Top Asian News 3:59 a.m. GMT

King Charles III ends first Australian visit by a reigning British monarch in 13 years

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — King Charles III ends the first visit to Australia by a reigning British monarch in 13 years Tuesday with anti-monarchists hoping his journey is a step toward an Australian citizen becoming head of state. Controversy interrupted the visit on Monday when Indigenous independent senator Lidia Thorpe yelled at Charles during a reception that he was not her king and Australia was not his land. Esther Anatolitis, co-chair of the Australian Republic Movement, that campaigns for an Australian citizen to replace the British monarch as Australia’s head of state, said while thousands turned out to see the king and Queen Camilla at their public engagements, the numbers were larger when his mother Queen Elizabeth II first visited Australia 70 years ago.

King Charles III’s Commonwealth visit to Samoa will highlight climate change ... and dance

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III should be prepared to dance when he visits Samoa this week. Freddie Tuilagi made sure of that when he visited St. James’ Palace recently wearing nothing but a bark cloth wrap and a necklace historically worn by orator chiefs. Charles, in a blue suit and carefully knotted tie, grinned while gamely trying to follow along as Samoa’s honorary consul to the U.K. moved through the steps of a traditional dance. “He loves it. He said he wants to learn the dance,” Tuilagi said afterward, showing off his moves once again. Tuilagi, who moved to Britain to play professional rugby, said the 75-year-old king can expect more of the same when he arrives in the South Pacific island nation on Wednesday.

Hug it out, but make it quick. New Zealand airport sets time limit on goodbyes

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Emotional farewells are a common sight at airports, but travelers leaving the New Zealand city of Dunedin will have to be quick. A new three-minute time limit on goodbye hugs in the airport’s drop-off area is intended to prevent lingering cuddles from causing traffic jams. “Max hug time three minutes,” warn signs outside the terminal, adding that those seeking “fonder farewells” should head to the airport’s parking lot instead. The cuddle cap was imposed in September to “keep things moving smoothly” in the redesigned passenger drop-off area outside the airport, CEO Dan De Bono told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

South Korea calls for immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops allegedly in Russia

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea on Monday demanded the immediate pullout of North Korean troops allegedly deployed in Russia as it summoned the Russian ambassador to protest deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. South Korea’s spy agency said Friday it had confirmed that North Korea sent 1,500 special operation forces to Russia this month to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier said his government had intelligence that 10,000 North Korea soldiers were being prepared to join invading Russian forces. During a meeting with Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev, Vice South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun “condemned in the strongest terms” North Korea’s troop dispatch that he said poses “a grave security threat” to South Korea and the international community, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

China holds live-fire drills opposite Taiwan, a week after large-scale exercise

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China is holding live-fire drills off the coast of its southern Fujian province facing Taiwan, just a week after a massive air-and-sea drill it called punishment for Taiwan’s president rejecting Beijing’s claims of sovereignty. The live fire drills were being held near the Pingtan islands off Fujian province from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to a notice from the Maritime Safety Administration. It warned ships to avoid the area. It did not offer additional details. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said China’s drills were part of an annual exercise and was tracking them. “It cannot be ruled out that it is one of the ways to expand the deterrent effect in line with the dynamics in the Taiwan Strait,” the statement added.

US missile deployment to Philippines ‘incredibly important’ for combat readiness, US general says

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The U.S. Army’s recent deployment of a midrange missile system to the northern Philippines was “incredibly important” and allowed American and Filipino forces to jointly train for the potential usage of such heavy weaponry in Asian archipelago conditions, a U.S. general said Monday. The Biden administration has moved to strengthen an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in any possible confrontation over Taiwan and other Asian flashpoints. The Philippines has also worked on shoring up its territorial defenses after its disputes with China started to escalate last year in the increasingly volatile South China Sea.

India says it reached a pact with China on military patrols along their disputed border

NEW DELHI (AP) — India and China have agreed to a pact on military patrols along their disputed border in the Himalayas after a standoff that began with a deadly clash in 2020, India’s foreign ministry said Monday. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the pact is to lead to the “disengagement” of troops at the Line of Actual Control, the long Himalayan border shared by the two Asian giants. Misri did not specify whether it means the withdrawal of the tens of thousands of additional troops stationed by the two countries along their disputed border in northern Ladakh region, after their armies clashed in 2020.

Two plead guilty to murder of former Air India suspect Ripudaman Singh Mali

NEW WESTMINSTER, British Columbia (AP) — Two men accused of killing of former Air India bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a Canadian court. The courthouse in New Westminster, British Columbia, confirmed the pleas on Monday from Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez in the shooting death of Malik, who was acquitted in 2005 of the bombings that killed 331 people in 1985. Fox and Lopez, who were originally charged with first-degree murder, will next appear in court on Oct. 31 for sentencing. In a statement, Malik’s family said while the family is “grateful” that Fox and Lopez were brought to justice, they are urging the two men to cooperate with police “in bringing those that hired you to justice.” Malik, 75, was shot dead in his vehicle outside his business in Surrey, British Columbia, on July 14, 2022.

Gunmen kill 7 people working on a strategic tunnel project in Indian-controlled Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Gunmen fatally shot at least seven people working on a strategic tunnel project in Indian-controlled Kashmir and injured at least five others, officials said on Monday. Police blamed militants who have been fighting against Indian rule for decades for the “terror attack” at a camp for construction workers near the disputed region’s resort town of Sonamarg. No rebel group immediately claimed responsibility. Police said at least two gunmen fired “indiscriminately” at officials and workers associated with the construction, leaving two dead on the spot. At least 10 others were taken to hospital, where five more died. The attack came shortly after workers returned to their lodgings on Sunday night.

A Japanese police chief apologizes to a man acquitted after 50 years on death row

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese police chief on Monday apologized in person to Iwao Hakamada for his decades-long suffering that started from an overbearing investigation and wrongful conviction that had kept him on death row until last month, when he was acquitted in a retrial. The 88-year-old Hakamada, a former boxer, was acquitted by the Shizuoka District Court, which said police and prosecutors had collaborated to fabricate and plant evidence against him, and forced him to confess with violent, hourslong closed interrogations. The acquittal was finalized earlier this month when the prosecution waived its right to appeal — though it complained about the ruling — finally ending Hakamada’s nearly 60-year legal battle to prove his innocence.