Top Asian News 3:53 a.m. GMT

Third term for Modi likely to see closer defense ties with US as India’s rivalry with China grows

NEW DELHI (AP) — Fresh from declaring victory in India’s election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered few details on the agenda for his third term, but went out of his way to underline he would continue to focus on raising the country’s military preparedness and clout. That should come as good news to the United States and its other allies, as they focus increasingly on keeping China’s sweeping maritime claims and growingly assertive behavior in the Indo-Pacific region in check. “The government will focus on expanding defense production and exports,” Modi told a crowd of supporters at his party’s headquarters after election results came in.

India’s opposition, written off as too weak, makes a stunning comeback to slow Modi’s juggernaut

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s bruised and battered opposition was largely written off in the lead-up to the national election as too weak and fragmented to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his powerful Hindu nationalist governing party. It scored a stunning comeback, slowing the Modi juggernaut and pushing his Bharatiya Janata Party well below the majority mark. It’s unchartered territory for the populist prime minister, who needs the help of his allies to stay in power. That could significantly change his governance style after he enjoyed a commanding majority in Parliament for a decade. The election results released Wednesday also marked a revival for the main opposition Congress party and its allies, who defied predictions of decline and made deep inroads into governing party strongholds, resetting India’s political landscape.

Two British judges resign from Hong Kong court. One cites the city’s ‘political situation’

HONG KONG (AP) — Two British judges have resigned from Hong Kong’s top court, the city’s judiciary said, deepening worries over the city’s rule of law under a Beijing-imposed national security law. The judiciary said in a statement Thursday that Jonathan Sumption and Lawrence Collins, who both serve as non-permanent overseas judges of Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal, have tendered their resignations to the city leader. But it did not give further details about their decisions. Collins told The Associated Press that his resignation was “because of the political situation in Hong Kong.” But he said he continues “to have the fullest confidence in the court and the total independence of its members.” Sumption said he would make a statement next week.

The Philippines goes all in for natural gas, a climate pollutant

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Sea turtles still scramble from the waters of Batangas Bay, paddling up the sand to bury their eggs. Coral reefs that some marine biologists call the Amazon of the ocean lie just offshore, home to giant clams, nurturing small fish, which in turn are prey for manta rays. But above the surface the land is changed. The fishing village of Santa Clara is now surrounded by four power generating stations, all burning natural gas. The construction isn’t over. Four more power plants that burn natural gas are planned for the coastline. What was a string of fishing villages is now an industrial zone.

AP Week in Pictures: Asia

May 31-June 6, 2024 Supporters of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) dance in celebration of their party’s showing in India’s election. Police officers patrol in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay area on the eve of the 35th anniversary of China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown. People attend a candlelight vigil at Democracy Square in Taipei, Taiwan, to mark the Tiananmen crackdown. This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images in the Asia-Pacific region made or published by the Associated Press in the past week. This selection was curated by AP photo editor Masayo Yoshida in Tokyo. ___ Follow AP visual journalism: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnews AP Images on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Images AP Images blog: http://apimagesblog.com

Scientists have traced the origin of the modern horse to a lineage that emerged 4,200 years ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The horse transformed human history – and now scientists have a clearer idea of when humans began to transform the horse. Around 4,200 years ago, one particular lineage of horse quickly became dominant across Eurasia, suggesting that’s when humans started to spread domesticated horses around the world, according to research published Thursday in the journal Nature. There was something special about this horse: It had a genetic mutation that changed the shape of its back, likely making it easier to ride. “In the past, you had many different lineages of horses,” said Pablo Librado, an evolutionary biologist at the Spanish National Research Council in Barcelona and co-author of the new study.

South Korean group flies propaganda leaflets across border following North’s trash-balloon launches

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean activists’ group said Thursday it flew large balloons carrying propaganda leaflets toward North Korea, although the North has threatened to send more balloons with manure and trash across the border in response to such campaigns. The launches are escalating animosities, with South Korea suspending a tension-easing deal with North Korea and preparing to resume frontline military activities. North Korea had halted its flights of rubbish-carrying balloons but threatened to resume them if South Korean activists sent leaflets again. The South Korean civilian group, led by North Korean defector Park Sang-hak, said it floated 10 balloons tied to 200,000 anti-Pyongyang leaflets, USB sticks with K-pop songs and South Korean dramas and one-dollar U.S.

China’s exports grow 7.6% in May, beating expectations despite trade tensions

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s exports for May beat analyst expectations despite trade tensions, though imports shrank, according to customs data released Friday. Exports jumped 7.6% in May from the same time last year to $302.35 billion. Imports however rose by 1.8% to $219.73 billion, missing estimates of about 4% growth. The uptick in exports is also partly due to a lower base from the same period last year, when exports declined 7.5%. In comparison, imports grew by 1.5% in April compared to the same period last year while April imports rose by 8.4%. Strong exports also saw China’s trade surplus widen to $82.62 billion, up from April’s $72.35 billion.

Boat explosion and fire at sea kills 6 Filipino fishermen as 6 others are rescued

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — An explosion and fire on a wooden fishing boat at sea killed six Filipino crewmembers while six others were rescued in the nighttime darkness, coast guard officials said Thursday. The survivors, including the skipper of the F/B King Bryan, were still being treated at a hospital or were too traumatized to tell investigators what set off the explosion Wednesday night about 8 kilometers (5 miles) off Naga city in Cebu province, coast guard officials said. One of the injured crewmen was in critical condition at a hospital, the coast guard said. Video and pictures issued by the coast guard show flames and smoke billowing from the fishing boat as rescuers scanned the waters in the darkness.

New South Wales becomes last Australian state to apologize for laws criminalizing homosexuality

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The leader of Australia’s most populous state apologized Thursday for the “unforgivable pain” caused by previous laws criminalizing homosexuality, 40 years after gay sex was decriminalized in New South Wales. “We are here to apologize for every life that was damaged or diminished or destroyed by these unjust laws,” Premier Chris Minns said in a speech to the state parliament. The legislation “should never have existed,” he added. The state was the last in Australia to make a formal apology for laws that made gay sex acts illegal, following Victoria and South Australia in 2016 and the country’s other three states in 2017.