Top Asian News 9:30 a.m. GMT

Japan executes man convicted of murder for killing and dismembering 9 people in his apartment

TOKYO (AP) — A man convicted of murder for killing and dismembering nine people in his apartment near Tokyo was executed Friday, Japan’s Justice Ministry said. Takahiro Shiraishi, known as the “Twitter killer,” was sentenced to death in 2020 for the killings in 2017 of the nine victims, most of whom had posted suicidal thoughts on social media. He was also convicted of sexually abusing female victims. Police arrested him later that year after finding the bodies of eight teenage girls and women as well as one man in cold-storage cases in his apartment. Investigators said Shiraishi approached the victims via Twitter, offering to assist them with their suicidal wishes.

6 Americans detained in South Korea for trying to send rice and Bibles to North Korea by sea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Six Americans were detained Friday in South Korea for trying to send 1,600 plastic bottles filled with rice, miniature Bibles, $1 bills and USB sticks toward North Korea by sea, police said. The Americans were apprehended on front-line Gwanghwa Island before throwing the bottles into the sea so they could float toward North Korean shores on the tides, two Gwanghwa police officers said. They said the Americans are being investigated on allegations they violated the law on the management of safety and disasters. The officers, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to media on the issue, refused to provide personal details of the Americans in line with privacy rules.

Photos of the busy ports on the Yangtze River after China-US trade friction cools

CHONGQING, China (AP) — Activity at Chinese ports has rebounded since U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping agreed to resume trade talks and put off imposing massive tariffs on each other’s exports. That’s true, also, of inland ports along China’s mighty Yangtze River. The Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the nearest sea port, serves as a critical element of a land-sea trading corridor and part of China’s vast Belt and Road Initiative connecting with countries across Europe, Africa and Asia. About 20 trains leave every day, some for Russia and others toward Europe via Central Asia.

Thailand starts banning the sale of cannabis without a prescription

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand has started banning the sale of cannabis to those without a prescription, three years after becoming the first country in Asia to decriminalize the plant. The new order, signed by Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin earlier this week, came into effect Thursday after it was published in the Royal Gazette. It bans shops from selling cannabis to customers without a prescription and reclassifies cannabis buds as a controlled herb. Sellers that violate the new order could face a maximum one-year jail term and a 20,000-baht ($614) fine. The Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, in charge of enforcing regulations related to cannabis, held an online meeting Friday with officials across the country to prepare them for the change.

Cambodia ex-leader Hun Sen and Thailand’s prime minister make separate visits to tense border areas

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s powerful former leader Hun Sen and Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, on Thursday made separate visits to border areas as the two countries remain locked in an ongoing dispute that has resulted in strict land crossing restrictions and several economic boycotts. Hun Sun and Paetongtarn didn’t meet. Relations between the neighboring nations have deteriorated following an armed confrontation on May 28 in which one Cambodian soldier was killed in contested territory along their border. While the two sides have agreed to de-escalate their dispute, they have continued to implement or threaten measures that have kept tensions high.

Vietnam ends death penalty for 8 crimes, may spare real estate tycoon

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam has lifted the death penalty for eight crimes in legal reforms that may spare the life of a real estate tycoon imprisoned in the country’s largest financial fraud case. The legal reforms in Vietnam ended the death penalty for eight crimes, including trying to overthrow the government, damaging state infrastructure, making and selling fake medicine, starting wars, spying, drug trafficking, embezzlement, and taking bribes. Vietnamese lawmakers passed the reforms on Wednesday, according to state media. Truong My Lan, sentenced to death for her involvement in Vietnam’s largest financial fraud case, will be eligible to have her sentence reduced after the reforms, her lawyer said Thursday.

Investigators begin analyzing data from black boxes of Air India flight that crashed

NEW DELHI (AP) — Investigators have begun analyzing data extracted from the black boxes of the ill-fated Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed about two weeks ago, killing at least 270 people, India’s civil aviation ministry said on Thursday. The data is crucial as it will help shed light on the cause of the country’s worst aviation disaster in recent memory. A team led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, or AAIB, has started looking at the data with support from the U.S. National Transport Safety Board, the ministry said in a statement. “These efforts aim to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors to enhance aviation safety and prevent future occurrences,” the ministry said.

Israel-Iran was was a wake-up call for Asia’s dependence on Middle East oil

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Asia’s dependence on Middle East oil and gas — and its relatively slow shift to clean energy — make it vulnerable to disruptions in shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic weakness highlighted by the war between Israel and Iran. Iran sits on the strait, which handles about 20% of shipments of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Four countries — China, India, Japan and South Korea — account for 75% of those imports. Japan and South Korea face the highest risk, according to analysis by the research group Zero Carbon Analytics, followed by India and China.

Commuter traffic stops for whales on Australia’s humpback highway

PORT STEPHENS, Australia (AP) — The ferry was late, but not because of the usual traffic. Sydney commuters watched from an idling boat this month as humpback whales the size of buses surfaced nearby, halting the vessel’s passage across the harbor. The curious mammals seemed to be watching them back. In June and July, it’s not uncommon for whales to stop water traffic in Sydney. Winter heralds the opening of the so-called humpback highway, a migratory corridor along Australia’s east coast used by about 40,000 of the massive creatures as they travel from feeding grounds in freezing Antarctica to tropical breeding areas off Queensland state.

3 dead and a dozen missing as torrential rains cause flash flood in north India

NEW DELHI (AP) — Three people died and at least a dozen are feared missing after being swept away in a flash flood triggered by torrential rains in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, local authorities said on Thursday. A rescue operation has been launched to trace the missing, said Dinesh Sharma, a local government spokesperson in Kangra. The town is about 18 kilometres (11 miles) from Dharamshala, a popular tourist destination known for its Tibetan culture and as the home of Tibetan spiritual leader, Dalai Lama. Sudhir Sharma, a lawmaker from Dharamshala, said in a social media post that at least 15 to 20 workers resting in a temporary shed near the site of a hydroelectricity power project were swept away after water levels at a local reservoir rose suddenly late Wednesday.