Top Asian News 4:03 a.m. GMT

Gunmen fire on vehicles carrying Shiites in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 42

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying Shiite Muslims in Pakistan’s restive northwest on Thursday, killing at least 42 people, including six women, and wounding 20 others in one of the region’s deadliest such attacks in recent years, police said. The attack happened in Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where sectarian clashes between majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shiites have killed dozens of people in recent months. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the latest attack. It came a week after authorities reopened a key highway in the region that had been closed for weeks following deadly clashes.

North Korean leader says past diplomacy only confirmed US hostility

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his past negotiations with the United States only confirmed Washington’s “unchangeable” hostility toward his country and described his nuclear buildup as the only way to counter external threats, state media said Friday. Kim spoke Thursday at a defense exhibition where North Korea displayed some of its most powerful weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the U.S. mainland as well as artillery systems and drones, according to text and photos published by the North’s Korean Central News Agency. While meeting with army officers last week, he had pledged a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program.

Shares in India’s Adani Group plunge 20% after US bribery, fraud indictments

NEW DELHI (AP) — One of Asia’s richest men, Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, is again in the spotlight. His companies’ stocks plunged up to 20% in value Thursday after he was indicted by U.S. prosecutors on charges that he duped investors in a massive solar energy project in India by concealing that it was being facilitated by bribes. In an indictment unsealed in New York, Adani, 62, was charged with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud. Seven other executives connected to Adani’s business empire also face charges. The indictment alleges a scheme to pay about $265 million in bribes to government officials in India.

New Zealand police begin arrests for gang symbol ban as new law takes effect

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A ban on New Zealanders wearing or displaying symbols of gang affiliation in public took effect on Thursday, with police officers making their first arrest for a breach of the law three minutes later. The man was driving with gang insignia displayed on the dashboard of his car and was among more than a dozen people arrested or summoned to appear in court for exhibiting such symbols since the law took force, New Zealand’s police said Friday. The prohibition on displaying gang insignia anywhere outside private homes, including on clothing or in vehicles, is among a suite of new measures intended to bolster police powers to disrupt the groups.

Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai denies he asked a newspaper colleague to draft list of sanction targets

HONG KONG (AP) — Former publisher Jimmy Lai denied that he asked a colleague to draft a list of potential sanction targets in his second day of testimony Thursday at his landmark national security trial in Hong Kong. The 77-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily pro-democracy newspaper is being tried on charges of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to issue seditious publications. He was arrested in 2020 in a political crackdown following massive anti-government protests in 2019. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison. The testimony highlighted WhatsApp conversations between Lai and Apple Daily’s ex-associate publisher Chan Pui-man.

India’s Modi seeks energy security from Guyana and its vast oil deposits

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday during a visit to Guyana that his government views the South American country as key to its energy security. Modi spoke a day after his foreign minister said India is interested in buying up to two million barrels of crude from the oil-producing nation where vast deposits of oil and gas were found offshore nearly a decade ago. Addressing a special sitting of Parliament at the end of his two-day trip, Modi said he views Guyana as an important energy source and that he plans to encourage large Indian businesses to invest in the country.

Southeast Asian defense chiefs discuss regional security with US, China and other partner nations

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Southeast Asian defense chiefs met Thursday with their counterparts from China, the United States and other nations in Laos for security talks, which come as Beijing’s increasingly assertive stance in its claim to most of the South China Sea is leading to more confrontations. The closed-door talks put U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in the same room, a day after Dong refused a request to meet with Austin one-on-one on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit of defense ministers. The U.S. and China have been working to improve frayed military-to-military communications and Austin said he regretted Dong’s decision, calling it “a setback for the whole region.” A Chinese statement indicated that Beijing was unhappy with U.S.

Australian teen and British woman who drank tainted alcohol in Laos have died, bringing toll to 5

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — An Australian teenager and a British woman have died after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos in what Australia’s prime minister on Thursday said was every parent’s nightmare. An American and two Danish tourists also died, officials said, following reports that several people had been sickened in a Laotian town popular with backpackers. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Parliament that 19-year-old Bianca Jones had died after being evacuated from Vang Vieng, Laos for treatment in a Thai hospital. Her friend, also 19, remains hospitalized in neighboring Thailand. “This is every parent’s very worst fear and a nightmare that no one should have to endure,” Albanese said.

Thai court dismisses activist’s suit against Israeli spyware producer over lack of evidence

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai court on Thursday threw out a lawsuit brought by a pro-democracy activist which alleged spyware produced by an Israeli tech firm had been used to hack his phone. The Civil Court in Bangkok said Jatupat Boonpattararaksa had failed to provide sufficient proof that his phone was infected with Pegasus spyware produced by NSO Group Technologies. Jatupat, also known as Pai Dao Din, had alleged that the NSO Group had violated his and other activists’ constitutional rights by facilitating the use of Pegasus to allegedly target them and extract data from their devices. He had claimed his phone was infected on three occasions in 2021, a time of large-scale protests against the government that included unprecedented demands for reform of Thailand’s powerful but opaque monarchy.

Pakistani court bars party of jailed former PM from rallying on eve of visit by Belarus president

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A court in Pakistan’s capital has barred the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan from holding a planned rally in Islamabad on Sunday on the eve of an official visit by the president of Belarus. The ruling Thursday was a setback for supporters of Khan who planned to stage a massive rally ahead of the three-day visit of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, which starts Monday, to demand the former prime minister’s release. It was not immediately clear whether Khan’s party would withdraw its call to hold the protest. The court has asked authorities to inform Khan’s party about the sensitivity of Sunday when authorities will be making arrangement to receive Lukashenko who will be in the capital along with a 60-member delegation on Monday.