Top Asian News 10:13 p.m. GMT

Protesters rally in Bangkok to demand Thai prime minister’s resignation over leaked Cambodia call

BANGKOK (AP) — Thousands rallied in Thailand’s capital on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, part of the brewing political turmoil set off by a leaked phone call with former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Paetongtarn faces growing dissatisfaction over her handling of a recent border dispute with Cambodia involving an armed confrontation May 28. One Cambodian soldier was killed in a relatively small, contested area. The recorded phone call with Hun Sen was at the heart of the demonstration Saturday and has set off a string of investigations in Thailand that could lead to Paetongtarn’s removal.

Suicide car bombing in Pakistan kills 14 soldiers and wounds 25 people

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide car bombing in northwest Pakistan on Saturday killed at least 14 soldiers and wounded 25 people, including civilians, officials said. The attack targeted a military vehicle in North Waziristan around lunchtime despite a curfew across the tribal district to facilitate the movement of security forces, the intelligence officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue with the media. An initial investigation said 800 kilograms (1,760 pounds) of explosives were used in the assault, causing severe damage to houses in the area. The wounded were 15 soldiers and 10 civilians, including children, the officials said.

At least 1.2 million Afghans forced to return from Iran and Pakistan this year, says UN

ISLAMABAD (AP) — At least 1.2 million Afghans have been forced to return from Iran and Pakistan this year, the U.N. refugee agency said Saturday, warning that repatriations on a massive scale have the potential to destabilize the fragile situation in Afghanistan. Iran and Pakistan in 2023 launched separate campaigns to expel foreigners they said were living in the country illegally. They set deadlines and threatened them with deportation if they didn’t leave. The two governments deny targeting Afghans, who have fled their homeland to escape war, poverty or Taliban rule. The U.N. high commissioner for refugees said that of the 1.2 million returning Afghans, more than half had come from Iran following a March 20 government deadline for them to leave voluntarily or face expulsion.

Japan launches a climate change monitoring satellite on mainstay H2A rocket’s last flight

TOKYO (AP) — Japan on Sunday successfully launched a climate change monitoring satellite on its mainstay H-2A rocket, which made its final flight before it is replaced by a new flagship designed to be more cost competitive in the global space market. The H-2A rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, carrying the GOSAT-GW satellite as part of Tokyo’s effort to mitigate climate change. The satellite was released into a planned orbit about 16 minutes later. The launch follows several days of delays because of malfunctioning of the rocket’s electrical systems. Sunday’s launch marked the 50th and final flight for the H-2A, which has served as Japan’s mainstay rocket to carry satellites and probes into space with a near-perfect record since its 2001 debut.

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.

Flash floods in Pakistan kill 8 after deluge sweeps away dozens

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Flash floods triggered by pre-monsoon rains swept away dozens of tourists in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least eight people. The nationwide death toll from rain-related incidents rose to 18 over the past 24 hours, officials said. Nearly 100 rescuers in various groups rescued a total of 58 people and were searching for the missing tourists who were swept away while picnicking along the Swat River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Shah Fahad, a spokesman for the provincial emergency service. He said only 3 people belonging to an extended family of 16 could be rescued and others are still missing.

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.

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.