest son Soei (Pongsatorn Jongwilas), who desperately needs money to pay off his gambling debts.

The film was released in Thailand on 4 April and released internationally in competition at the 23rd New York Asian Film Festival on 17 July. It came to the attention of a broader audience online earlier this year after Tiktokers posted videos of themselves crying after watching the film.

Clips posted to social media showed theatre workers handing out tissues prior to the film screening, which added to the curiosity around the film.

Co-writer Thodsapon Thiptinnakorn based the film on his relationship with his own grandmother, while Boonnitipat drew on his mother’s life.

“The mother in the movie is based on my own mother,” he told the Financial Times. “She always catches everyone in the family when they fall, but who catches her? . . . I wanted to question what it means to love your family when there are so many unspoken hierarchies.”

Leads Seamkhum and Assaratanakul have received praise from critics, especially considering this was the first major role for both. Seamkhum, 78, was discovered in a video of a seniors’ dance contest, while Assaratanakul is a popular Thai singer who has acted in sitcoms before.

The film’s themes of love, duty, and family have touched a chord that seems to be universal.

“People were telling me that the movie, which is about a traditional Chinese family, will naturally do well in a Mandarin-speaking country. But when it did well in Indonesia, I realised that the story is universal,” Boonnitipat said at a screening of the film in Singapore.

“Everyone can relate to the bond between a grandmother and her grandson.”

On M’s motivations for choosing the role of carer and the journey he goes on, Boonnitipat explained how money often ties in with love in families: “Love and money so often become substituted for one another. From when you are a child, you receive money in red packets from your elders and you start to associate that with love. When you grow up, you realise that maybe you’ve mixed some things up.”

Boonnitipat also described moving in with his 92-year-old grandmother while developing the script to get a more authentic depiction.

“We spent a lot of time together and I asked her so many questions like, ‘What would you do if this happened?’ and ‘Who would you give your inheritance to?’,” he told Deadline.

The film was released on Netflix in September in several Asian countries, and became the fourth-most viewed programme on the streaming platform in the Philippines in its debut week.

According to UK distributor Vertigo Releasing, How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies will be released across 50 to 60 screens on 26 December.

The final shortlist of the five films that will be nominated for the Best International Feature Film award at the 97th Academy Awards will be announced on 17 January, with the winner being announced at the ceremony on 2 March.

In the past, nine films from Asia have won in the International Feature Film category, but none yet from Southeast Asia. Winners include Japan’s Rashomon (1951), Departure (2009), and Drive My Car (2021), South Korea’s Parasite (2019), Iran’s The Salesman (2016) and Taiwan’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).