Top Asian News 4:58 a.m. GMT

45 pro-democracy activists face sentencing in Hong Kong. Here’s who some of them are

HONG KONG (AP) — Dozens of prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday in the largest case under a national security law that critics say crushed political activism in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. The convictions of the 45 activists under the Beijing-imposed law are widely seen as part of a crackdown by China that destroyed hopes for a more democratic Hong Kong. They face sentences of up to life imprisonment. The activists were among 47 people charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021 for their involvement in an unofficial primary election to pick opposition candidates. They were accused of agreeing to veto government-proposed budgets indiscriminately after securing a legislative majority to force a dissolution of the legislature and then the ouster of the city’s leader.

North Korean leader calls for expanding his nuclear forces in the face of alleged US threats

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un renewed his call for a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program to counter U.S.-led threats in comments reported Monday that were his first direct criticism toward Washington since Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential election. At a conference with army officials on Friday, Kim condemned the United States for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea and solidifying three-way military cooperation involving Japan, which he portrayed as an “Asian NATO” that was escalating tensions and instability in the region. Kim also criticized the United States over its support of Ukraine against a prolonged Russian invasion.

Bangladesh tribunal will hear updates from police on their moves to arrest ousted premier Hasina

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A special tribunal in Bangladesh will hear updates from police on Monday about what the country’s security agencies have done to arrest ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her close aides who face charges over hundreds of deaths in a mass uprising this summer. Hasina has been living in exile in India since Aug. 5 when she fled the country amid the student-led protests. The Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal on Oct. 17 issued arrest warrants for Hasina and 45 others including former Cabinet ministers, advisors and military and civil officials. The country is now being run by an interim government headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus.

Australian senate censures Indigenous lawmaker who yelled at King Charles III

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian senators on Monday voted to censure an Indigenous colleague who yelled at King Charles III during a reception in Parliament House last month. The censure of independent Sen. Lidia Thorpe is a symbolic gesture that records her colleagues’ disapproval of her conduct during the first visit to Australia by a British monarch in 13 years. The motion was carried 46 votes to 12. Government leader in the Senate Penny Wong said Thorpe’s outburst sought to “incite outrage and grievance.” “This is part of a trend that we do see internationally which, quite frankly, we do not need here in Australia,” Wong told the Senate.

Latest typhoon lashes the Philippines, causing tidal surges and displacing massive numbers of people

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A powerful typhoon wrecked houses, caused towering tidal surges and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee to emergency shelters as it cut across the northern Philippines on Sunday in the sixth major storm to hit the country in less than a month. Typhoon Man-yi slammed into the eastern island province of Catanduanes on Saturday night with sustained winds of up to 195 kilometers (125 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 240 kph (149 mph). The country’s weather agency warned of a “potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation” in provinces along its path. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the typhoon, which was forecast to blow northwestward on Sunday across northern Luzon, the archipelago’s most populous region.

Bangladesh will seek extradition of ex-premier Sheikh Hasina from India

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s interim leader and Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus said Sunday that his administration will seek the extradition of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from India, where has been in exile since fleeing a mass uprising in August. In a televised address to the nation on his first 100 days in office, Yunus said that the interim government will try those responsible including Hasina for hundreds of deaths during the student-led uprising that ended her 15-year rule. Yunus took the helm on Aug. 8, three days after Hasina fled the country. He said that not only the deaths in the uprising but all other violations of human rights, including alleged enforced disappearances while Hasina was in power, would be investigated.

Japanese troops will train with US and Australian forces as concerns over China grow

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Japan will send troops for joint training with U.S. Marines and Australian forces in northern Australia, the countries’ defense ministers said Sunday, as they expressed concern about a spate of confrontations with China’s increasingly assertive military. Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles hosted his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Lloyd Austin and Nakatani Gen for talks in Darwin. The ministers announced trilateral amphibious training between Australia, Japan and the U.S. Marine rotational force in northern Australia from 2025, beginning with Exercise Talisman Sabre. Australia will also join Exercise Orient Shield in Japan for the first time next year. A joint statement reiterated “serious concern” about destabilising actions in the East and South China seas including “dangerous conduct” by the Chinese military against Philippine and other vessels from the region.

Indian and Nigerian leaders pledge stronger security ties and support for Global South

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The leaders of Nigeria and India pledged stronger ties in maritime security and counterterrorism during a meeting on Sunday where they also agreed on more support for Global South nations. In his first visit to Nigeria, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was hosted by President Bola Tinubu in capital Abuja, where both spoke of a new chapter in their strategic partnerships in the areas of defense, energy, technology, trade and development. Modi has often touted India as the voice of the Global South, the group of countries primarily considered developing nations, including Nigeria, but which also includes China and several wealthy Persian Gulf states.

Knife attack at a vocational school in eastern China leaves 8 dead and 17 injured

BEIJING (AP) — A stabbing attack at a vocational school in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi on Saturday left eight people dead and 17 others injured, local police said. The attack took place at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Yixing, a smaller city within Wuxi, at around 6:30 p.m. local time, the Yixing police said in a statement. The suspect, a 21-year old male student surnamed Xu, was detained on site. Police said Wu had failed his examinations and could not graduate, and that he was dissatisfied about his pay at an internship. He decided to vent his frustrations via the attack, the statement said.

Asia-Pacific summit closes in Peru with China’s Xi front and center as Trump whiplash looms

LIMA, Peru (AP) — After two days of meetings in Lima that rarely ventured beyond platitudes in discussing the strategies of the region’s major economies, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum wrapped up on Saturday with a spirit of detente that many fear the summit may not see again for four years. The 21 leaders from economies bordering the Pacific, including President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, had descended on Peru for the annual gathering at a time when America’s President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to withdraw the United States from its leadership of a global free trade agenda.