Top Asian News 2:48 a.m. GMT

The Dalai Lama says he plans to reincarnate, ensuring the institution will continue

DHARAMSHALA, India (AP) — Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Wednesday said the centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist institution will continue after his death, ending years of speculation that started when he indicated that he might be the last person to hold the role. Speaking at prayer celebrations ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism said that the next Dalai Lama should be found and recognized as per past Buddhist traditions, while signalling that China should stay away from the process of identifying his successor. The Dalai Lama’s succession plan is politically consequential for most Tibetans who oppose China’s tight control of Tibet and have struggled to keep their identity alive, in their homeland or in exile.

Rescuers search in rough seas for 38 missing after a ferry sank near Bali, Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers were searching Thursday for 38 people missing in rough seas overnight after a ferry sank near Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. Another four people died and 23 have been rescued, according to the Surabaya Search and Rescue Agency. The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving East Java’s Ketapang port late Wednesday, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement. It was bound for Bali’s Gilimanuk port, a 50-kilometer (30-mile) trip. The ferry carried 53 passengers, 12 crew members and 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks, it said. Many of those rescued were initially unconscious after drifting in choppy waters for hours, said Banyuwangi police chief Rama Samtama Putra.

President Trump announces trade deal with Vietnam that will let US goods into the country duty-free

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam Wednesday that would allow U.S. goods to enter the country duty-free. Vietnamese exports to the United States, by contrast, would face a 20% levy. On his Truth Social platform, Trump declared the pact “a Great Deal of Cooperation between our two Countries.’' In April, Trump announced a 46% tax on Vietnamese imports — one of his so-called reciprocal tariffs targeting dozens of countries with which the United States runs trade deficits. Trump promptly suspended the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to allow for negotiations like the one with Vietnam.

Japan’s minority government faces a tough test in the upper house election

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba faces a tough test in an upper house election later this month as his minority government struggles after its major defeat in last year’s snap election. Ishiba has survived so far, though he had to make some concessions to the opposition — an unusual step for the Liberal Democratic Party that has dominated Japan’s postwar politics. Official campaigning begins Thursday for the July 20 vote for the upper house, the less powerful of Japan’s two parliamentary chambers. Ishiba has modest goals for the election and the opposition is divided, so the outcome is unlikely to force an immediate change of government.

North Koreans swim and play at a beach resort touted as a boost for tourism

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Koreans swam, rode water park slides and enjoyed other water activities at a newly opened mammoth beach resort, state media reported Wednesday, as the country largely maintains a ban on the entry of foreign tourists. The Wonsan-Kalma eastern coastal tourist zone, which North Korea says can accommodate nearly 20,000 people, is at the heart of leader Kim Jong Un’s push to boost tourism as a way to improve his country’s struggling economy. But prospects for the resort, the biggest tourist complex in North Korea, aren’t clear, as the country won’t likely fully reopen its borders and embrace Western tourists anytime soon, observers say.

Lithuania’s defense chief praises Philippine campaign exposing China’s aggression

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine campaign aimed at exposing China’s aggression in the disputed South China Sea has shattered “the illusion of China being peaceful and friendly,” Lithuania’s defense chief said Wednesday, urging democratic countries to stand united against an emerging axis of authoritarian countries led by China and Russia. Beginning in 2023, the campaign, which Manila calls a “transparency initiative,” includes publicizing images of China’s aggressive actions in the disputed waters. “I believe that, in this case, revealing to the world how China is harassing the Philippine’s navy and fishermen of the Philippines in their own waters is very important because it shatters the illusion of China being a peaceful and friendly neighbor,” Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said.

Roadside bomb hits a vehicle carrying gov’t administrator in NW Pakistan, killing 5 officers

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying a government administrator in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, killing at least five officers and wounding 11 others, police said. The bombing occurred Wednesday in Bajaur, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Among the dead was Assistant Commissioner Faisal Sultan, according to the district police chief. Waqas Rafique said the victims were transported to hospital, where several were listed in critical condition. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Rafique said the blame is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban. The group, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, often targets security forces and civilians in the region and elsewhere in the country.

Japan’s emperor says he will honor Japanese POWs who were held in Mongolia

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Emperor Naruhito said Wednesday that he will honor thousands of Japanese prisoners of World War II who were held under harsh conditions in Mongolia when he visits the country next week. Naruhito, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII, has been visiting some of the places where the bloodiest battles and bombings occurred, including Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Hiroshima. It’s part of his effort at atonement and remembrance of the tragedy of war fought in the name of his grandfather, Emperor Hirohito. “I will pay tribute to the Japanese people who unwillingly died in the distant land away from home, and think of their hardships,” Naruhito said at a news conference ahead of his July 6-13 trip to Mongolia.

Snake on a plane delays a flight in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian domestic flight was delayed for two hours after a stowaway snake was found in the plane’s cargo hold, officials said on Wednesday. The snake was found on Tuesday as passengers were boarding Virgin Australia Flight VA337 at Melbourne Airport bound for Brisbane, according to snake catcher Mark Pelley. The snake turned out to be a harmless 60-centimeter (2-foot) green tree snake. But Pelly said he thought it could be venomous when he approached it in the darkened hold. “It wasn’t until after I caught the snake that I realized that it wasn’t venomous. Until that point, it looked very dangerous to me,” Pelley said.

The suspension of Thailand’s prime minister over a leaked phone call stirs familiar turmoil

BANGKOK (AP) — The Constitutional Court’s suspension of Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has raised questions about whether her family’s political comeback last year would end with another downfall. Paetongtarn was the third prime minister in her family, after her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecom billionaire who has been one of Thailand’s top political operators, and her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, who was the country’s first female prime minister. Thaksin was ousted by a military coup in 2006 and Yingluck by a court ruling in 2014. Thaksin remained beloved after his ouster among voters who saw in him and his allies a government that looked after their interests.