Top Asian News 10:25 p.m. GMT

A fire at a lithium battery factory in South Korea kills 22 mostly Chinese migrant workers

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A fire likely sparked by exploding lithium batteries swept through a manufacturing factory near South Korea’s capital on Monday, killing 22 mostly Chinese migrant workers and injuring eight, officials said. The fire began after batteries exploded while workers were examining and packaging them on the second floor of the factory in Hwaseong city, just south of Seoul, at around 10:30 a.m., fire officials said, citing a witness. They said they would investigate the cause of the blaze. The dead included 18 Chinese, two South Koreans and one Laotian, local fire official Kim Jin-young told a televised briefing.

Leader of NATO member Poland visits China, talks to Xi about Ukraine, peace and trade

BEIJING (AP) — Polish President Andrzej Duda met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping Monday for talks on Ukraine, peace and expanding bilateral trade on a visit to Beijing that brought the head of state of a NATO member to a country that has backed Russia in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At their meeting at the Great Hall of the People accompanied by a full honor guard and a 21-gun salute, Duda told Xi that relations between the former Russian-allied nation — which inspired democratic movements with its push for democracy — and China — which is a Communist state — remain strong.

Indonesia says a cyberattack has compromised its data center but it won’t pay the $8 million ransom

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s national data center has been compromised by a hacking group asking for a $8 million ransom that the government won’t pay, authorities said Monday. The cyberattack has disrupted services of more than 200 government agencies at both the national and regional levels since June 20, said Samuel Abrijani Pangerapan, the director general of informatics applications with the Communications and Informatics Ministry. Some government services have returned — immigration services at airports and elsewhere are now functional — but efforts continue at restoring other services such as investment licensing, Pangerapan told reporters. The attackers have held data hostage and offered a key for access in return for the $8 million ransom, said PT Telkom Indonesia’s director of network & IT solutions, Herlan Wijanarko, without giving further details.

Japanese emperor to reconnect with the River Thames in state visit meant to bolster ties with UK

LONDON (AP) — Before Emperor Naruhito of Japan attends a banquet hosted by King Charles III, lays a wreath at Westminster Abbey or tours one of Britain’s premier biomedical research institutes, he’ll kick off this week’s trip to the U.K. by visiting a site that has special meaning for him: The Thames Barrier. While the retractable flood control gates on the River Thames don’t top most lists of must-see tourist sights, the itinerary underscores the emperor’s fascination with the waterway that is the throbbing heart of London. That interest was born 40 years ago when Naruhito studied 18th-century commerce on the river as a graduate student at the University of Oxford.

Seoul says North Korea has resumed balloon launches likely to drop trash in South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea resumed launches of balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea on Monday night, South Korea’s military said, in the latest round of a Cold War-style campaign on the Korean Peninsula. The launches came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a major defense deal that observers worry could embolden Kim to direct more provocations at South Korea. A statement from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North Korean balloons were moving southeast. Earlier Monday it noted that northerly or northwesterly winds, favorable for the balloon launches, were forecast.

New Caledonia independence group demands Indigenous leader’s release from custody in mainland France

NICE, France (AP) — Members of a pro-independence movement in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia demanded on Monday the “release and immediate return” of the Indigenous Kanak leader who was flown to mainland France for pretrial detention after recent deadly unrest. Christian Tein, a leader of the movement known as The Field Action Coordination Unit, was flown out overnight Saturday, along with six other activists whom French authorities accuse of orchestrating the two weeks of unrest in May that left nine people dead, caused widespread destruction and led French President Emmanuel Macron to make an emergency visit. “We demand the release and immediate return of our brothers and sisters to be judged in their homeland,” the movement said in an statement.

Canada to start 30-day consultation to impose surtax on Chinese electric vehicles

TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s government is investigating whether to impose a surtax on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles. A 30-day consultation on the issue will begin on July 2 to counter what Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday is a clear effort by Chinese companies to generate a global oversupply. Canada’s move comes weeks after both the United States and the European Commission announced plans to impose higher import tariffs on Chinese EVs this summer. “Our automotive sector supports nearly 550,000 good paying Canadian jobs,” Freeland said. “Canadian workers and the auto sector are facing unfair competition from China’s intentional state directed policy of overcapacity that is undermining Canada’s EV sector ability to compete in domestic and global markets.” The consultation will seek input on what is driving China’s surging EV exports, including unfair market practices as well as labor and environmental standards.

Chinese hackers have stepped up attacks on Taiwanese organizations, cybersecurity firm says

HONG KONG (AP) — A suspected Chinese state-sponsored hacking group has stepped up its targeting of Taiwanese organizations, particularly those in sectors such as government, education, technology and diplomacy, according to cybersecurity intelligence company Recorded Future. In recent years, relations between China and Taiwan, a self-governed island across the Taiwan Strait that Beijing claims as its territory, have deteriorated. The cyberattacks by the group known as RedJulliett were observed between November 2023 and April 2024, during the lead up to Taiwan’s presidential elections in January and the subsequent change in administration. RedJuliett has targeted Taiwanese organizations in the past, but this is the first time that activity was seen at such a scale, a Recorded Future analyst said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of safety concerns.

Malaysia detains 8 terror suspects, foiling possible threats against prime minister, king and others

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Police in Malaysia have detained eight people with suspected links to the Islamic State militant group and thwarted possible threats against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the nation’s king and other dignitaries, the government said Monday. Six men and two women, aged 25 to 70, were detained without trial in four states during a police operation over the weekend, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution said. Their arrests followed several operations carried out in May, he said, adding that detainees included a former university lecturer, housewives and a construction worker. Malaysia has taken tough measures to curb the influence of militant cells linked to the Islamic State, with hundreds of people suspected of having ties to IS detained in the country before 2020.

AP PHOTOS: Philippine villagers smear mud on their bodies to show devotion to St. John the Baptist

BIBICLAT, Philippines (AP) — It is well before daybreak in Bibiclat, a village in the northern Philippines surrounded by rice fields. Using only light from their cellphones to cut through the darkness, devout Catholics venture into the fields. If they’re fortunate, they will find an area where carabaos bathe, since the mud is softer there. They smear mud over their bodies and then soak dried banana leaves in the mud. After dressing themselves with the leaves, they walk to the church of St. John the Baptist. Entire families as well as solitary devotees line the road to the church. The crowd swells outside the church yard, lighting candles and waiting for the priest to lead a Mass.