Top Asian News 3:57 a.m. GMT

ASEAN opens summit with Persian Gulf nations and China as US threatens tariffs

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A regional association of Southeast Asian nations held a summit Tuesday with China and six Persian Gulf countries in efforts to expand economic engagement and bolster resilience amid global trade volatility due to U.S. tariff hikes. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in his opening remarks, said the inaugural summit in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur would open up a new chapter of cooperation. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council and China have a combined GDP of nearly $25 trillion and a market of over 2 billion people, offering vast opportunities to promote cross-regional investment, he said.

At least 5 are dead and 19 injured after a chemical plant explodes in China, authorities say

BEIJING (AP) — A huge explosion rocked a chemical plant in China ’s eastern Shandong province around noon Tuesday, killing at least five people and injuring 19, according to local emergency management authorities. Another six people were missing. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion. The blast was powerful enough to knock out windows at a warehouse more than two miles (three kilometers) away, according to a video shared by a resident, who declined to give his name out of concern about retaliation. The resident said his home shook. As he went to the window, he saw a column of smoke from the site more than seven kilometers (4.3 miles) away.

Australia whistleblower who exposed war crime allegations loses bid to reduce prison sentence

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian army whistleblower David McBride, who leaked allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan to the media, lost a court bid to have his prison sentence reduced on Wednesday. The Australian Capital Territory Court of Appeal rejected the 61-year-old former army lawyer’s appeal against the severity of a five years and eight months prison sentence imposed a year ago. McBride said through his lawyers that Australians would be outraged by the Court of Appeal decision. McBride had argued that he leaked the documents out of a sworn duty to act in the public interest. “It is my own conscience and the people of Australia that I answer to.

Slightly radioactive soil from Fukushima will be used in the prime minister’s flower beds

TOKYO (AP) — Japan said Tuesday it plans to use some slightly radioactive soil stored near the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant on flower beds at Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s office to show it is safe to reuse. The soil was removed from across the Fukushima prefecture as part of decontamination work following the 2011 nuclear disaster and has since been in interim storage. Some of it has since reached levels safe enough for reuse, officials say. Using the soil at Ishiba’s office in Tokyo is aimed at reassuring the public it is safe. The government said that it plans to reuse the soil for flower beds and other purposes within the grounds of government agencies.

In Japan, rare bobtail cats are considered good luck. Nagasaki is filled with them

NAGASAKI, Japan (AP) — In Japan, bobtail cats are considered good luck and Nagasaki is the place to find them. They are known as “omagari neko (bent-tail cats)” or “kagi neko (hook cats)” and have their own society of admirers and even a dedicated Shinto shrine. Their tails come in varieties including hook-shaped at the tip, curved or in a bun, explained Kazuya Hideshima, a worker at Omagari Neko Shrine and member of the Nagasaki Cat Society. Past findings have indicated bobtails accounted for nearly 80% of the cats in Nagasaki, twice the occurrence of anywhere else in Japan. Japanese cats are believed to have come from China in the 6th century with Buddhist monks, serving as rat hunters to protect religious scriptures on ships.

Meet Jia Jia and De De, Hong Kong’s first locally born giant pandas

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s first locally born giant pandas have finally been named and introduced as Jia Jia and De De. The names of the cubs, affectionately known as “Elder Sister” and “Little Brother,” were announced Tuesday in a ceremony at Ocean Park, the theme park housing them, their parents and two other giant pandas that arrived from mainland China last year. The names were the winning suggestions from residents in a naming contest that drew more than 35,700 entries. The Chinese character “Jia,” from the female cub’s name “Jia Jia,” carries a message of support and features an element of family and a sense of auspicious grace.

Taiwan pledges to buy more American goods as a 32% tariff looms

TAIPEI (AP) — Taiwan’s president on Tuesday pledged to buy more American goods, including natural gas and oil, as the self-governing island seeks closer ties with the U.S. while threatened with a 32% tariff from the Trump administration. By purchasing more U.S. products that also include weapons and agricultural goods, Taiwan would not only create “more balanced bilateral trade” with the U.S. but also boost its energy autonomy and resilience, said Lai Ching-te, the island’s leader, while hosting a U.S. congressional delegation. Lai also said the island would be willing to participate in U.S. efforts to reindustrialize and to lead the world in artificial intelligence.

Big surprise in sumo. The sport has a new champion -- and he’s Japanese

TOKYO (AP) — Japan has a new sumo grand champion — or yokozuna — and the big news is he’s Japanese. Onosato, the new grand champion, weighs 191 kilograms (421 pounds) and he is the first Japanese competitor to reach the top rank since 2017. By comparison, the average weight of an NFL lineman is about 140 kilos, or just over 300 pounds. The sport has recently been dominated by Mongolians and prior to Onosato, six of the previous seven yokozunas have been from Mongolia. Onosato, whose real name is Daiki Nakamura, is only 24 and was promoted Wednesday to sumo’s top rank by the Japan Sumo Association.

Samoa’s leader seeks an early election after opponents reject her budget

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Samoa ’s Prime Minister said she would seek to dissolve Parliament, prompting an early election, after a vote on her government’s budget for the next year failed Tuesday. Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa’s admission of defeat followed months of political havoc in the South Pacific island nation, during which the leader survived two votes of no confidence and struggled on with a minority government. Her budget was rejected during a swift vote in the capital Apia, with 34 lawmakers against it, 16 in favor and two abstaining. An election must be held within 90 days. Samoa, a country of about 200,000 people, was due to go to the polls next April.

Australia’s new youngest senator elected at 21 with unexpected win

A woman who turned 21 on the day of Australia’s federal election in May has been declared the nation’s youngest ever senator. And like many female candidates who run for election in Australia, Charlotte Walker wasn’t expected to win. The former union official won the governing center-left Labor Party’s third Senate seat for South Australia state in a complicated rank order voting system. A party’s third choice rarely wins. She had the lowest vote count of the six newly elected senators for the state. The Australian Electoral Commission officially declared the poll Tuesday. The new job will be a “big adjustment,” said Walker, who starts her six-year term July 1.