Top Asian News 3:23 a.m. GMT

North Korea flies more balloons likely carrying trash after the South resumes propaganda broadcasts

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched more balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea on Sunday, days after the South restarted blaring anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts across the border in retaliation for the North’s repeated balloon campaigns, Seoul officials said. The Cold War-style psychological battle between the two Koreas is adding to already-high tensions on the Korean Peninsula, with the rivals threatening stronger steps against each other. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North Korean balloons were flying north of Seoul, the South Korean capital, after crossing the border. It said the South Korean public should be alert for falling objects and report to police and military authorities if they see any balloons on the ground.

Bangladesh imposes strict curfew with a ‘shoot-on-sight-order’ following deadly protests

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Police imposed a strict curfew with a “shoot-on-sight” order across Bangladesh as military forces patrolled parts of the capital Saturday after scores were killed and hundreds injured in clashes over the allocation of civil service jobs. The curfew began at midnight and was relaxed from noon to 2 p.m. for people to run essential errands, and is expected to last until 10 a.m. Sunday, allowing officers to fire on mobs in extreme cases, said lawmaker Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League party. The demonstrations — called for mainly by student groups— started weeks ago to protest a quota system that reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971.

Myanmar’s civil war has seen a devastating increase in attacks on schools, researchers say

BANGKOK (AP) — An intensification of fighting in Myanmar’s civil war has brought a sharp increase in destructive attacks on schools, a group that monitors armed conflict in the Southeast Asian nation said in a report Saturday. Myanmar Witness said the attacks have further strained Myanmar’s already fractured school system, taking away education for millions of children who have also been forced to flee their homes, miss vaccinations and suffer from inadequate nutrition. The group, a project of the United Kingdom-based Center for Information Resilience, identified a total of 174 attacks on Myanmar schools and universities since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi three years ago.

11 dead and dozens missing after a highway bridge in China crumbles in flooding and heavy storms

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Chinese authorities say at least 11 people have died and 30 are missing in the partial collapse of a highway bridge in the northwest of the country following heavy storms and flooding. A similar number are missing in the southwest after dozens of houses were destroyed by storms. The official Xinhua News Agency said five vehicles that fell off the bridge have been recovered after the structure in Shaanxi province crumbled at around 8:40 p.m. Friday. A photo released by Xinhua showed a section of the bridge snapped and folded down at almost a 90-degree angle into the rushing brown water below.

Indonesian women assert themselves with martial arts as gender-based violence remains a challenge

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An emotionally and physically abusive marriage of 11 years led Rani Miranti to join a fight club that has trained her in martial arts, enabling her to stand up against violence. Miranti is one of the growing number of Indonesian women who are taking self-defense classes as gender-based violence remains a challenge in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. “Government protection usually comes after violence has happened, while we never know when it will come,” said the 38-year-old single parent of three children. “Unfortunately, when it suddenly comes, no one can help. So, we need to have self-defense capabilities.” The National Commission on Violence Against Women, known as Komnas Perempuan, recorded 289,111 cases last year, a decrease of around 12% from 339,782 in 2022, the year when a law on sexual violence was enacted.

Malaysia honors a new king in coronation marked by pomp and cannon fire

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Traditional pomp and cannon fire on Saturday marked the coronation of Malaysia’s billionaire King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, who pledged to govern fairly during the five-year term he will serve under a unique rotating monarchy system. Sultan Ibrahim, 65, was sworn in on Jan. 31. Saturday’s coronation at the national palace formalized his role as Malaysia’s 17th king in a ceremony steeped in Malay culture and pageantry. Nine ethnic Malay state rulers take turns as Malaysia’s king for five-year terms under the country’s rotating monarchy, which began when Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. Malaysia has 13 states but only nine have royal families, some which trace their roots to centuries-old Malay kingdoms that were independent states until they were brought together by the British.

Tech outage latest | Airlines and others rush to get back on track after global tech disruption

A faulty software update causes havoc worldwide for airlines, hospitals and governments

NEW YORK (AP) — A faulty software update caused technological havoc worldwide on Friday, grounding flights, knocking down some financial companies and news outlets, and disrupting hospitals, small businesses and government offices. The breadth of the outages highlighted the fragility of a digitized world dependent on just a few providers for key computing services. The trouble was sparked by an update issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and only affected its customers running Microsoft Windows, the world’s most popular operating system for personal computers. It was not the result of hacking or a cyberattack, according to CrowdStrike, which apologized and said a fix was on the way.

Vietnam Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, the country’s most powerful leader, dies at age 80

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party and the country’s most powerful politician, has died following months of ill health, official media said Friday. He was 80. “General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party Nguyen Phu Trong passed away at 13:38 on July 19, 2024, at the 108 Central Military Hospital due to old age and serious illness,” the Nhan Dan newspaper said. Official media said a state funeral would be held. Trong had dominated Vietnamese politics since 2011, when he was elected party chief. During his tenure, he worked to consolidate the Communist Party’s power in Vietnam’s single-party political system.

India has ramped up its wind and solar energy. It now needs to expand places to store it

BENGALURU, India (AP) — At a Coca-Cola factory on the outskirts of Chennai in southern India a giant battery powers machinery day and night, replacing a diesel-spewing generator. It’s one of just a handful of sites in India powered by electricity stored in batteries, a key component to fast-tracking India’s energy transition away from dirty fuels. The country’s lithium ion battery storage industry — which can store electricity generated by wind turbines or solar panels for when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing — makes up just 0.1% of global battery storage systems. But battery storage is growing fast, with around a third of India’s total battery infrastructure coming online just this year.