Top Asian News 10:46 p.m. GMT

Bangladeshi leader says a shopping mall that caught fire had no emergency exits. Death toll climbs

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A six-story shopping mall that caught fire in the Bangladeshi capital had no fire exits, the country’s prime minister said Friday, as the death toll climbed to at least 46 and rescuers searched for more victims. The fire started late Thursday in a restaurant on the first floor of the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall in downtown Dhaka. More than a dozen firefighting units were deployed. Firefighters rescued survivors and pulled out bodies, and by early Friday, at least 43 people were confirmed dead. Three injured people died later, said Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen. He said the toll could rise as at least a dozen critically injured people were being treated in two state-run hospitals.

Scandinavian Airlines medevac plane lands in Malaysian island where Norwegian king is hospitalized

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (AP) — A Scandinavian Airlines medical evacuation plane arrived on Friday in Malaysia’s northern resort island of Langkawi, where the Norwegian king is in hospital and being treated for an infection. King Harald V, Europe’s oldest monarch at 87, was hospitalized after he fell ill during a vacation, the royal palace in Oslo announced on Tuesday. There were no details of his illness. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, has said his father’s condition was improving and that he needed rest before being brought back. Norwegian TV2 said that a Scandinavian aircraft with the tail number LN-RPJ took off from Oslo Airport on Thursday, The Boeing 737-700 airline, which has previously been used as a flying ambulance, landed in Langkawi on Friday.

China pledges to increase opportunities for foreign companies as it seeks to boost its economy

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese Vice President Han Zheng pledged Friday to provide more opportunities for foreign companies in China as the government tries to restore confidence in the world’s second largest economy. Han told an audience of American business people in Beijing that the government would continue to open up more industries to foreign investment and create a market-oriented and law-based international business environment. “China’s development achievements have been made through opening up,” he said at an American Chamber of Commerce in China banquet. “We will unwaveringly adhere to a high level of opening-up to the outside world.” Chamber officials portrayed his appearance at the annual dinner as a positive signal that the government is serious about addressing the concerns of U.S.

India’s richest man is bringing Rihanna and 1,200 guests to a pre-wedding bash for his son

JAMNAGAR, India (AP) — It might be the biggest party this small west Indian city has ever seen. As billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani prepares for the wedding of his son this summer, he’s expecting billionaires from around the world, heads of state, and Hollywood and Bollywood royalty to attend a three-day bash in the family’s hometown, starting Friday. The nearly 1,200-person guest list includes Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sunder Pichai and Ivanka Trump; Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Kumar Mangalam Birla; legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar; and Bollywood celebrities such as Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee. They’ll be entertained by pop superstar Rihanna, magician David Blaine and famous Bollywood singers.

Cambodia’s pioneering post-Khmer Rouge era Phnom Penh Post newspaper will stop print publication

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The Phnom Penh Post, a newspaper founded in 1992 as Cambodia sought to re-establish stability and democracy after decades of war and unrest, said Friday that it will stop publishing in print this month, the latest blow to the country’s dwindling independent media. The Post was founded as an English-language biweekly in 1992. It later added a Khmer-language edition, and in 2008 began publishing daily. It wrote on social media accounts that it would stop publishing both English and Khmer editions by March 29, citing a decline in advertising revenues due to a pandemic-related economic downturn, which added to financial difficulties caused by the spread of social media and other new technology.

Tuvalu’s new premier says democracy and loyalty are reasons for preferring Taiwan over Beijing

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The new prime minister in the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu said on Friday his country shares democratic values with Taiwan and reaffirmed that his government would maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei, ruling out a shift to Beijing. Prime Minister Feleti Teo spoke to The Associated Press via Zoom, his first interview with international media since his government took office earlier this week. “Our ties with Taiwan are purely based on democratic principles and they have been very loyal to us,” Teo said. Teo, a 61-year-old first-time lawmaker, and his eight Cabinet ministers were sworn into office on Wednesday, a month after general elections in the strategically significant nation of 11,500 people half way between Australia and Hawaii.

New Zealand tour operators told to pay $7.8 million in fines and reparations over volcanic eruption

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Tour booking agents and managers of a New Zealand island where a volcanic eruption killed 22 people in 2019 were ordered Friday to pay nearly $13 million (US$7.8 million) in fines and reparations. The holding company of the island’s owners, a boat tour operator and three companies that operated helicopter tours had been found guilty of safety breaches at a three-month trial last year. White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Indigenous Māori name Whakaari, was a popular tourist destination before the eruption. There were 47 tourists and tour guides on the island when superheated steam erupted on Dec.

South Korea’s Yoon calls for unification, on holiday marking 1919 uprising against colonial Japan

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president lambasted North Korea on Friday over what he called its repressive rule and vowed to achieve a free, unified Korean Peninsula, weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rejected the idea of peaceful unification and threatened to occupy the South in the event of war. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol spoke on March 1 Independence Movement Day, a holiday marking a 1919 Korean uprising against Japanese colonial rule. “Now, we must move toward a free, unified Korean Peninsula,” Yoon said in a televised speech. “The North Korean regime relies solely on nuclear weapons and missiles while trapping its 26 million citizens in a quagmire of misery and despair.” “Unification is precisely what is needed to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights,” Yoon said.

Japan opposition lawmakers bring no-confidence motion accusing gov’t of halting debate over scandal

TOKYO (AP) — Outraged Japanese opposition lawmakers submitted a no-confidence motion on Friday, accusing the governing party of trying to push through a budget bill without adequate debate because of disruptions caused by a scandal over its fund-raising practices. Opposition politicians slammed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for failing to provide details about slush funds created by members of the governing Liberal Democratic Party’s leading faction, or where the money went. Kishida apologized for the scandal, which has rocked his government, on Thursday in a rare appearance before the parliamentary ethics committee that was broadcast live. Kishida, who also proposed reforms of the Political Funds Control Law, apparently attended the session in an effort to end debate on the scandal and secure the swift passage of a 112 trillion yen ($744 billion) budget bill that has been repeatedly stalled.

Young South Korean doctors resist back-to-work orders, risking prosecution

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As South Korea’s government made a last plea for junior doctors to end a walkout hours before a Thursday deadline, many were expected to defy orders to return to work, risking suspensions of medical licenses and prosecution. Thousands of medical interns and residents have been on strike for about 10 days to protest the government’s push to boost medical school enrollments. Government officials have warned that strikers would face legal repercussions if they don’t return to their hospitals by Thursday. As of Wednesday night, about 9,076 of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents were confirmed to have left their hospitals after submitting resignations, according to the Health Ministry.