Top Asian News 3:02 a.m. GMT

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.

Bangladesh imposes nationwide curfew as deadly protests over government jobs escalate

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government late Friday announced a nationwide curfew across Bangladesh and ordered the deployment of military forces to maintain order following days of deadly clashes over the allocation of government jobs. The announcement was made by Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League party, and came after police and security officials fired on protesters earlier Friday and banned all gatherings in the capital. Several people were killed, media reports said. Quader said the military was deployed to help the civilian administration keep order. The protests, which began weeks ago but escalated sharply this week, represent the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina since she won a fourth consecutive term in office after elections in January.

Here’s what to know about the violent protests over government jobs roiling Bangladesh

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh has been gripped by violence this week after relentless clashes between student protesters, security officials and pro-government student activists over a quota system for government jobs. Protest organizers say they are imposing “a complete shutdown” across Bangladesh on Thursday, except for essential services. This comes after several major universities in the country agreed to shut their doors indefinitely until tensions ease. Here’s what we know: The protests, which have drawn tens of thousands out on the streets, began late last month but tensions escalated on Monday when student activists at Dhaka University, the country’s largest, clashed with police and counter-protesters backed by the ruling Awami League.

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.

South Korea restarts blaring propaganda broadcasts to retaliate against North’s trash balloon flying

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea said Friday it has restarted blasting propaganda broadcasts into North Korea to retaliate against the North’s latest round of trash-carrying balloon launches, a resumption of Cold War-style tactics that are raising animosities between the rivals. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it used front-line loudspeakers to blare anti-Pyongyang broadcasts over the border between Thursday evening and Friday morning. It said the South Korean military turned on loudspeakers again later Friday as it found out the North was preparing to fly more balloons. The broadcasts were the first of their kind in about 40 days.

Strife-torn Myanmar marks 77th anniversary of the assassination of independence hero Gen. Aung San

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government held a wreath-laying ceremony in the country’s largest city Friday to mark the anniversary of the assassination of the country’s fallen independence heroes, including Gen. Aung San, the father of the country’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Neither Suu Kyi, who is imprisoned, nor Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the current head of the army-led government, attended this year’s main ceremony at the Martyrs’ Mausoleum near the foot of the towering Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. Min Aung Hlaing led the army’s 2021 seizure of power from Suu Kyi’s elected government. Aung San, who led the independence struggle against Britain, was 32 years old when he was gunned down along with six Cabinet ministers and two other officials 77 years ago.

Pakistan says it arrested an al-Qaida leader who was a close aide to Osama bin Laden

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan counterterrorism police have arrested an al-Qaida leader who was a close aide to Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, officials said Friday. Deputy inspector general of police Usman Gondal identified the man as Amin ul Haq and said he was nabbed by the Counter-Terrorism Department in Punjab province after a yearslong hunt. The arrest foiled possible attacks being planned by Haq in the province, Gondal said at a news conference in Lahore. Haq’s name is included in a U.N. sanctions list of people linked to al-Qaida. An Afghan, he was accused of working as a financer for al-Qaida and supplying arms to insurgents.

Japanese and Taiwanese coast guards hold joint search and rescue drill off Japan’s eastern coast

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese and Taiwanese coast guards conducted what is believed to be their first joint drill off Japan’s eastern coast, officials said Friday, a move seen as an effort to expand maritime cooperation amid concern about China’s increasingly assertive activity in regional seas. The drill was held amid escalating tension between China and Taiwan. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out using force to take it. China routinely sends coast guard vessels into waters surrounding Japanese-controlled disputed islands in the East China Sea, confronting Japanese patrol ships. However, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi Friday denied the drill targeted any specific country, including China.

Massachusetts lawmakers call on the Pentagon to ground the Osprey again until crash causes are fixed

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three Massachusetts lawmakers are pressing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to ground the V-22 Osprey aircraft again until the military can fix the root causes of multiple recent accidents, including a deadly crash in Japan. In a letter sent to Austin on Thursday, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Rep. Richard Neal called the decision to return Ospreys to limited flight status “misguided.” In March, Naval Air Systems Command said the aircraft had been approved to return to limited flight operations, but only with tight restrictions in place that currently keep it from doing some of the aircraft carrier, amphibious transport and special operations missions it was purchased for.