Top Asian News 2:50 a.m. GMT

Relying on coalition partners, Modi is sworn in for a rare third term as India’s prime minister

NEW DELHI (AP) — Narendra Modi was sworn in Sunday for a rare third consecutive term as India’s prime minister, relying on his coalition partners after his party failed to win a parliamentary majority in a surprise outcome. Modi and his Cabinet ministers took the oath of office, administered by President Droupadi Murmu, at India’s presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The 73-year-old popular but polarizing leader is only the second Indian prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to retain power for a third five-year term. His Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which won by landslides in 2014 and 2019, failed to secure a majority to govern on its own in the latest national election.

Narendra Modi’s third term as India’s prime minister may prove the most challenging

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office for a third consecutive term on Sunday, but it may hold more challenges for the popular-but-polarizing leader than his past decade in power. His Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which won by landslides in 2014 and 2019, failed to secure a majority to govern on its own this time, though his National Democratic Alliance coalition with the BJP and other parties won enough seats for a slim parliamentary majority. Modi and his Cabinet members took the oath of office, administered by President Droupadi Murmu, at India’s presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

At least 9 dead after suspected militants in Kashmir fire at Hindu pilgrims, sending bus into gorge

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Suspected militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir’s Jammu province fired at a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims on Sunday and at least nine were killed after the vehicle fell into a deep gorge, officials said. The bus was carrying pilgrims to the base camp of the famed Hindu temple Mata Vaishno Devi when it came under attack in the region’s Reasi district, senior administrative officer Vishesh Mahajan said. A police officer said some of the victims had gunshot wounds and blamed the attack on Muslim militants who are fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which also left 33 others injured.

South Korea resumes broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda at border in response to trash balloons

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea resumed broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda through loudspeakers in border areas Sunday in retaliation for the more than 1,000 trash- and manure-filled balloons the North had sent over the last couple of weeks. Hours later, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned that the South created a “prelude to a very dangerous situation.” She said South Korea would witness an unspecified “new response” from the North if it continued with the broadcasts and fails to stop civilian activists from flying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border. “I sternly warn Seoul to immediately cease its dangerous activities that would further provoke a crisis of confrontation,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement published by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.

Thailand’s progressive Move Forward party braces for court case that might dissolve it

BANGKOK (AP) — The former leader of Thailand’s progressive opposition Move Forward party vowed on Sunday to keep fighting as the party faces a court case that could result in its dissolution. The Constitutional Court has agreed to rule on whether the party violated the constitution by proposing to amend a law that forbids defaming the country’s royal family. The petition requested the party’s dissolution and a 10-year ban on political activity by its executives. The court has not said when it will rule on this case. Pita Limjaroenrat, the former leader of Move Forward, laid out the details of the party’s legal defenses that have been submitted to the court at a news conference on Sunday.

Central African Republic government suspends Chinese mining company for alleged ties to armed groups

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — The government of the Central African Republic suspended a Chinese mining company’s operations in the country, accusing it of cooperating with armed militias, a government decree said. The country’s ministry of mines accused Daqing SARL, a Chinese gold and diamond mining company, of “intelligence with armed groups, illegal exploitation, illegal introduction of foreign subjects into mining areas, non-payment of taxes and lack of activity reports,” in the decree, which was made public Saturday. Daqing SARL operated in Mingala, a town in the south of the Central African Republic that has been plagued by fighting between the country’s armed forces and the Coalition of Patriots for Change, an anti-government armed group.

Bumrah helps India hold off archrival Pakistan in a low-scoring T20 World Cup thriller in New York

WESTBURY, N.Y. (AP) — India was in a desperate situation, needing a moment or two of genius to defend a low total against cricket archrival Pakistan at the Twenty20 World Cup. Skipper Rohit Sharma gave the ball to Jasprit Bumrah, relying on his go-to pace bowler to take the wicket Sunday that would swing the match into India’s favor. The noise and excitement lifted in the capacity crowd at Long Island, with India fans outnumbering supporters from Pakistan. And Bumrah delivered, later saying after returning match figures of three wickets for 14 runs that it felt like he was playing in India.

Roadside bombing targeting security convoy kills 7 soldiers in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A roadside bomb exploded near a security convoy in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing seven soldiers, including an army captain, the military said, a sign of a surge in militant attacks on security forces. The latest attack happened in Lakki Marwat, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, the military said. No one claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, who have a strong presence in the region. The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, is a separate group that has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Pakistan police arrest man accused of killing 2 minority Ahmadis in Punjab province

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police on Sunday arrested a man accused of killing two members of the minority Ahmadi community in separate attacks in the eastern Punjab province, police and officials said. The arrest came a day after the suspect shot and killed two Ahmadis hours apart in Mandi Bahauddin, a district in the eastern Punjab province, district police chief Ghulam Moinuddin said. He said the suspect had confessed to killings under questioning and faces murder charges. It was unclear why the suspect targeted the two men. The victims belonged to the Ahmadi faith, which was established in the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, whose followers believe was a prophet.

A man shot by police in New Caledonia has died. The French Pacific territory remains restive

PARIS (AP) — A man shot by police in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia has died of his wounds, becoming the eighth victim of weeks of unrest prompted by changes to the voting law that Indigenous Kanaks fear will marginalize them and their push for independence. Police told investigators that armed men rammed a pickup truck into a rental car carrying gendarmes and opened fire Monday on the road between the capital Noumea and the territory’s international airport. Two men were wounded when the gendarmes returned fire, according to a statement from the territory’s prosecutor. One of the men, wounded in the head by a ‘’ballistic projectile,’’ died Friday, prosecutor Yves Dupas said Saturday.