Top Asian News 2:10 p.m. GMT

Many in Myanmar consider fleeing to Thailand to escape conscription into an army they despise

BANGKOK (AP) — Thwel, a 25-year-old schoolteacher, saw very few options left to her after Myanmar’s military announced it is implementing conscription to fill its ranks. “As a person living in this country, I only have two options: to go abroad illegally or die here,” Thwel told The Associated Press by phone while traveling to a border area to try crossing into Thailand with a small group of like-minded people. Some observers believe a mass exodus of young talent is taking place and could become a social problem, with their exit heightening the instability that followed the military takeover that now amounts to a civil war.

Senators urge Biden to end duty-free treatment for packages valued at less than $800

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. senators looking to crack down on the number of packages from China that enter the country duty-free are calling on President Joe Biden to take executive action, saying U.S. manufacturers can’t compete with low-cost competitors they say rely on forced labor and state subsidies in key sectors. U.S. trade law allows packages bound for American consumers and valued below a certain threshold to enter tariff-free. That threshold, under a category known as “de minimis,” stands at $800 per person, per day. The majority of the imports are retail products purchased online. Alarmed by the large increase in such shipments from China, lawmakers in both chambers have filed legislation to alter how the U.S.

23 Hindu devotees die in northern India after a farm tractor overturns and falls into a pond

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — A farm tractor pulling a wagon loaded with Hindu devotees overturned and fell into a pond in northern India on Saturday, killing at least 23 people, including eight children, officials said. The wagon was carrying around 40 devotees on their way to take a ritual bath in the Ganges River when it veered off the road in Kasganj district of Uttar Pradesh state, police said. Officials said at least nine injured were being treated in hospitals, some of them in serious condition. Authorities have banned tractor-pulled wagons from transporting passengers, but the order is generally flouted in rural India.

The opposition alliance that aimed to oust Modi appears to be cracking just before India’s elections

NEW DELHI (AP) — Last year more than two dozen opposition parties in India came together to take on Narendra Modi, one of the country’s most popular prime ministers in generations. But the broad alliance, beset with ideological differences and personality clashes, is cracking at a crucial time, just months before the country votes in a national election. Riven by rivalries, political defections and ideological clashes, the INDIA alliance, formed to unseat Modi and defeat his Bharatiya Janata Party’s electoral juggernaut, is in shambles, analysts say. Meanwhile, support for Modi is on the rise after he opened a Hindu temple in northern Ayodhya city last month, fulfilling his party’s long-held Hindu nationalist pledge.

Taiwan giant chipmaker TSMC opens first plant in Japan as part of key global expansion

TOKYO (AP) — Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. opened Saturday in an official ceremony its first semiconductor plant in Japan as part of its ongoing global expansion. “We are deeply grateful for the seamless support provided by you at every step,” TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said after thanking the Japanese government, local community and business partners, including electronic giant Sony and auto-parts maker Denso. The company’s founder Morris Chang, was also present. This comes as Japan is trying to regain its presence in the chip production industry. The Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, or JASM, is set to be up and running later this year.

An Australian tourist has gone missing in Zimbabwe’s famous Victoria Falls park, officials say

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — An Australian tourist has gone missing in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls National Park, home to one of the world’s natural wonders, the country’s parks spokesman said. Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo told The Associated Press that the tourist went missing in the vast rainforest on Friday. “We have a fully-fledged team that includes the police looking for the tourist. We have deployed sniffer dogs, drones and trackers on the ground,” said Farawo. He said the tourist was 67 years old but did not share further details. Such incidences are rare in Victoria Falls, a destination that attracts thousands of tourists from across the globe for its majestic water curtain that tumbles down more than 350 feet (108 meters) from the mighty Zambezi River to a gorge below, sending up a mist visible from miles away.

US and South Korea fly warplanes in interception drills after North Korea’s missile tests

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea and the United States flew advanced stealth fighters in a joint missile-interception drill Friday over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s air force said, an apparent response to a spate of weapons tests this year by rival North Korea. North Korea has conducted six rounds of missile tests so far this year, most of them reportedly involving cruise missiles that typically fly at a low altitude to overcome opponents’ missile defenses. Analysts say that in the event of a conflict, North Korea aims to use cruise missiles to strike U.S. aircraft carriers as well as U.S.

Indonesia and Australia hold defense talks as both nations move toward signing a security agreement

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia and Australia held high-level talks in Jakarta on Friday as the neighboring countries seek to strengthen security ties by signing a defense cooperation agreement in the coming months. Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who is set to become Indonesia’s next leader, said that he and Australian counterpart Richard Marles discussed ways of maintaining and enhancing the good relationship between the two nations. Subianto said that Indonesia and Australia hope to sign a “very significant” defense cooperation agreement within two or three months. No details about the agreement have been provided. Marles described the pact as “the single deepest and most significant defense cooperation agreement” in the history of the two countries.

Taliban hold public execution for 2 men, who are killed by gunfire in a stadium as thousands watch

GHAZNI, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban carried out a double public execution Thursday at a stadium in the country’s southeast, where relatives of the victims of stabbing deaths fired guns at two convicted men while thousands of people watched. The Taliban’s Supreme Court ruled that the two men were responsible for the stabbing deaths of two victims in separate attacks, according to a court statement. It identified the two as Syed Jamal from central Wardak province and Gul Khan from Ghazni — though it was unclear who carried out the stabbings, the two convicted men or others. The statement also said that three lower courts and the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, had ordered the executions in retribution for their purported crimes.

A watch that melted during the atomic blast over Hiroshima, Japan, sells for more than $31,000

BOSTON (AP) — A watch melted during the Aug. 6, 1945, bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, has sold for more than $31,000 at auction. The watch is frozen in time at the moment of the detonation of an atomic bomb over the Japanese city — 8:15 a.m. — during the closing days of World War ll, according to Boston-based RR Auction. The winning bid in the auction that ended Thursday was $31,113. The artifact was recovered from the ruins of Hiroshima and offers a glimpse into the immense destruction of the first atomic bomb detonated over a city. The small brass-tone watch, a rare survivor from the blast zone, was auctioned alongside other historically significant items, according to the auction house.