Top Asian News 4:54 a.m. GMT

India’s former prime minister Manmohan Singh, architect of economic reforms, dies at 92

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, widely regarded as the architect of India’s economic reform program and a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, has died. He was 92. Singh was admitted to New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences late Thursday after his health deteriorated due to a “sudden loss of consciousness at home,” the hospital said in a statement. “Resuscitative measures were started immediately at home. He was brought to the Medical Emergency” at 8:06 p.m., the hospital said, but “despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9:51 p.m.” Singh was being treated for “age-related medical conditions,” the statement said.

China probes personal disputes after mass killings. Many fear further infringement on freedoms

BANGKOK (AP) — The order came from the top. China’s leader Xi Jinping wants the recent spree of mass killings that shocked the country not to happen again. He ordered local governments to prevent future “extreme cases.” The attacks, where drivers mow down people on foot or knife-wielding assailants stab multiple victims, are not new in China. But the latest surge drew attention. Local officials were quick to vow to examine all sorts of personal disputes that could trigger aggression, from marital troubles to disagreements over inheritance. However, the increasing reach into people’s private lives raises concerns at a time when the Chinese state has already tightened its grip over all social and political aspects in the East Asian nation.

Japan Cabinet OKs record defense budget as it pushes strike-back capability to deter regional threat

TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese Cabinet on Friday approved a record 8.7 trillion yen ($55 billion) defense budget for 2025 as Japan accelerates building up its strike-back capability with long-range cruise missiles and starts deploying Tomahawks to fortify itself against growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia. The Cabinet-endorsed draft defense budget marks the third year of Japan’s ongoing five-year military buildup under the national security strategy adopted in 2022. The defense spending is part of the more than 115 trillion yen ($730 billion) national budget bill — also a record — that requires parliamentary approval by March to be enacted.

China launches amphibious assault ship that can launch fighter jets

BANGKOK (AP) — China launched a new amphibious assault ship Friday, capable of launching fighter jets and designed to strengthen the navy’s combat ability in distant seas. The Sichuan, the first ship of the 076 type, is China’s largest such ship yet, displacing 40,000 tons and equipped with an electromagnetic catapult which will allow fighter jets to launch directly off its deck, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The ship is designed to launch ground troops in landing crafts and provide them with air support. Developed by Chinese researchers, it’s also equipped with an “arrestor technology” which allows fighter jets to land on its deck.

Prayers and tears mark 20 years since the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed some 230,000 people

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — People gathered in prayer and visited mass graves in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Thursday to mark 20 years since the massive Indian Ocean tsunami hit the region in one of modern history’s worst natural disasters. Many wept as they placed flowers at a mass grave in Ulee Lheue village, where more than 14,000 unidentified tsunami victims are buried. It is one of several mass graves in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s northernmost province, which was one of the areas worst hit by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and the massive tsunami it triggered. “We miss them and we still don’t know where they are.

Taliban say Pakistani airstrikes killed 46 people in eastern Afghanistan, mostly women and children

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s airstrikes on eastern Afghanistan killed 46 people, mostly women and children, a Taliban government official said Wednesday, raising fears of further straining relations between the two neighbors. Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, said those killed in the strikes that targeted four locations in Barmal, a district in the province of Paktika, were refugees, adding that six others were also wounded. This comes a day after Pakistani security officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with regulations, told The Associated Press that Tuesday’s operation was to dismantle a training facility and kill insurgents in Paktika.

NYC taxi driver was having a medical episode when he jumped the curb and hit people, police say

NEW YORK (AP) — A taxi driver whose car hit six pedestrians when he jumped a curb in a Manhattan shopping district on Christmas Day was having a medical episode at the time, New York City police said Thursday. Two of those hurt are Australians, according to that country’s foreign ministry. An NYPD spokesperson would not elaborate on the type of type of medical episode the driver experienced but said no criminality is suspected at this stage. The 58-year-old was taken to a hospital in stable condition for further evaluation. Also hospitalized after the yellow taxi drove onto the sidewalk across the street from Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square were a 9-year-old boy with a laceration to his right thigh, a 49-year-old woman with a leg injury and a 41-year-old woman.

Former Presidential candidate in Taiwan, Ko Wen-je, indicted for corruption

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Prosecutors in Taiwan indicted former presidential candidate and Taiwan People’s Party founder Ko Wen-je on corruption charges Thursday, accusing him of taking bribes during his time as mayor of the island’s capital. Ko, a former mayor of Taipei, is accused of accepting bribes related to a real estate development during his time in office, according to the prosecutors’ statement. He’s also accused of embezzling political donations. If convicted on all charges, he faces a possible 28.5 years in jail. Core to the case is a development owned by Core Pacific City group in Taipei. Prosecutors say Ko allowed the company to evade city building regulations in exchange for bribes.

South Korean opposition submits motion to impeach the country’s acting president as strife deepens

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s main opposition party submitted a motion on Thursday to impeach the country’s acting leader over his reluctance to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies ahead of the court’s review of rebellion charges against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol stemming from his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3. The court appointments have stalled amid an intensifying dispute between the liberal opposition and Yoon’s conservative party, and the potential impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo may deepen the political paralysis that has halted high-level diplomacy and rattled financial markets. The opposition-controlled National Assembly also passed motions calling for the appointment of three Constitutional Court justices as the court prepares to start deliberations on whether to dismiss or reinstate Yoon.

2 sailors die in the stormy first night of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, organizers say

Two sailors on separate boats have been killed in boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the annual Sydney to Hobart race, adding to the event’s long history of deaths at sea. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney, which administers the yacht race, said Friday that one sailor each on entrants Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline were killed after being struck by the boom, a large horizontal pole at the bottom of the sail. New South Wales Police Superintendent Joe McNulty identified the two dead sailors as a 55-year-old man from Western Australia (on Flying Fish Arctos) and a 65-year-old man from South Australia (on Bowline).