Top Asian News 4:11 a.m. GMT

Pakistan’s ex-PM Sharif says he will seek a coalition government after trailing jailed rival Khan

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — The former prime minister of Pakistan expected his party would claim an easy victory in the country’s parliamentary elections, sending him to the top job for a fourth time. Instead, Nawaz Sharif faces a difficult path to power. Independent candidates backed by his imprisoned rival, Imran Khan, were leading in the vote count Friday, a surprisingly strong showing given assertions by Khan’s supporters and a national rights body that the balloting was manipulated to favor Sharif. That scrambled the plans of Sharif — and the security establishment backing him — forcing him to announce plans Friday to try to form a coalition government.

Indonesian presidential vote highlights tradeoffs between fast growth and a healthy environment

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A presidential election in Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy, is highlighting choices to be made as the country seeks to profit from its rich reserves of nickel and other resources that are vital to the global transition away from fossil fuels. President Joko Widodo capitalized on Indonesia’s abundant nickel, coal, oil and gas reserves as he led Southeast Asia’s biggest economy through a decade of rapid growth and modernization that vastly expanded the country’s networks of roads and railways. Increasingly, voters are demanding that the men vying to succeed him address the tradeoffs between fast growth and a healthy environment in the world’s fourth most populated country.

Malaysia’s top court invalidates state’s Islam-based laws on incest, sodomy and other offenses

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s top court on Friday struck down Shariah-based criminal laws in an opposition-run state, saying they encroached on federal authority. Islamists denounced the decision and said it could undermine religious courts across the Muslim-majority nation. In an 8-1 ruling, the nine-member Federal Court panel invalidated 16 laws created by the Kelantan state government, which imposed punishments rooted in Islam for offenses that included sodomy, sexual harassment, incest, cross-dressing and destroying or defiling places of worship. The court said that the state could not make Islamic laws on those topics because they are covered by Malaysian federal law.

AP Week in Pictures: Asia

Feb. 2-Feb. 8, 2024 People prepare to celebrate Lunar New Year in many Asian countries including China and Taiwan; senior high school students celebrate graduation in Seoul, South Korea; fans cheers for a K-pop band in Jakarta, Indonesia; Kashmiri Muslim devotees pray during Mehraj-u-Alam, believed to mark Prophet Muhammad’s ascension to heaven; and Indian Hindu devotees prepare for the Magh Mela fair in Prayagraj, India. Muslim grooms sit waiting for their brides in a mass wedding in Ahmedabad, India; people grieve after a landslide in Macao town, Philippines; England competes in a cricket match against India; and badminton players compete in a tournament in Bangkok.

Acclaimed Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa, who led the Boston Symphony Orchestra, dies at age 88

TOKYO (AP) — Seiji Ozawa, the Japanese conductor who amazed audiences with the lithe physicality of his performances during three decades at the helm of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has died, his management office said Friday. He was 88. The internationally acclaimed maestro, with his trademark mop of salt-and-pepper hair, led the BSO from 1973 to 2002, longer than any other conductor in the orchestra’s history. From 2002 to 2010, he was the music director of the Vienna State Opera. He died of heart failure Tuesday at his home in Tokyo, according to his office, Veroza Japan. He remained active in his later years, particularly in his native land.

North Korea welcomes Russian tourists, likely first to visit the isolated country since the pandemic

A group of Russian tourists arrived in North Korea on Friday, likely the first from any country to enter the isolated state since the pandemic. The tour underscores deepening cooperation between the two countries following a meeting last September between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East. Many Russians now struggle to travel to Europe and the United States because of sanctions applied to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. In October, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he would recommend North Korea as a vacation destination. South Korea’s government said it has no record of North Korean state media reporting on tourists entering the country since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indonesian presidential hopefuls are trying social media, K-pop to win young voters. Will it work?

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Seventeen-year-old Naima Khairiya Ismah started being bombarded by social media posts from candidates for Indonesia’s presidential election on before she’d even given voting any thought. As three candidates vie to replace popular but term-limited President Joko Widodo in an election later this month, they’ve been aggressively seeking millennials and Gen Z voters. People between the minimum voting age of 17 and the age of 43 make up about 55% of the country’s 205 million eligible voters. Candidates are reaching out through the apps young voters use, the K-pop music many love, and even video gaming events. “As young people, we can’t meet the candidates in person,” said first-time voter Ismah, chatting after class outside her Jakarta high school.

Chinese technology company lashes back at US claims it has ties to military

BANGKOK (AP) — A Nasdaq-listed Chinese technology company that makes parts for self-driving vehicles is threatening to sue the U.S. government after it was included in a list of companies the Pentagon says have links to the Chinese military. Hesai Technology’s core product is LiDAR road sensing equipment, used in passenger and commercial vehicles, autonomous driving vehicles, delivery robots and other applications. It was among 17 companies the U.S. Department of Defense recently added to its list of companies it considers “Chinese military companies.” The revised list also includes Megvii, a Beijing-based artificial intelligence company and IDG Capital, a major private equity investment company with holdings in many Chinese technology companies, and major Chinese energy, telecoms and aviation companies.

UN experts investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks valued at about $3 billion

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. experts say they are investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023 valued at approximately $3 billion, with the money reportedly being used to help fund its development of weapons of mass destruction. And the high volume of cyberattacks by North Korean hacking groups who report to the Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Korea’s primary foreign intelligence organization, is reportedly continuing, the panel of experts said in the executive summary of a new report to the U.N. Security Council obtained Friday by The Associated Press. The report covering the period from July 2023 to January 2024 and reflecting contributions from unidentified U.N.

Japan’s government OKs new foreign trainee program to attract more workers as its population shrinks

TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese government adopted plans on Friday to scrap its current foreign trainee program, which has been criticized as a cover for importing cheap labor, and replace it with a system it says will actually teach skills and safeguard trainees’ rights as Japan desperately seeks more foreign workers to supplement its aging and shrinking workforce. Under the new program approved on Friday at a meeting of related Cabinet ministers, people who arrive on a three-year trainee visa will be able to upgrade to a skilled worker category that would allow them to stay up to five years and possibly obtain permanent residency.