Top Asian News 3:50 a.m. GMT

Pro-China President Muizzu’s party sweeps Maldives parliamentary elections, preliminary results say

MALE, Maldives (AP) — Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu’s political party has swept parliamentary elections in a strong endorsement of his pro-China foreign policy, according to preliminary results reported Monday by local media. The People’s National Congress won 70 out of 93 seats in Sunday’s vote, and along with three seats secured by its allies has taken absolute control of Parliament, according to the preliminary results. The Maldivian Democratic Party, led by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who is seen as pro-India, held 65 seats in the previous Parliament but won only 15 seats, the news site Mihaaru.com reported. Official results are expected later Monday.

Race car in Sri Lanka veers off track killing 7 people and injuring 20, officials say

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A race car veered off the track during a competition in Sri Lanka on Sunday and rammed into a crowd of spectators and race officials, killing seven people and injuring 20 others, officials said. Thousands of spectators looked on as the mishap took place during a race in the town of Diyatalawa in the tea-growing central hills, about 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of the capital Colombo. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the mishap. Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said one of the cars veered off the track and crashed into spectators and officials of the event.

Australian woman appears in court charged with poisoning husband and his relatives with mushrooms

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A woman accused of serving her ex-husband’s parents and an aunt poisonous mushrooms with lunch appeared in an Australian court on Monday charged with three counts of murder and five of attempted murder. Erin Patterson, 49, appeared briefly in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court by video link from a Melbourne prison where she has been held since she was arrested in November last year. Magistrate Tim Walsh said he would announce on May 7 whether Patterson will face a committal hearing in the same court in Morwell or in Melbourne. Morwell is a rural town near Patterson’s home about 150 kilometers (90 miles) east of Melbourne, the Victoria state capital.

2 Japanese navy helicopters crash in the Pacific Ocean during training, leaving 1 dead and 7 missing

TOKYO (AP) — Two Japanese navy helicopters carrying eight crew members crashed in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo during nighttime training in a possible collision, leaving one dead while rescuers on Sunday searched for seven others missing, the defense minister said. The two SH-60K choppers from the Maritime Self-Defense Force were carrying four crew each and lost contact late Saturday near Torishima island, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) south of Tokyo, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters. The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but officials believe the two helicopters “highly likely” collided before crashing into the water, Kihara said.

Chinese foreign minister arrives in Cambodia, Beijing’s closest Southeast Asian ally

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Cambodia on Sunday for a three-day official visit to reaffirm ties with Beijing’s closest ally in Southeast Asia. His visit is the last stop on a three-nation regional swing that also took him to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. He is visiting amid foreign concerns about two big Chinese-funded projects in Cambodia — a planned canal and a naval base — that critics allege could aid Beijing’s strategic military interests in Southeast Asia. China is Cambodia’s most important ally and benefactor, with strong influence in its economy. That is illustrated by numerous Chinese-funded projects — particularly infrastructure, including airports and roads, but also private projects such as hotels, casinos and property development.

2 Pakistani customs officials killed and 3 wounded in an attack in the restive northwest

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen opened fire at Pakistani customs officials, killing two and wounding three others in the country’s restive northwest, police said Sunday. The attack happened late Saturday night in Dera Ismail district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said police officer Nasir Khan. The customs officials were at a checkpoint when gunmen opened fire on them, Khan said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. A gun attack last Thursday in the same district killed four customs officials. Police and other law enforcement personnel cordoned off the area while the dead and wounded were taken to a hospital.

Third temporary channel opens for vessels to Baltimore port after bridge collapse

BALTIMORE (AP) — A third temporary channel for boats to enter and depart the Port of Baltimore has opened, expanding further shipping access as collapsed sections of the Francis Scott Key Bridge are salvaged before the span can ultimately be rebuilt. The alternate channel, located to the northeast of the fallen bridge, is open to “commercially essential vessels,” port officials announced late Friday. The new temporary path, with a controlling depth of 20 feet (6.1 meters), a horizontal clearance of 300 feet (91.4 meters) and a vertical clearance of 135 feet (41.2 meters), allows a greater variety of vessels to access the port while crews work to reopen the main channel, Coast Guard and port Capt.

A sticky bomb explodes in Kabul, killing 1 and wounding 3 in a mostly Shiite Hazara neighbourhood

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A sticky bomb exploded in a mostly Shiite neighborhood of the Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday, killing one person and wounding three others, a police official said. The bomb was attached to a car and the blast killed the driver. The spokesman for the Kabul police chief, Khalid Zadran, did not say if the three wounded were passengers. He said police had reached the scene to investigate but gave no further details. The evening blast struck the bustling commercial and residential area of Kot-e-Sangi. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Islamic State group.

The House votes for possible TikTok ban in the US, but don’t expect the app to go away anytime soon

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed legislation Saturday that would ban TikTok in the United States if the popular social media platform’s China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake within a year, but don’t expect the app to go away anytime soon. The decision by House Republicans to include TikTok as part of a larger foreign aid package, a priority for President Joe Biden with broad congressional support for Ukraine and Israel, fast-tracked the ban after an earlier version had stalled in the Senate. A standalone bill with a shorter, six-month selling deadline passed the House in March by an overwhelming bipartisan vote as both Democrats and Republicans voiced national security concerns about the app’s owner, the Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd.

About 1,300 people from Myanmar flee into Thailand after clashes broke out in a key border town

BANGKOK (AP) — About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted at a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas. Fighters from the Karen ethnic minority last week captured the last of the Myanmar army’s outposts in and around Myawaddy, which is connected to Thailand by two bridges across the Moei River. The latest clashes were triggered in the morning when the Karen guerillas launched an attack against Myanmar troops who were hiding near the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, a major crossing point for trade with Thailand, said police chief Pittayakorn Phetcharat in Thailand’s Mae Sot district.