Top Asian News 3:59 a.m. GMT

Women gradually rise in Japanese politics but face deep challenges

TOKYO (AP) — Eight years ago, Yuriko Koike became the first woman to lead Tokyo, beating her male predecessor. She won her third term as governor Sunday, and one of her closest rivals was a woman. Multiple women competing for a top political office is still rare in Japan, which has a terrible global gender-equality ranking, but Koike’s win highlights a gradual rise in powerful female officials and a society more open to gender balance in politics. That said, even if a woman eventually becomes prime minister, politics here is still overwhelmingly dominated by men, and experts see a huge effort needed for equal representation.

Putin meets Indian prime minister in Russia on his first visit since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine

MOSCOW (AP) — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Moscow on Monday for a two-day visit, his first since Russia sent troops into Ukraine, complicating the relationship between the longtime partners and pushing Russia closer to India’s rival, China. Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin at his residence outside Moscow, to be followed by talks at the Kremlin on Tuesday. Modi last traveled to Russia in 2019, when he attended a forum in the far eastern port of Vladivostok and met with Putin. The leaders also saw each other in September 2022 in Uzbekistan, at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization bloc.

Indonesian landslide triggered by heavy rain leaves 11 dead and dozens missing at illegal gold mine

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A landslide triggered by torrential rains crashed onto an unauthorized gold mining operation on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, killing at least 11 people, officials said. Dozens others were reported missing Monday. More than 100 villagers were digging for grains of gold on Sunday in the remote Bone Bolango district in Gorontalo province when tons of mud plunged down the surrounding hills and buried their makeshift camps, said Heriyanto, head of the Search and Rescue Office. He said 44 people managed to escape from landslide, some of them pulled out alive by rescuers, including six injured. They recovered 11 bodies, revising an earlier death toll of 12 after officials discovered one of the dead had been listed twice.

Myanmar’s ethnic rebels say they captured an airport in a new setback for the military government

BANGKOK (AP) — One of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic minority groups battling the military government said it captured an airport serving the country’s top world-class beach resort, marking the first time resistance forces have seized such a facility. Residents of the area in the southern part of the western state of Rakhine, along with local media, also reported the seizure of Thandwe Airport, also known as Ma Zin Airport, about 260 kilometers (160 miles) northwest of Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city. It’s the latest major setback for the military government that took power in 2021 after ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Cannabis advocates in Thailand protest a proposal to ban again its general use

BANGKOK (AP) — Two years after marijuana was decriminalized in Thailand, nearly a hundred of its advocates marched to the prime minister’s office Monday to protest a possible ban on general use. A health ministry drug control committee approved Friday a proposal to relist cannabis as a narcotic to be only allowed for medical and research purposes. The proposition is set to be submitted to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board this week, and if agreed on, will take effect Jan.1. Cannabis activists and entrepreneurs, some carrying potted marijuana plants, gathered at the United Nations headquarters in central Bangkok Monday as they prepared to head to the Government House, nearly 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) away.

AP PHOTOS: A 12-year-old in Mongolia finds joy in boxing and now dreams of the Olympics

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Twelve-year-old Gerelt-Od Kherlen could not contain his excitement after winning the bronze medal in the children’s national boxing championship in Mongolia. In September, his father heard about the opening of the Mongolian Boxing Academy close to their home in Dambadarjaa, a tent-dotted district on the outskirts of the capital, Ulaanbaatar. The boy had been restless. Now his parents are relieved. “We are happy that our son has found his passion and hobby,” said his mother, Narantsetseg Narantsogt. He had been playing chess at school but the program was discontinued, she said. When they heard about the new boxing club, “we decided to send him, because it will keep him away from playing on smartphone and watching too much TV at home.” Mongolia is the land of legendary conqueror Genghis Khan, and contact sports are part of a warrior tradition.

Suspected rebels kill 5 Indian soldiers after ambushing their vehicle in Indian-controlled Kashmir

NEW DELHI (AP) — Suspected rebels fighting against Indian rule in the disputed region of Kashmir ambushed an army vehicle on Monday in the region’s south, killing five Indian soldiers and wounding other five, officials said. No insurgent group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack took place in the Kathua district of the Indian-controlled Kashmir while the military was on a routine patrol, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters. Police and army reinforcements were rushed to the area, a massive cordon was set up and a search operation was underway, the officer said.

Japan and the Philippines sign a defense pact in the face of shared alarm over China

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Japan and the Philippines signed a key defense pact Monday allowing the deployment of Japanese forces for joint drills in the Southeast Asian nation that came under brutal Japanese occupation in World War II but is now building an alliance with Tokyo as both face an increasingly assertive China. The Reciprocal Access Agreement, which similarly allows Filipino forces to enter Japan for joint combat training, was signed by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa in a Manila ceremony witnessed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It would take effect after ratification by the countries’ legislatures, Philippine and Japanese officials said.

South Korea abandons plan to suspend licenses of striking doctors to resolve medical impasse

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s government announced Monday it will abandon its plan to suspend the licenses of striking junior doctors as part of its efforts to convince them to return to work and resolve the country’s monthslong medical impasse. It wasn’t immediately known whether the thousands of striking doctors would return to their hospitals after the announcement. The government’s concession could also invite accusations of unfairness given its treatment of previous labor strikes and of doctors who have already returned to work. Health Minister Cho KyooHong said the government has decided not to suspend the licenses of the strikers, who are medical interns and residents, regardless of whether they return to their hospitals or not.

China’s Xi calls on world powers to help Russia and Ukraine resume direct dialogue

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping called on world powers to help Russia and Ukraine resume direct dialogue during a meeting Monday with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Orbán made a surprise visit to China after similar trips last week to Russia and Ukraine to discuss prospects for a peaceful settlement of more than the two-year war. Hungary assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union this month and Orbán has since embarked on a peace mission, which, however, lacks the endorsement of other European leaders. “China is a key power in creating the conditions for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war,” Orbán wrote on the social media platform X.