Top Asian News 3:49 a.m. GMT

South Korean investigators seek to question reluctant president over martial law

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean investigators on Friday again sought to question impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, summoning him for questioning on Christmas Day despite his repeated refusal to cooperate. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the ill-conceived power grab that lasted only a few hours, said it plans to question Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion. Yoon, whose presidential powers have been suspended since the opposition-controlled National Assembly impeached him on Dec.

Indonesians mark 2 decades since the tragic tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Two decades after a catastrophic tsunami destroyed her village, Tria Asnani still cries when she recalls how she lost her mother while trying to escape the giant waves. Asnani, now a school teacher, was only 17 at the time. Her father, who was a fisherman, never returned home from sea. She doesn’t know how she survived. “I cannot swim. I could only rely on dhikr (Islamic prayer).” On Dec. 26, 2004, a powerful 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, reaching as far as East Africa.

An ethnic armed group in western Myanmar claims to have captured a major regional army headquarters

BANGKOK (AP) — A powerful ethnic armed group in western Myanmar claimed Friday to have scored a major victory in the war against the ruling military, even as neighboring nations at a meeting in Thailand were discussing efforts to end the conflict peacefully. The capture by the Arakan Army of a strategically important regional army headquarters in Rakhine state would put it a step closer to seizing control of the entire state, a goal not achieved by any of the several other rebel groups in other parts of Myanmar. Rakhine has become a focal point for Myanmar’s nationwide civil war, in which pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority armed forces seeking autonomy battle the country’s military rulers, who took power in 2021 after ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Malaysia agrees to resume ‘no find, no fee’ hunt for flight MH370, 10 years after plane disappeared

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s government has agreed in principle to accept a second “no find, no fee” proposal from a U.S. company to renew the hunt for flight MH370, which is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean more than 10 years ago, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Friday. Loke said Cabinet ministers gave the nod at their meeting last week for Texas-based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity to continue the seabed search operation at a new 15,000-square-kilometer (5,800-square-mile) site in the ocean next year. “The proposed new search area, identified by Ocean Infinity, is based on the latest information and data analyses conducted by experts and researchers.

Warring tribes in Pakistan’s northwest ordered to hand over weapons after weeks of deadly clashes

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Warring tribes in Pakistan’s northwest were ordered to hand over their weapons after weeks of deadly violence, authorities said Friday. Clashes in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have killed at least 130 people in recent weeks, triggering road closures and other measures that have disrupted people’s access to medicine, food, fuel, education and work. The violence flared on Nov. 21 when gunmen ambushed a vehicle convoy and killed 52 people, mostly Shiite Muslims. Nobody claimed responsibility for the assault, which triggered retaliatory gunfire and arson by rival groups in several areas. On Friday, authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ordered tribes to hand over their weapons and sign an agreement through government mediation to ensure compliance.

A massive fire kills 9 people at a building under construction in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Nine people died Thursday in a massive fire in central Taiwan at a huge food-processing building that was under construction, news reports said. Video posted on social media showed a wall of dark gray smoke and orange flames billowing out of one end of the five-story building in the city of Taichung. The cause of the fire was undetermined but the Taichung government said it spread rapidly because of a large quantity of foam panels on site. One person died after jumping from the third floor and the other victims were found by firefighters in a search that extended into the evening, Taiwanese media said.

Gisèle Pelicot’s Australian supporters are moved that their French heroine wore an Aboriginal scarf

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A group of Gisèle Pelicot’s Australian admirers said Friday they’re moved that the victim in France’s notorious drugging-and-rape case has acknowledged her distant supporters Down Under by wearing a scarf adorned with Aboriginal art. The 72-year-old who refused to remain an anonymous victim wore the silk scarf several times during the trial in Avignon, including when 51 men were convicted and sentenced to prison for molesting her after she had been drugged by her former husband, Dominique Pelicot. Thursday’s ruling made headlines around the world, prompting reactions from thousands of individuals and political leaders alike who praised her bravery and the awareness raised by her trial of sexual violence against women.

‘Raygun: The Musical’ won’t use the name of the notorious Australian breaker

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australian breaker Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has tried to be a good sport about the jokes and criticism that poured in from around the globe after her controversial performance at the Paris Olympics. But maybe “Raygun: the Musical” was a bridge too far. Comedian Stephanie Broadbridge called off the show just hours before it was set to premiere in Sydney, after Gunn’s lawyers contacted its comedy club venue and threatened legal action. Broadbridge told her social media followers that the lawyers had trademarked the poster for the musical and told the comedian she could not do Gunn’s notorious kangaroo dance because the Olympian who went viral for her performance in Paris owns it.

China’s Xi swears in new leader of casino hub Macao, telling the city to diversify economy

MACAO (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the casino hub of Macao to diversify its economy as he swore in the former Portuguese colony’s new government on Friday at an event marking the 25th anniversary of its handover to China. New Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai — Macao’s first leader born in mainland China — vowed to address the territory’s unbalanced and uncoordinated economic development. Since its 1999 handover, the city of 687,000 has evolved from a monopoly-driven gambling enclave into the world’s largest gaming hub, drawing hordes of tourists from mainland China. The casino boom has improved living standards, but authorities are concerned that the semi-autonomous city’s economy is unhealthily dependent on the industry.

Taiwan lawmakers clash after one party breaks into legislature to occupy speaker’s chair

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Lawmakers clashed in Taiwan’s legislature Friday when members of the president’s political party who had broken into the building overnight to occupy the speaker’s chair tussled with members of another major party who forced their way in to evict them. Some lawmakers were injured in the clash, according to Taiwan media reports, though it wasn’t clear how seriously. At issue were three bills that the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, was trying to push through, including one that critics say would paralyze the Constitutional Court. The legislature approved two of the bills — one on the court that requires at least 10 justices to be present to make a ruling and another that would stiffen the requirements for voter petitions to recall elected officials.