Top Asian News 4:37 a.m. GMT

South Korean prosecutors indict impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his martial law

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors on Sunday indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on rebellion in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law, a criminal charge that could incur the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted. This is the latest blow to Yoon, who was impeached and arrested over his Dec. 3 martial law decree that plunged the country into political turmoil, shook its financial markets and hurt its international image. Separate from criminal judicial proceedings, the Constitutional Court is now deliberating whether to formally dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him. Yoon has become South Korea’s first president who has been indicted while in office.

India celebrates Republic Day with Indonesian president as chief guest

NEW DELHI (AP) — India celebrated its 76th Republic Day on Sunday with a colorful parade displaying its military might and cultural diversity on a boulevard in the heart of country’s capital. Indonesian president was the guest of honor. Tens of thousands of people lined the road on a cold Sunday morning to watch the long parade to mark the anniversary of the official adoption of India’s Constitution on Jan. 26, 1950, nearly three years after independence from British colonial rule. Soldiers from India’s military and paramilitary, along with their bands, marched as the country’s leaders and other guests watched. Various floats displayed India’s cultural diversity with one showcasing the Maha Kumbh festival, the ongoing massive Hindu festival touted as the world’s largest religious gathering.

North Korea says it tested cruise missile system and vows ‘toughest’ response to US

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Sunday it tested a cruise missile system, its third known weapons display this year, and vowed “the toughest” response to what it called the escalation of U.S.-South Korean military drills that target the North. The moves suggested North Korea will likely maintain its run of weapons tests and its confrontational stance against the U.S. for now, even though President Donald Trump said he intends to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim observed the test of sea-to-surface strategic cruise guided weapons on Saturday.

Australians celebrate and protest the anniversary of British colonization

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australians celebrated and protested across the country on Sunday as Australia Day drew attention to political differences over Indigenous rights months out from a federal election. Australia Day marks a British colony being established at Sydney Cove on Jan. 26, 1788, which eventually led to Britain claiming the entire country without a treaty with its Indigenous inhabitants. Indigenous rights advocates call Jan. 26 “Invasion Day” and protest rallies have been held in major cities. Many argue that Australia’s national day should not commemorate such a divisive event. Australia Day is usually a public holiday and because it fell on a Sunday this year, Monday has been declared a holiday.

AP PHOTOS: Hong Kong’s snake soup is slithering away but still simmers in a decades-old kitchen

HONG KONG (AP) — As Hong Kong prepares to welcome the Year of the Snake on Wednesday, Chau Ka-ling displays a moving serpent with practiced ease, holding it like a pet in her decades-old restaurant in the city. As one of the last keepers of the city’s traditional snake soup industry, Chau saves three live snakes for occasional display in wooden drawers that once housed more serpents for cooking. The cuisine she makes, long cherished in southern Chinese culture for keeping people warm in the winter, is slithering away. Founded by Chau’s late father in the 1960s, Shia Wong Hip once slaughtered live snakes for its dishes.

A Sundance documentary called ‘The Stringer’ disputes who took AP’s ‘napalm girl’ photo in Vietnam

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — After a half-century of public silence, a freelance photographer from Vietnam has asserted he took one of the most renowned and impactful photos of the 20th century — the image of a naked girl fleeing a napalm attack in South Vietnam that has long been credited to a staff photographer from The Associated Press. Nguyen Thanh Nghe claimed authorship of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “napalm girl” photograph in the new documentary “The Stringer” and on the sidelines of its premiere Saturday night at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The AP conducted its own investigation and said it has no reason to conclude that anyone other than the long-credited photographer, Nick Ut, made the picture.

Iran’s foreign minister meets the Taliban in the first visit to Kabul in 8 years

Top Taliban officials met Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday to discuss tensions along their shared border, the treatment of Afghan refugees in Iran and water rights. It was the first visit by an Iranian foreign minister to the Afghan capital since 2017. Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said Iran was committed to the return of some 3.5 million Afghan refugees and had no intention of interfering in its neighbor’s domestic politics, according to a statement from the Afghan government’s deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat. He also called for the full implementation of the Helmand River water treaty, which envisions shared water resources, the statement said.

The CIA believes COVID most likely originated from a lab but has low confidence in its own finding

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory, according to an assessment that points the finger at China even while acknowledging that the spy agency has “low confidence” in its own conclusion. The finding is not the result of any new intelligence, and the report released Saturday was completed at the behest of the Biden administration and former CIA Director William Burns. It was declassified and released Saturday on the orders of President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency, John Ratcliffe, who was sworn in Thursday as director.

Philippines accuses China’s forces of harassing fisheries vessels in the South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Chinese coast guard ships and a Chinese navy helicopter harassed a group of Philippine fisheries vessels conducting a scientific survey in a hotly disputed area of the South China Sea, forcing them to cancel the operation, the Philippine coast guard said Saturday. Beijing has repeatedly asserted sovereignty over most of the South China Sea and accused rival claimant states, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia of encroachment. China has demarcated its territorial claims with a 10 dashed-line printed on maps but has not provided the exact coordinates. The incident took place Friday near Sandy Cay, three small uninhabited sandbars flanked by an artificial island base of Chinese forces and a Philippines-occupied island in the Spratlys archipelago, the coast guard said.

Thai authorities seek to ease air pollution in capital by offering free public transport

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai authorities have made travel by public transport in Bangkok free for a week starting Saturday, the latest tactic to try to tackle soaring levels of air pollution that have already seen hundreds of schools closed and employees working from home. The travel concession allows passengers to ride buses and elevated and underground electric trains in the capital without charge. Authorities hope the move will cut the number of private cars on the road, to reduce one key factor driving the surge in pollution. On Friday, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed her concern in a statement on her Facebook page.