Top Asian News 3:12 a.m. GMT

Kiribati’s pro-China government bars foreign officials from visiting until 2025, citing elections

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The government of Kiribati is suspending all diplomatic visits to the tiny Pacific Island nation until next year and has cancelled some already planned, because it is in the midst of an election process that could run for several more months, an official said Thursday. The official in Kiribati’s foreign ministry told The Associated Press that a message announcing the pause in diplomatic trips was sent earlier this week to countries that have diplomatic relations with Kiribati — a low-lying atoll of 120,000 people. It follows escalating friction between Kiribati and Western nations — particularly Australia, a major aid donor — over the country’s deepening ties with China.

South Korean hotel fire that killed 7 was likely made worse by the lack of sprinklers, officials say

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A fire that killed seven people in a South Korean hotel was possibly made worse by the lack of sprinklers, fire officials said Friday, as they investigated the cause of the blaze. At least 12 people were being treated for injuries related to the fire that broke out Thursday evening at the nine-story property in the city of Bucheon, just west of the capital, Seoul. Officials say the fire didn’t spread broadly after starting in an unoccupied room on the 8th floor. But with the room was unprotected by sprinklers and toxic smoke quickly filled the upper floors.

Ratification of Indonesian election law changes delayed as protesters try to storm parliament

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The ratification of changes to Indonesia’s election laws was halted Thursday as thousands of protesters occupied roads in front of parliament and some tried to storm the building. The changes, if implemented, would deepen the political influence of outgoing President Joko Widodo and have been criticized as potentially weakening Indonesia’s young democracy. Parliament met in an emergency session Thursday to overturn one decision made by Indonesia’s Constitutional Court on election procedures, while amending another. But the legislature canceled the ratification after failing to achieve a quorum amid the protests outside. “It was stated that the revision of the regional election law cannot be implemented.

India’s Modi urges efforts to end Ukraine war after talks in Poland

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine during a visit to Poland on Thursday, pledging India’s support and saying that no conflict can be solved on a battlefield. “We support dialogue and diplomatic effort” for the restoration of peace and stability “as soon as possible,” Modi said following talks with Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Tusk said that India could play an important role in bringing an end to the war being waged on Ukraine by India’s strategic partner, Russia, on the other side of Poland’s eastern border. “I am very glad that the prime minister has confirmed his readiness to personally engage in bringing about a peaceful, just and speedy end to the war,” Tusk said.

India’s Modi visits Ukraine this week, after a recent trip to Moscow. Here’s what it could mean

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a historic visit Friday to Ukraine, a month and a half after he traveled to Moscow to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin. Officials in India and Ukraine have said the visit will focus on boosting economic ties and cooperation in defense, science and technology. But analysts say the visit could also be an attempt to have India strike a more neutral stance after what has been seen as a lean toward Russia, given Modi’s recent Moscow visit, his country’s historic, Cold War-era relationship with Russia and New Delhi’s avoidance of directly criticizing Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Bangladesh court sends 2 journalists to police custody for questioning as chaos continues

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A court in Bangladesh’s capital Thursday allowed police to interrogate two journalists in their custody for four days in connection with the murder of a garment worker, who joined recent student protests against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that forced her to step down and flee to India earlier this month. Ekattor TV’s former Head of News Shakil Ahmed and former Principal Correspondent Farzana Rupa were arrested on Wednesday when the couple, along with their young daughter, went to Dhaka’s main Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to travel overseas. After hours of questioning at the airport, the couple was taken into custody.

The Taliban publish vice laws that ban women’s voices and bare faces in public

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have issued a ban on women’s voices and bare faces in public under new laws approved by the supreme leader in efforts to combat vice and promote virtue. The laws were issued Wednesday after they were approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, a government spokesman said. The Taliban had set up a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice” after seizing power in 2021. The ministry published its vice and virtue laws on Wednesday that cover aspects of everyday life like public transportation, music, shaving and celebrations. They are set out in a 114-page, 35-article document seen by The Associated Press and are the first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws in Afghanistan since the takeover.

Gunmen ambush and kill 11 police officers in eastern Pakistan, officials say

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades ambushed a police convoy in eastern Punjab province on Thursday, killing at least 11 officers and wounding seven others, authorities said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the Rahim Yar Khan district. The officers were ambushed while on patrol in a deserted area in search of robbers who operate in the region. Punjabi police said the gunmen were likely robbers and not militants. The victims were taken to a nearby hospital. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence and militants attacks in recent years, but such a high number of police casualties in a single attack is rare.

Small passenger plane crashes on flight to eastern Thailand. All 9 aboard are believed dead

BANGKOK (AP) — A small passenger plane on a domestic flight in Thailand crashed Thursday afternoon shortly after taking off from the main airport in the capital, Bangkok, the country’s civil aviation authority announced. It appeared that all nine people aboard had been killed. Rescuers found no survivors at the crash site in a mangrove swamp in Chachoengsao province about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the airport, reported Thai media, which said seven passengers and two pilots had been listed as being on board. After about an hour of searching, rescuers found badly shattered body parts in the difficult, swampy terrain, said a spokesperson for the provincial government.

Explosion and fire at a pharmaceutical plant in India kill at least 18 workers

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — A big explosion triggered a fire at a pharmaceutical plant in southern India, killing at least 18 workers, police said Thursday. The death toll rose from 15 as three of the 40 injured in the fire Wednesday in the chemical reactor of the plant in Andhra Pradesh state died in hospital on Thursday, police officer M. Deepika said, adding that some of the injured were in critical condition. The Press Trust of India news agency reported distressing scenes with the skin of several workers peeling off. Ambulances transported them to the hospital. Officials suspect the fire was caused by an electrical fault at the plant, according to media reports.