Top Asian News 1:53 a.m. GMT

Rights group says global brands are at risk of links to forced labor in China’s minerals industry

LONDON (AP) — Several global brands are among dozens of companies at risk of using forced labor through their Chinese supply chains because they use critical minerals or buy minerals-based products sourced from China’s far-western Xinjiang region, an international rights group said Wednesday. The report by the Netherlands-based Global Rights Compliance says companies including Avon, Walmart, Nescafe, Coca-Cola and paint supplier Sherwin-Williams may be linked to titanium sourced from Xinjiang, where rights groups allege the Chinese government runs coercive labor practices targeting predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities. The report comes as China and the United States, the world’s two largest economies, continue talks aimed at easing their trade dispute.

Senators return the impeachment case against Sara Duterte to the Philippine House

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine senators set themselves as an impeachment court Tuesday for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte over corruption and other criminal allegations, but voted to send the raft of complaints back to the lower House of Representatives due to legal questions. Dozens of activists protesting outside the Senate condemned Senate President Chiz Escudero and 17 other senators for voting to send back the impeachment complaint to the House instead of immediately bringing Duterte to trial. Five senators rejected the move. The Senate action will delay the start of Duterte’s impeachment trial but it’s unclear what other impact it would have on her case.

Hong Kong police accuse a mobile game app of promoting armed revolution

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police on Tuesday accused a mobile game application of advocating armed revolution and promoting secessionist agendas, saying that those who publish it or share it with others online may risk violating national security laws. The announcement — the first to publicly denounce a gaming app — indicates that authorities are widening the crackdown that has followed anti-government protests in 2019. Authorities have crushed or silenced many dissenting voices through prosecutions under the 2020 national security law imposed by Beijing and a similar, homegrown law enacted last year. In a statement, police warned residents against downloading the “Reversed Front: Bonfire” application, saying those with the app installed might be seen as possessing a publication with a seditious intention.

The US and China have agreed on a framework to resolve their trade disputes

LONDON (AP) — The U.S. and China have agreed in principle on a framework to carry out an agreement they reached on resolving their trade disputes last month, Chinese state media said. The announcement followed Tuesday’s conclusion of two days of talks in London. The earlier agreement had been shaken by a series of disputes in the ensuing weeks, leading to a phone call last week between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to try to calm the waters. Li Chenggang, a vice minister of commerce and China’s international trade representative, said the two sides had agreed in principle on a framework for implementing the consensus reached between the two leaders and at talks in May in Geneva, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

K-pop stars Jimin and Jung Kook of BTS discharged from military service as band’s reunion nears

YEONCHEON, South Korea (AP) — K-pop superstars Jimin and Jung Kook are the latest and final members of BTS to be discharged from South Korea’s mandatory military service. The pair wore their military uniforms Wednesday, saluted and addressed fans who had assembled to see the pair after their discharge. Jung Kook thanked the journalists and fans who traveled to see him and Jimin after their discharge and acknowledged how different it was to be back in the spotlight. “Actually, it’s been so long since I’ve been in front of cameras, and I didn’t even put on makeup, so I’m a bit embarrassed,” he said.

Filipino forces and villagers struggle to live in China’s shadow in disputed waters

WEST YORK ISLAND, South China Sea (AP) — Overwhelmed after setting foot for the first time on a far-flung but picturesque island in the disputed South China Sea, a Filipino army official knelt to kiss the shore. She held a small Philippine flag that fluttered in the breeze. “This is just so beautiful,” Philippines military spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said of West York Island, one of nine islands, reefs and atolls occupied by Filipino forces in the long-contested waters. “This solidifies our resolve to fight for this place whatever happens.” The 18.6-hectare (46-acre) droplet-shaped island, called Likas by Filipinos, could easily become an eco-tourism draw in tropical Asia with its powdery white-sand beaches, turquoise waters and giant sea turtle sanctuaries.

UN envoy to Myanmar warns that violence puts country on ‘path to self-destruction’

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Myanmar is on “a path to self-destruction” if violence in the conflict-wracked Southeast Asian nation doesn’t end, the U.N. envoy warned on Tuesday. Julie Bishop told the U.N. General Assembly that “alarmingly” the violence didn’t end after a powerful earthquake in late March devastated parts of the capital, Naypyitaw, and the country’s second-largest city, Mandalay, killing more than 3,000 people and injuring thousands more. Ceasefires announced by some parties have largely not been observed, “embedding a crisis within a crisis,” and people in Myanmar must now deal with the raging conflict and the earthquake’s devastation, said Bishop, a former foreign minister of Australia.

Northern India on the boil with heat waves disrupting normal lives and raising health concerns

NEW DELHI (AP) — A blistering heat wave is sweeping across northern India with temperatures soaring above the normal, disrupting daily life and raising health concerns. The mercury shot up to 47.3 C (117 F) in Sri Ganganagar, a desert city in the northwestern state of Rajasthan on Monday , according to the Indian Meteorological Department. The record for the country is 51 C (124 F), set in May 2016 in Rajasthan’s city of Phalodi. The searing heat is not just a seasonal discomfort but underscores a growing challenge for the country’s overwhelmed health infrastructure. A prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures often causes heat strokes, mainly impacting the poor, outdoor workers, children, and the elderly.

Samoa to hold snap election on Aug. 29 after PM’s government collapses

NEWCASTLE, Australia (AP) — Samoa will head to the polls on Aug. 29, a half-year earlier than expected, after Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa’s government collapsed following a budget defeat in parliament late last month. Fiamē, who became the South Pacific island nation’s first female prime minister in 2021 and ended four decades of Human Rights Protection Party rule, now faces a three-way political battle that has ramifications far beyond Samoa. The snap election comes at a time of heightened geopolitical interest in the South Pacific, with Samoa viewed as a strategic player in the growing contest for regional influence between China and traditional partners like Australia and the United States.

What to know about South Korea’s approval of new probes into ousted leader Yoon

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Just a week into his term in office, South Korea’s new liberal President Lee Jae-myung moved against his ousted conservative predecessor, approving legislation to launch sweeping special investigations into Yoon Suk Yeol’s ill-fated imposition of martial law in December as well as criminal allegations surrounding his wife and administration. The monthslong probes, which will involve hundreds of investigators under special prosecutors appointed by Lee, could dominate his early agenda and inflame tensions with conservatives, as Yoon already faces an explosive rebellion trial carrying a possible death sentence. Here’s a look at the bills approved at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, which Lee is expected to sign into law soon.