Top Asian News 4:44 a.m. GMT

South Korean police question presidential security chief as rift over detaining president deepens

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean police questioned the chief of the presidential security service on Friday as the two agencies clashed over attempts to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and police are planning a second attempt to bring Yoon into custody as they jointly investigate whether his brief martial law declaration on Dec. 3 amounted to an attempted rebellion. The presidential security service blocked an earlier attempt to detain Yoon at his official residence, which he has not left for weeks. Park Jong-joon, the presidential security chief, says that his duty is to protect the president and warned of “bloodshed,” as critics said that his agency is becoming Yoon’s private army.

An albatross couple shares egg duty in this captivating low-drama reality show

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — It’s a reality show about a loving couple waiting to welcome their new arrival, watched by thousands of ardent fans. But the stars of Royal Cam, now in its 10th season, aren’t socialites or hopefuls in love but northern royal albatrosses — majestic New Zealand seabirds with 10-foot (3-meter) wingspans. The 24-hour livestream of the birds’ breeding season at Taiaroa Head — a rugged headland on New Zealand’s South Island — was established to raise awareness of the vulnerable species, numbers of which have grown slowly over decades of painstaking conservation measures. Millions have watched the stream since it began in 2016.

An army airstrike on a village in western Myanmar has killed at least 40 people, reports say

BANGKOK (AP) — An airstrike by Myanmar’s army on a village under the control of an armed ethnic minority group killed about 40 people and injured at least 20 others, officials of the group and a local charity said Thursday. They said hundreds of houses burned in a fire triggered by the bombing. The attack occurred Wednesday in Kyauk Ni Maw village on Ramree island, an area controlled by the ethnic Arakan Army in western Rakhine state, they said. The military has not announced any attack in the area. The situation in the village could not be independently confirmed, with access to the internet and cellphone service in the area mostly cut off.

Filipino Catholics pray for good health and peace in huge procession venerating Jesus statue

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — At least 1.8 million mostly barefoot Catholic worshippers marched Thursday in an annual procession in the Philippines that venerates a centuries-old black statue of Jesus. Some said they prayed for good health for their families, an end to tensions in the South China Sea, and for incoming U.S. President Donald Trump to be kinder to Filipino immigrants. The procession marks the feast of Jesus Nazareno and is a major annual Catholic event in Asia. The image was previously called the Black Nazarene, but church officials appealed for a change, saying the former name was not founded in history and evoked a racial slur.

AP PHOTOS: Making art and fun from the ice, snow and freezing cold in Harbin, China

HARBIN, China (AP) — People are making the best of the freezing weather in northeast China: Sculptors have finely chiseled ice into elaborate structures resembling landmark castles and temples, and visitors are appreciating the artwork and the excitement of ice slides and other attractions at the annual Harbin Ice and Snow World. The ice sculpture festival is a major tourist draw for the former industrial center that still boasts of its proximity to Russia with Tsarist-era architecture found nowhere else in China. The riverside site features dozens of giant artworks like the Taj Mahal of India, the Osaka Castle of Japan, and Beijing’s own Temple of Heaven, all carved from clear blocks of ice.

Japan’s Ishiba visiting Malaysia and Indonesia to strengthen defense and economic ties

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is visiting Malaysia and Indonesia as part of an effort to strengthen defense and economic ties with Southeast Asia as China’s threats grow in the region. The visit, his first for bilateral talks outside of international meetings, shows Japan’s commitment to further those ties even as the U.S. presence in the region may decrease after President-elect Donald Trump takes office later this month. Malaysia and Indonesia are maritime regional powers near vital shipping lanes and are key to Japanese and global security and the economy, and they share concerns over China’s increasing assertiveness, officials say.

US ‘notorious markets’ report warns of risks from online pharmacies

BANGKOK (AP) — Nearly all of the world’s 35,000 online pharmacies are being run illegally and consumers who use them risk getting ineffective or dangerous drugs, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report on “ notorious markets.” The report also singled out 19 countries over concerns about counterfeit or pirated products. The report also named about three dozen online retailers, many of them in China or elsewhere in Asia that it said are allegedly engaged in selling counterfeit products or other illegal activities. The report says 96% of online pharmacies were found to be violating the law, many operating without a license and selling medicines without prescriptions and safety warnings.

Spacecraft buzzes Mercury’s north pole and beams back stunning photos

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A spacecraft has beamed back some of the best close-up photos yet of Mercury’s north pole. The European and Japanese robotic explorer swooped as close as 183 miles (295 kilometers) above Mercury’s night side before passing directly over the planet’s north pole. The European Space Agency released the stunning snapshots Thursday, showing the permanently shadowed craters at the top of of our solar system’s smallest, innermost planet. Cameras also captured views of neighboring volcanic plains and Mercury’s largest impact crater, which spans more than 930 miles (1,500 kilometers). This was the sixth and final flyby of Mercury for the BepiColombo spacecraft since its launch in 2018.

Taiwan demonstrates sea defenses against potential Chinese attack as tensions rise with Beijing

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan on Thursday demonstrated its sea defenses against a potential Chinese attack as tensions rise with Beijing, part of a multitiered strategy to deter an invasion from the mainland. The island’s navy highlighted its Kuang Hua VI fast attack missile boats and Tuo Chiang-class corvettes in waters near Taiwan’s largest port of Kaohsiung, a major hub for international trade considered key to resupplying Chinese forces should they establish a beachhead on the island. The Kuang Hua VI boats, with a crew of 19, carry indigenously developed Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and displayed their ability to take to the sea in an emergency to intercept enemy ships about to cross the 44-kilometer (24-nautical mile) limit of Taiwan’s contiguous zone, within which governments are permitted to take defensive action.

Prominent Vietnamese lawyer goes on trial for allegedly criticizing top judge on Facebook

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A prominent Vietnamese lawyer went on trial Thursday for Facebook posts that allegedly criticized the country’s former top judge, in a case that human rights groups said could have a chilling effect on expression in the country. Tran Dinh Trien was arrested last June for three Facebook posts that allegedly criticized the actions of then-Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh, according to Human Rights Watch and rights group Project 88. Trien was charged under Article 331 of the Penal Code with “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state,” Project 88 said. Trien, 65, is a former deputy director of the Hanoi Bar Association who has been involved in many high-profile legal cases.