Top Asian News 12:32 p.m. GMT

Rubio says U.S. and Russia have exchanged new ideas for Ukraine peace talks

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. and Russia have exchanged new ideas for Ukraine peace talks after he met with his Russian counterpart in Malaysia Thursday. “I think it’s a new and a different approach,” Rubio told reporters after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “I wouldn’t characterize it as something that guarantees a peace, but it’s a concept that, you know, that I’ll take back to the president.” He didn’t elaborate. Rubio said President Donald Trump has been “disappointed and frustrated that there’s not been more flexibility on the Russian side to bring about an end to this conflict.

Malaysian PM warns Southeast Asia that trade war is not a ‘passing storm’

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warned Wednesday that global trade is being weaponized as Southeast Asia’s foreign ministers held annual talks ahead of the looming threat of U.S. trade tariffs. Concerns about U.S. tariffs have jolted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member bloc that includes some of the world’s most trade-dependent economies. Eight ASEAN members are among countries that could see duties on their exports to the U.S. skyrocket on Aug. 1. Launching the group’s foreign ministers’ meeting, Anwar said the world is now witnessing an era where “power unsettles principle” and “tools once used to generate growth are now wielded to pressure, isolate and contain.” Without mentioning the U.S.

Taiwan’s president watches live-fire drills with new US-made tanks

HSINCHU, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te watched live-fire drills with U.S.-made Abrams M1A2T tanks Thursday, as part of major annual exercises aimed at boosting the island’s ability to fend off threats from China. Four of the tanks fired individually, in pairs and as a group at a testing ground south of Taipei on the second day of the Han Kuang exercises that this year are the longest ever at 10 days. The tanks fire both while on the move and in a stationary position and at both stationary and moving targets, achieving 100% accuracy, according to the army.

Bangladesh tribunal indicts ousted Prime Minister Hasina over deaths of protesters

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A special tribunal indicted Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday by accepting charges of crimes against humanity filed against her in connection with a mass uprising in which hundreds of students were killed last year. A three-member panel, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, indicted Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun on five charges. Hasina and Khan are being tried in absentia. The tribunal opened the trial June 5 and asked Hasina to appear. Authorities published newspaper advertisements asking Hasina, who has been in exile in India, and Khan to appear before the tribunal.

What ex-South Korean leader Yoon faces following his new arrest over martial law

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Four months after his release, South Korea’s disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sent back to a detention center after a Seoul court issued a warrant for his arrest Thursday. Yoon’s brief, ill-fated imposition of martial law on Dec. 3 led to his indictment on charges that he directed a rebellion, which is punishable by life imprisonment or death. Prompted by concerns he might destroy evidence, Yoon’s arrest could mark the start of a prolonged period in custody as investigators pursue additional charges. Yoon defended his martial law decree as a necessary step to quash “anti-state” liberal opponents, accusing them of abusing their legislative majority to obstruct his agenda.

Hong Kong police arrest 4 men linked to a Taiwan-based group and accuse them of subversion

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police announced on Thursday that they arrested four people linked to a Taiwan-based group under a Beijing-imposed national security law, accusing them of conspiracy to commit subversion. Steve Li, Chief Superintendent of the National Security Department, said the arrests on Wednesday involved four men between 15 and 47 years old. They face up to life imprisonment if convicted. Police said their organization, reportedly called the Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union, was founded last year in Taiwan. The self-ruled island is one of the democratic territories where many Hong Kongers have emigrated due to fears over Hong Kong’s sweeping security law.

Report on curbing antisemitism in Australia recommends threatening university funding

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian universities would lose government funding unless they address attacks on Jewish students and potential immigrants would be screened for political affiliations under recommendations to the government made public on Thursday aimed at curbing antisemitism. Antisemitic incidents including assaults, vandalism, threats and intimidation had surged more than threefold in Australia in the year after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal reported. Synagogues and cars have been torched, businesses and homes have been graffitied and Jews have been attacked in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s two largest cities where 85% of the nation’s Jewish population live.

Climate change makes South Asia’s monsoon season more prone to floods, landslides and heavy rains

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Each year from June to September, a series of heavy rains known as monsoons sweep through the Indian subcontinent, providing relief from heat, irrigating the country’s farms and replenishing its rivers. However, as global heat increases, the rain is becoming more erratic and intense, creating the conditions for deadly floods. Nearly 1,300 people died in India throughout 2024 due to heavy rain and floods. Hundreds of rain-related deaths have already occurred this year in the South Asian region, which includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives and Nepal. Climate experts say the high temperatures and heavy rain are also contributing to the melting of glaciers in the mountainous Himalayan region, causing catastrophic flooding and landslides.

A British F35 fighter jet stranded in India may finally fly back home after inspiring memes

NEW DELHI (AP) — A British F-35B fighter jet stranded at an Indian airport for nearly a month, sparking memes and cartoons on social media, is expected to fly back home as early as next week, Indian officials said. The stealth fighter, one of the world’s most advanced and costing around $115 million, is stranded at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in the southern state of Kerala due to a technical snag and is being repaired by U.K. engineers, officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak to media. The jet was on a regular sortie in the Arabian Sea last month when it ran into bad weather and couldn’t return to the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, officials said.

European court finds Russia committed violations in Ukraine and was behind downing Flight MH17

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Europe’s top human rights court delivered damning judgments Wednesday against Russia in four cases brought by Kyiv and the Netherlands accusing Moscow of atrocities in Ukraine dating back more than a decade. Judges at the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia was responsible for widespread violations of international law — from shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, to the murder, torture, rape, destruction of civilian infrastructure and kidnapping of Ukrainian children after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of 2022. Reading the decisions in a packed courtroom in Strasbourg, Court President Mattias Guyomar said Russian forces breached international humanitarian law in Ukraine by carrying out attacks that “killed and wounded thousands of civilians and created fear and terror.” The Kremlin said it would ignore the largely symbolic judgment, but Ukraine hailed it as “historic and unprecedented,” saying it was an “undeniable victory” for the embattled country.