Top Asian News 4:53 a.m. GMT

South Korean President Yoon faces second impeachment vote over his martial law order

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean lawmakers are set to vote for a second time on an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday, as authorities investigate allegations of rebellion over his controversial Dec. 3 martial law decree that has caused huge political turmoil in the country. Last Saturday, Yoon survived an impeachment vote after most ruling party lawmakers boycotted a floor vote. It’s not clear if those People Power Party lawmakers would do the same again. Public protests against Yoon have since intensified and his approval rating has plummeted. Tens of thousands of people have braved the bitter cold and poured onto the streets of the capital, Seoul, every night for the past two weeks, calling for Yoon’s ouster and arrest.

UN Security Council criticizes Taliban ban on Afghan women’s medical education

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council said Friday it was deeply concerned about the recent decision by Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to ban women from medical education, which could leave millions of women and girls without health care in the future. The council criticized “the increasing erosion” of human rights under the Taliban, especially for women and girls who have been denied access to education beyond the sixth grade, economic opportunities, participation in public life, freedom of movement and other basics. Authorities previously had not confirmed reports that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered educational institutions to stop providing medical courses for women.

What to know about martial law and the impeachment vote threatening South Korea’s president

TOKYO (AP) — Is South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on the verge of being forced out of office for declaring martial law nearly a week ago? The question, which has dogged Yoon through a series of moves by the opposition to end his presidency, will be highlighted Saturday, when parliament seems likely to make a second attempt at his impeachment. The last week has seen political chaos and huge protests by angry South Koreans against Yoon. After his baffling, dark-of-night martial law edict on Dec. 3, the first in more than 40 years, throngs of lawmakers and nearly 300 heavily armed soldiers rushed to the parliament ahead of a predawn vote that reversed it after only six hours.

A look at the political storm caused by South Korean president’s martial law decree

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol defended his martial law decree in fiery comments made ahead of a second impeachment attempt and growing investigations into whether his short-lived power grab amounted to a rebellion. Yoon’s statement came on the 45th anniversary of a coup orchestrated by the country’s last military strongman Chun Doo-hwan and has deepened the turmoil paralyzing South Korean politics and diplomacy. Here’s a look at the whirlwind events that have shaken one of Asia’s most robust democracies: In a surprise announcement at 10:29 p.m., President Yoon tells a national television audience he’s declaring martial law, saying the opposition-controlled parliament has become a “den of criminals” paralyzing government affairs.

China’s military is staying silent on its recent activity around Taiwan

BEIJING (AP) — China’s military kept silent Friday on its large deployment of naval and coast guard ships off Taiwan this week, with its top spokesperson quoting an ancient strategist instead. Taiwanese officials have said that China was simulating a blockade with one string of ships off the island and a second one farther out at sea, in waters between Japan’s Okinawa islands and the northern Philippines. The Chinese Defense Ministry’s first public comment on the activity was essentially a no comment. Wu Qian, the ministry’s top spokesperson, included a famous quote from “The Art of War,” an ancient Chinese text on warfare strategy, in his remarks.

China signals it’s prepared to double down on support for the economy as Trump tariffs loom

BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese leaders met this week to plot economic policy for the coming year, sketching out plans to raise government spending and relax Beijing’s monetary policy to encourage more investment and consumer spending. Leaders of the ruling Communist Party wrapped up their two-day Central Economic Work Conference on Thursday with praise for President Xi Jinping’s guidance and a pledge to “enrich and refine the policy toolbox” and defuse risks facing the world’s second-largest economy. One of the biggest: threats by President-elect Donald Trump to sharply raise tariffs on imports from China once he takes office. Here’s a look at the priorities outlined in this week’s meetings in Beijing and their potential implications.

Once taboo, more Japanese women are brewing sake

OKAYA, Japan (AP) — Not long after dawn, Japanese sake brewer Mie Takahashi checks the temperature of the mixture fermenting at her family’s 150-year-old sake brewery, Koten, nestled in the foothills of the Japanese Alps. She stands on an uneven narrow wooden platform over a massive tank containing more than 3,000 liters (800 gallons) of a bubbling soup of steamed rice, water and a rice mold known as koji, and gives it a good mix with a long paddle. “The morning hours are crucial in sake making,” said Takahashi, 43. Her brewery is in Nagano prefecture, a region known for its sake making.

Huge and rare Mekong catfish spotted in Cambodia, raising conservation hopes

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Six critically endangered Mekong giant catfish — one of the largest and rarest freshwater fish in the world — were caught and released recently in Cambodia, reviving hopes for the survival of the species. The underwater giants can grow up to 10 feet (3 meters) long and weigh up to 300 kilograms (661 pounds), or as heavy as a grand piano. They now are only found in Southeast Asia’s Mekong River but in the past inhabited the length of the 4,900-kilometer (3,044 mile)-long river, all the way from its outlet in Vietnam to its northern reaches in China’s Yunnan province.

Indian teen Gukesh Dommaraju becomes the youngest chess world champion after beating Chinese rival

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov who won the title at the age of 22. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year.

A US Navy ship will make its first port call in 8 years in Cambodia, a close ally of China

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A U.S. Navy warship will make a port call next week in Cambodia, China’s close ally in Southeast Asia, the first such visit in eight years, according to a Cambodian statement on Friday. Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense said USS Savannah will dock at the port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand on Dec. 16-20. Savannah, classed as a Littoral Combat Ship, carries a crew of 103, the ministry said. The visit was scheduled after a U.S. request for a port call, it added, and would “strengthen and expand the bonds of friendship as well as promote bilateral cooperation” between the two nations.