Top Asian News 3:56 a.m. GMT

In Indonesia, deforestation is intensifying disasters from severe weather and climate change

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Roads turned to murky brown rivers, homes were swept away by strong currents and bodies were pulled from mud during deadly flash floods and landslides after torrential rains hit West Sumatra in early March, marking one of the latest deadly natural disasters in Indonesia. Government officials blamed the floods on heavy rainfall, but environmental groups have cited the disaster as the latest example of deforestation and environmental degradation intensifying the effects of severe weather across Indonesia. “This disaster occurred not only because of extreme weather factors, but because of the ecological crisis,” Indonesian environmental rights group Indonesian Forum for the Environment wrote in a statement.

Japanese officials inspect 2 factories making health supplements linked to 5 deaths

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese government health officials on Sunday inspected a factory producing health supplements linked to at least five deaths and the hospitalization of more than 100 others, one day after the authorities investigated another plant that manufactured the product. A team of 17 health officials from the central and prefectural governments raided a plant operated by the Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.'s subsidiary in Kinokawa, in the western Japanese prefecture of Wakayama, under the food sanitation act. NHK public television showed the officials walk into the factory. The Wakayama plant took over the production of the supplements after Kobayashi Pharmaceutical closed another plant in nearby Osaka, which authorities searched on Saturday, NHK said.

An Associated Press photographer snaps a buzzy photo by focusing on the details during Holi

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Anupam Nath has been covering Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Guwahati in northeastern India for two decades. In that time, he’s mastered navigating the large, vibrant celebrations, which allows him to focus on the small details. In this photo one can even see the colored powder used by revelers on a swarm of bees. Here’s what Nath said about making this extraordinary image: I have been covering the Holi festival, where hundreds of people gather and celebrate together, since 2004. Every year I try to find at least one interesting face to photograph. This year, I was looking for some interesting people and this person with color smeared on his face suddenly caught my eye.

A bomb blast kills 1 person and wounds 14 in Pakistan’s southwest

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A bomb blast killed one person and wounded 14 in Pakistan’s southwest on Saturday, including three soldiers, a police official said. The blast occurred in Hernai district, which is northeast of Quetta city in Baluchistan province. Javed Domki, Hernai deputy commissioner, said the IED exploded when a team from Mari Petroleum Company was conducting a gas exploration survey. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility. For years, Baluchistan has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by groups demanding independence from the central government in Islamabad. Although the government says it has quelled the insurgency, violence in the province has persisted.

Heavy rains in northwestern Pakistan kill 8 people, mostly children, and injure 12

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Heavy rains killed eight people, mostly children, and injured 12 in Pakistan’s northwest, an official said Saturday. Downpours in different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province caused rooms to collapse, crushing the people inside, according to Anwar Shahzad, a spokesperson for the local disaster management authority. Shahzad said that three of the dead were siblings aged between 3 and 7 years old, from the same family. The casualties occurred in the past 24 hours, he added. Pakistan has this year experienced a delay in winter rains, which started in February instead of November. Monsoon and winter rains cause damage in Pakistan every year.

China’s gambling hub of Macao holds its final horse race, ending a tradition of over 40 years

MACAO (AP) — After more than 40 years, Macao’s horse racing track hosted its final races on Saturday, bringing an end to the sport in the city famous for its massive casinos. In January, the city’s government said it would terminate its contract with the Macao Jockey Club in April. The decision came at the request of the Macao Horse Race Company, which cited operational challenges as part of the reasons for the closure. On Saturday, gamblers congregated in the half-full stands and placed their final bets. Some tourists also visited the track. Mai Wan-zun, a student from mainland China in Macao, said she wanted to get a taste of the atmosphere.

Thai court acquits dozens of protesters who shut down Bangkok’s airports in 2008

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai court on Friday acquitted nearly 70 people of all charges related to mass protests that shut down Bangkok’s two airports in 2008 for about 10 days. The ruling by the Bangkok Criminal Court was the second this year finding that the protesters, who opposed a government headed by allies of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, had not committed serious criminal offenses in their activities. Members of the group, the People’s Alliance for Democracy, also briefly seized a state television station and occupied Government House for three months. The court ruled Friday that the airport protests were protected under the constitution because they were peaceful and the protesters were unarmed, public broadcaster Thai PBS and Thai Rath newspaper said.

Migrant workers who helped build modern China have scant or no pensions, and can’t retire

BEIJING (AP) — At 53, Guan Junling is too old to get hired at factories anymore. But for migrant workers like her, not working is not an option. For decades, they have come from farming villages to find work in the cities. Toiling in sweatshops and building apartment complexes they could never afford to live in, they played a vital role in China’s transformation into an economic powerhouse. As they grow older, the first generation of migrant workers is struggling to find jobs in a slowing economy. Many are financially strapped, so they have to keep looking. “There is no such thing as a ‘retirement’ or ‘pensions’ for rural people.

A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea. On Friday, over a hundred people watched on as 10 devotees were nailed to wooden crosses, among them Ruben Enaje, a 63-year-old carpenter and sign painter. The real-life crucifixions have become an annual religious spectacle that draws tourists in three rural communities in Pampanga province, north of Manila. The gory ritual resumed last year after a three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Oppenheimer’ finally premieres in Japan to mixed reactions and high emotions

TOKYO (AP) — “Oppenheimer” finally premiered Friday in the nation where two cities were obliterated 79 years ago by the nuclear weapons invented by the American scientist who was the subject of the Oscar-winning film. Japanese filmgoers’ reactions understandably were mixed and highly emotional. Toshiyuki Mimaki, who survived the bombing of Hiroshima when he was 3, said he has been fascinated by the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, often called “the father of the atomic bomb” for leading the Manhattan Project. “What were the Japanese thinking, carrying out the attack on Pearl Harbor, starting a war they could never hope to win,” he said, sadness in his voice, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.