Top Asian News 3:59 a.m. GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Supporters of an unsuccessful presidential candidate clashed with security forces in the Indonesian capital on Wednesday, burning vehicles and throwing rocks at police using tear gas and rubber bullets. The protesters tried to force their way into the downtown offices of the election supervisory agency late Tuesday and clashes have continued since then. National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said more than 20 suspected provocateurs have been arrested. Local media reported several deaths among protesters but there has been no official confirmation. White-robed protesters blocked streets in one central Jakarta neighborhood and in another, rioters fought running battles with police, throwing rocks and setting fires.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president's allies won a majority of the 12 Senate seats at stake in the midterm elections, official results showed, while the opposition's shutout heralds a stronger grip on power by a leader accused of massive human rights violations. Elections officials were to proclaim the winners Wednesday after finishing the official count of the May 13 elections overnight. The tally had been delayed by glitches in automated counting machines. President Rodrigo Duterte backed eight winning aspirants to half of the seats in the 24-member Senate, including his former national police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, who enforced the president's crackdown on illegal drugs in a campaign that left thousands of suspects dead and drew international condemnation.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has labeled Joe Biden a "fool of low IQ" and an "imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being" after the Democratic presidential hopeful during a recent speech called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a tyrant. Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday accused Biden of insulting the country's supreme leadership and committing an "intolerable and serious politically-motivated provocation" against the North. Biden during a campaign launch in Philadelphia on Saturday accused President Donald Trump of cozying up to "dictators and tyrants" like Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — North Korea's U.N. ambassador said Tuesday the Trump administration should consider the possible consequences that the recent U.S. seizure of a North Korean cargo ship could have on relations between the two countries and immediately return the vessel. Kim Song said at a news conference the "outrageous act" of seizing the ship was aimed at bringing maximum pressure on North Korea to make it "kneel down." The vessel Wise Honest, North Korea's second largest cargo ship, was first detained in April 2018 by Indonesia while transporting a large amount of coal. The U.S. announced May 9 that it had seized the ship because it was carrying coal in violation of U.N.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand police on Tuesday filed a terrorism charge against the man accused of killing 51 people at two Christchurch mosques. Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, was already facing murder and attempted murder charges from the March 15 shootings. The new charge comes with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment upon conviction and will be a test case for New Zealand's terrorism law, which came onto the books in 2002 following the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001. The New Zealand law defines terrorism as including acts that are carried out to advance an ideological, political, or religious cause with the intention of inducing terror in a civilian population.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's newly reelected government said Tuesday that its promise to slash income taxes might be delivered late but would not be broken as it seeks to stimulate consumer spending, revive a flagging economy and repair relations with China, its most important trading partner. Prime Minister Scott Morrison chose the latest possible date to call an election that on Saturday delivered his conservative coalition a surprise victory. But the timing means he probably won't be able to recall Parliament to pass the tax cuts before July 1 — the date he promised during the election campaign that the lower tax rate would take effect.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A former Philippine Supreme Court justice who accused Chinese President Xi Jinping of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court said she was barred for hours Tuesday from entering Hong Kong. Conchita Carpio-Morales said she was stopped by immigration authorities and was held in a room at Hong Kong's airport for about four hours and ordered to take a flight back to Manila. She had planned to take a vacation for five days in Hong Kong with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, who were all allowed entry. Hong Kong airport and immigration officials later told her "there was a mistake" and that she could proceed with her trip to Hong Kong, but she and her family had already decided to return home because of the incident, she said.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A court in Myanmar on Tuesday formally charged an American man and two local co-workers with violating drug laws concerning marijuana, with potential penalties ranging from five years' imprisonment to death. The court in the central Mandalay region charged John Frederic Todoroki with violating five sections of the drugs and narcotics law covering possession, sale and trafficking of illegal drugs, lawyer Thein Than Oo said by phone. The defendants contend they were growing hemp, not marijuana. Both are subspecies of the cannabis plant genus. The mildest penalty facing the defendants is five years if they are convicted of growing narcotic drugs.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Chinese woman charged with lying to illegally enter President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort told a stunned judge Tuesday that she wants to fire her attorneys and represent herself. Yujing Zhang surprised U.S. District Judge Roy Altman during what was to have been a routine hearing over whether to delay her trial, which is scheduled to start next week. She faces up to five years in prison on charges of unlawful entry and making false statements. She has pleaded not guilty. According to media reports, Zhang, 33, told Altman she wants to dismiss her public defenders and represent herself.

TOKYO (AP) — Plans for U.S. President Donald Trump to check out the ancient Japanese sport of sumo wrestling during a state visit are raising security issues for organizers. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is eager to have Trump and his wife, Melania, attend the final day of a 15-day tournament on May 26 and hand over a trophy to the winner. The issue for organizers, Japanese media reports said Tuesday, is that more than 1,000 seats near the ring are generally sold out and buyers will all have to be checked in advance. They may also have to ban the sale of canned beer in the front section, where Trump is expected to sit, the reports said.