Top Asian News 3:41 a.m. GMT

A jury is deciding the fate of an Australian woman accused of 3 murders by mushroom poisoning

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A jury in Australia began deliberations Monday in the triple murder trial of Erin Patterson, accused of killing her estranged husband’s relatives by deliberately serving them poisonous mushrooms for lunch. Three of Patterson’s four lunch guests — her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson — died in the hospital after the 2023 meal at her home in Leongatha, at which she served individual beef Wellington pastries containing death cap mushrooms. She is accused of attempting to murder the fourth, Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, who was gravely ill but survived. During the nine-week Supreme Court trial in the state of Victoria, Patterson gave evidence in her own defense.

3 killed and a dozen others hospitalized after crowd surge at eastern India Hindu festival

NEW DELHI (AP) — Three people were killed and more than a dozen hospitalized Sunday following a sudden crowd surge and stampede at a popular Hindu festival in eastern India, local authorities said. “There was a sudden crowd surge of devotees for having a glimpse of the Hindu deities during which a few people either fainted, felt suffocated or complained of breathlessness,” said Siddharth Shankar Swain, the top government official in Puri. Swain told The Associated Press that 15 people were rushed to a local government hospital, where three people were pronounced dead. Autopsies are planned to determine the exact causes of death.

The last Hong Kong pro-democracy party that held street protests disbands

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong pro-democracy political party League of Social Democrats announced on Sunday it had disbanded due to immense political pressure, the latest casualty in a years-long crackdown that has already quieted much of the city’s once-vocal opposition. Following massive anti-government protests in 2019, many leading activists were prosecuted or jailed under a 2020 national security law imposed by Beijing. Dozens of civil society groups dissolved. Media outlets critical of the government shuttered. The League of Social Democrats was the only pro-democracy party that still staged small street protests from time to time and held street booth activities to carry on its advocacy despite the risks.

Trump says he’s not planning to extend a pause on global tariffs beyond July 9

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is not planning to extend a 90-day pause on tariffs on most nations beyond July 9, when the negotiating period he set would expire, and his administration will notify countries that the trade penalties will take effect unless there are deals with the United States. Letters will start going out “pretty soon” before the approaching deadline, he said. “We’ll look at how a country treats us — are they good, are they not so good — some countries we don’t care, we’ll just send a high number out,” Trump told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” during a wide-ranging interview taped Friday and broadcast Sunday.

Photos show how humanoid robots captivate fans in China by playing a soccer match

BEIJING (AP) — Humanoid robots have captivated fans in Beijing with a fully autonomous soccer match powered by artificial intelligence. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

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 model 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 safely separated from the rocket and released into a planned orbit about 16 minutes later. Scientists and space officials at the control room exchanged hugs and handshakes to celebrate the successful launch, which was delayed by several days due to a malfunctioning of the rocket’s electrical systems.

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.