Top Asian News 5:41 p.m. GMT

South Korea requests to be excluded from Trump’s efforts to increase tariffs

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean officials have asked the Trump administration to exclude their country from U.S. plans to impose aggressive tariffs on trade partners, emphasizing that Seoul is already applying low duties on American products under the free trade agreement between the two nations. South Korea’s government on Friday said Deputy Trade Minister Park Jong-won made the request while traveling to Washington this week for meetings with unspecified officials from the White House, the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The South Korean Trade Ministry didn’t say what Park heard from the Americans.

AP PHOTOS: Pilgrims make offerings to Hindu deities at a biennial festival in southern India

SURYAPET, India (AP) — Chants of “Om Linga, Om Linga” resonated as barefoot Hindu pilgrims, many balancing offering-filled baskets and clay pitchers on their heads, climbed more than 100 steps to a hilltop shrine in southern India. One family led a goat wearing a marigold garland around its neck. A burly man carrying two young children in his arms gripped a live chicken in his free hand while another man carried a goat across his shoulders. The animals were offered as sacrifices to Lingamanthula Swamy, believed to be a form of Lord Shiva, and his sister Choudamma, in return for prosperity and protection.

Yoon appears in 2 different South Korean courts while defending his martial law decree

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Shuttled around Seoul in a prison transport vehicle, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in two different courts on Thursday, contesting his arrest on rebellion charges in one and fighting an effort to remove him from office in the other. Both cases — one on criminal charges, one an impeachment — are related to his brief imposition of martial law in December. Security was heightened at the Seoul Central District Court as the motorcade transporting Yoon arrived for a preliminary hearing that involved discussions of witnesses, proposed evidence and other preparations for his criminal trial.

Pakistan security forces kill 6 militants in a raid in the northwest

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Security forces in Pakistan acting on intelligence raided a militant hideout in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the country’s northwest on Friday, triggering an intense shootout in which six militants were killed, the military said. The raid was carried out in Karak, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, the military said in a statement. An operation was underway to eliminate any other militants found there. The military provided no further details about the killed militants, but such operations are often conducted against the Pakistani Taliban, which are also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

AP Week in Pictures

Feb. 14-20, 2025 This photo gallery, curated by photo editor Subramoney Iyer, highlights some of the most compelling images worldwide made or published by The Associated Press in the past week. ___ Follow AP visual journalism: AP Images blog: http://apimagesblog.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnews X: http://twitter.com/AP_Images

Famed for Himalayan peaks and pristine lakes, Kashmir faces a water crisis amid dry weather

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — For days, people in the Himalayan region of Kashmir watched in agony as a famed ancient spring ran dry amid extreme dry weather conditions. It was the first time in living memory that the spring water had vanished. While the spring returned to life on Friday, replenished by fresh rain and snowfall, the locals are now discussing something they had long feared — that climate change and changing weather patterns could soon take a toll on Kashmir’s bodies of water that nurture its famed orchards and vast agricultural fields. Multiple springs and streams — including tributaries of the region’s main Jhelum River that cuts through the Kashmir Valley — have dried in Indian-controlled Kashmir, causing water shortages in recent weeks across the region known for its Himalayan peaks and pristine lakes.

China issued ‘disconcerting’ warning of live-fire exercises to planes flying above, Australia says

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Airliners were over the Tasman Sea crossing between Australia and New Zealand when the Chinese navy warned they were flying over a secret live-fire exercise, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Friday. Regulator Airservices Australia warned commercial pilots of a potential hazard in airspace between the countries as three Chinese warships conducted exercises off the Australian east coast. But Marles said Australian authorities only learned about China’s live-firing plans in international waters midway between Australia and New Zealand from the airlines. “To be clear, we weren’t notified by China,” Marles told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio in Perth.

Wellness blogger Belle Gibson lied about having cancer. Years later, Australia is still chasing her

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A decade after wellness influencer Belle Gibson admitted she didn’t have terminal brain cancer, which she claimed was cured by the healthy lifestyle that made her famous, her story has inspired a new Netflix series — and fresh outrage in Australia about the case’s lack of resolution. Authorities said this week they’re still pursuing the disgraced Instagram star for unpaid fines, fueling ongoing ire among Australians about one of the country’s most brazen online scams — an episode that drew attention to the destructive harms of false health claims on social media. Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix’s dramatic retelling of Gibson’s story released this month, doesn’t recount what happened after it was revealed in 2015 that she wasn’t sick.

Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy party takes initial step toward disbanding

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy party took an initial step toward dissolving Thursday, in the latest sign of the Chinese territory’s narrowing space for civil society groups following Beijng’s crackdown on dissent. The Democratic Party’s central committee decided to set up a task force to look into the procedures involved in dissolving the party. A final decision would require approval of the party’s members. Party Chairperson Lo Kin-hei said at a news conference late Thursday that party leaders made the decision based the current political situation and social climate, and said the party did not have any acute financial burdens.

Kim Sae-ron’s death underscores the huge pressure on South Korean celebrities

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In the about 1,000 days between her drunken-driving crash in May 2022 and her death, South Korean mainstream news organizations published at least around 2,000 stories on film actor Kim Sae-rom. A quick search in the country’s press database yields a wave of sensational headlines that illustrate how the local media often cover a celebrity’s fall from grace. Previously one of the brightest young stars in South Korean cinema, Kim was condemned and ridiculed for driving drunk; for talking about her financial struggles after losing roles; for taking a job at a coffee shop; for attempting a comeback in theater; for going out with friends instead of “showing remorse”; and for being seen smiling on set while shooting an indie movie.