Top Asian News 2:00 a.m. GMT

When an Air India flight crashed into a medical campus, surviving doctors rushed to save lives

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Navin Chaudhary had just begun eating his meal when a loud bang startled him. He turned back to see a massive fire taking over the dining area where he and other trainee doctors had assembled for lunch. The blaze approaching him, he rushed toward a window and jumped. From the ground, looking upwards, the sight of the Air India plane’s tail cone hanging from the burning building propelled Chaudhary and fellow medical students into action. “There was fire and many were injured,” said Chaudhary. He said he felt lucky to survive but knew he had a task at hand.

Cambodia threatens Thai fruits ban as tensions over border disputes continue to soar

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia on Monday said it would stop importing Thai fruits and vegetables if Thailand refused to lift border restrictions imposed following a deadly clash in one of the disputed areas between the two countries. An armed confrontation at the border on May 28 left one Cambodian soldier dead. The incident, which each side blamed on the other, reportedly took place in a relatively small “no man’s land” along their border that both countries claim as their own. Cambodian and Thai authorities have engaged in saber-rattling since last week, and continue to implement or threaten measures short of armed force, keeping tensions high.

Airports close across the Mideast as the Israel-Iran conflict shutters the region’s airspace

BEIRUT (AP) — After Israeli strikes landed near the hotel where he was staying in the Iranian province of Qom, Aimal Hussein desperately wanted to return home. But the 55-year-old Afghan businessman couldn’t find a way, with Iranian airspace completely shut down. He fled to Tehran after the strike Sunday, but no taxi would take him to the border as the conflict between Iran and Israel intensified. “Flights, markets, everything is closed, and I am living in the basement of a small hotel,” Hussein told The Associated Press by cellphone on Monday. “I am trying to get to the border by taxi, but they are hard to find, and no one is taking us.” Israel launched a major attack Friday with strikes in the Iranian capital of Tehran and elsewhere, killing senior military officials, nuclear scientists, and destroying critical infrastructure.

Air India flight returns to Hong Kong due to a midair technical issue

HONG KONG (AP) — An Air India flight returned to Hong Kong on Monday shortly after takeoff due to a midair technical issue, days after another of the airline’s flights crashed and killed at least 270 people. Air India said in a statement that the New Delhi-bound plane landed in Hong Kong safely and was undergoing checks “as a matter of abundant precaution.” Airport Authority Hong Kong said in a separate statement that flight AI315 returned to the southern Chinese city’s airport around 1 p.m. The plane was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the same model as the London-bound flight that struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern Indian city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff on Thursday.

India and Cyprus to step up defense, maritime and cybersecurity cooperation, Indian PM says

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — India will step up its defense ties with Cyprus through collaboration between the two countries’ respective defense industries, the Indian prime minister said Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t offer details, but he said talks would begin on boosting bilateral maritime and cybersecurity cooperation. He said after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides that the two countries would also set up an information exchange mechanism geared toward combatting the threat of terrorism. Modi’s two-day visit to Cyprus, ahead of his trip to Canada for the G7 summit, is the first by an Indian prime minister in more than two decades.

A bridge collapse at an Indian tourist site kills 2 and injures 32

NEW DELHI (AP) — At least two people died and 32 others were injured after an iron bridge over a river collapsed on Sunday at a popular tourist destination in India’s western Maharashtra state, the state’s top elected official said. At least six people were hospitalized in critical condition, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote on the social media platform X. Local media reported that scores of tourists were on the bridge when it collapsed, plunging many into the swollen river. Fadnavis said six people were rescued and that an intense search operation was ongoing as some people were swept away. The incident occurred in Kundamala area in Pune district, which has witnessed heavy rains over the past few days, giving the river a steady flow, Press Trust of India reported.

Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India’s Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing 7

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed on Sunday in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing seven people on board, officials said. The helicopter was headed to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town when it crashed minutes after taking off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight. Nandan Singh Rajwar, a local disaster management official, said authorities have launched a rescue and search operation following the helicopter crash. The helicopter, operated by Aryan Aviation, a private helicopter service company, went down in a forested area near the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5:30 a.m.

Taiwan adds China’s Huawei and SMIC to export control list

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s Commerce Ministry has added Chinese chipmakers Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) to its export control list, as trade and technology frictions between the self-ruled island, China and the United States increase. Inclusion on the “strategic high-tech commodities” list means Taiwanese companies will need to obtain export permits before selling goods to the respective companies. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as other companies in China, Iran and elsewhere. The export control entities list was last updated on Sunday. Neither Huawei nor SMIC initially commented on their inclusion.

Remains of Air India crash victims are handed over to relatives

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Authorities have started handing over remains of the victims of one of India’s worst aviation disasters, days after the Air India flight crashed and killed at least 270 people, officials said Sunday. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived. Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most of the bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognizable. Rajneesh Patel, an official at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, said authorities have so far identified 32 victims through DNA mapping and their families were informed.

King Charles III marks Air India tragedy at Trooping the Colour

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III and other members of the royal family in uniform wore black armbands and observed a moment of silence during his annual birthday parade Saturday as the monarch commemorated those who died in this week’s Air India plane crash. Charles requested the symbolic moves “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy,” Buckingham Palace said. An Air India flight from the northwestern city of Ahmedabad to London crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground.