Top Asian News 3:19 a.m. GMT

Modi visits Indian-administered Kashmir on local election campaign amid massive security

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the main city in Himalayan Kashmir on Thursday to campaign for his party in the local election, the first such vote since New Delhi stripped the disputed region’s semi-autonomy in 2019. Modi’s visit to Srinagar city in the Kashmir Valley — the heartland of decades of anti-India rebellion — comes amid strong public opposition there to New Delhi’s changes five years back. That move revoked the region’s semi-autonomous status, annulled its separate constitution, downgraded and split the former state into two centrally governed union territories— Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir — and removed inherited protections on land and jobs.

A new genetic analysis of animals in the Wuhan market in 2019 may help find COVID-19’s origin

LONDON (AP) — Scientists searching for the origins of COVID-19 have zeroed in on a short list of animals that possibly helped spread it to people, an effort they hope could allow them to trace the outbreak back to its source. Researchers analyzed genetic material gathered from the Chinese market where the first outbreak was detected and found that the most likely animals were racoon dogs, civet cats and bamboo rats. The scientists suspect infected animals were first brought to the Wuhan market in late November 2019, which then triggered the pandemic. Michael Worobey, one of the new study’s authors, said they found which sub-populations of animals might have transmitted the coronavirus to humans.

Widespread adoption fraud separated generations of Korean children from their families, AP finds

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As the plane descended into Seoul, Robert Calabretta swaddled himself in a blanket, his knees tucked into his chest like a baby in the womb. A single tear ran down his cheek. The 34-year-old felt like a newborn — he was about to meet his parents for the first time since he was 3 days old. Most of his life, he thought they’d abandoned him for adoption to the United States. When he finally found them, he learned the truth: The origin story on his adoption paperwork was a lie. Instead, he said, his parents were told in 1986 that their infant was very sick and they thought he had died.

Adoption fraud separated generations of South Korean children from their families, AP finds

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s government, Western countries and adoption agencies worked in tandem to supply some 200,000 Korean children to parents overseas, despite years of evidence they were being procured through questionable or downright unscrupulous means, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. Those children grew up and searched for their roots — and some realized they are not who they were told. Their stories have sparked a reckoning that is rocking the international adoption industry. The investigation, in collaboration with Frontline (PBS), was based on interviews with more than 80 adoptees in the U.S., Australia and six European countries, along with parents, agency employees, humanitarian workers and government officials.

Thailand’s adorable pygmy hippo Moo Deng has the kind of face that launches a thousand memes

CHONBURI, Thailand (AP) — Only a month after Thailand’s adorable baby hippo Moo Deng was unveiled on Facebook, her fame became unstoppable. Fans unable to make the two-hour drive to Khao Kheow Open Zoo from the Thai capital Bangkok to see her in person can watch her video clips online, or simply scroll through social media to savor meme after meme. Zookeeper Atthapon Nundee has been posting cute moments of the animals in his care for about five years. He never imagined the zoo’s newborn pygmy hippo would become an internet megastar within weeks. Cars started lining up outside the zoo well before it opened Thursday.

Shohei Ohtani surpasses 50-50 milestone in spectacular fashion with a 3-homer, 2-steal game

MIAMI (AP) — Shohei Ohtani looked up at a visiting crowd that turned out to cheer him and the Los Angeles Dodgers — and ended up getting to witness one of the greatest individual performances, and seasons, in major league history. Fans lifted their phones to capture the moment and chanted “M-V-P!” as Ohtani rounded the bases after he cleared the fence for the 50th time, becoming the first major league player with at least 50 home runs and and 50 stolen bases in a season. The most amazing thing about it? Ohtani’s day wasn’t even finished. Ohtani raced past the 50-50 milestone in the most spectacular game of his history-making career, becoming the first big league player to hit three homers and steal two bases in a game during a 20-4 rout of the Miami Marlins on Thursday that also secured a playoff spot for the Dodgers.

Sri Lanka’s presidential election a test for current leader, 2 years after its economy hit bottom

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Two years ago, food cart worker Fathima Shiyama had to wait in line, sometimes for days, to get cooking gas, fuel and other essentials. It was a test of patience for her and millions of other Sri Lankans as their country languished in economic and political chaos. Since then, under President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the South Asian island nation’s economy has begun a fragile recovery. As the country gears up for a crucial presidential vote, key economic indicators have improved and there are no shortages of food and fuel. Inflation is almost under control after peaking at 70%.

First people are sentenced under Hong Kong’s tough new security law

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court sentenced the first two people under a tough new Hong Kong national security law on Thursday, including a man who was given 14 months in prison for wearing a T-shirt with a protest slogan. A second man received 10 months for writing pro-independence messages on the back of bus seats. Chu Kai-pong, 27, wore a shirt on June 12 reading “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” a slogan chanted during anti-government protests in 2019. That day was the fifth anniversary of a demonstration in which thousands of people surrounded the city’s legislative council complex to protest a now-withdrawn extradition bill.

A 10-year-old Japanese boy stabbed near his school in China has died

BEIJING (AP) — A 10-year-old Japanese student who was stabbed near his school in southern China has died, officials in Tokyo said Thursday, asking Beijing to provide details of the stabbing and take preventive measures. A suspect is in custody. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa expressed condolences and noted that the attack occurred despite Tokyo’s requests for caution and enhanced safety as China marks a key anniversary of its war with Japan. The student was stabbed on Wednesday about 200 meters (220 yards) from the gate of the Shenzhen Japanese School, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian said in a daily briefing.

Police fatally shoot a blasphemy suspect in Pakistan in 2nd such killing in a week

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Police in southern Pakistan shot dead a blasphemy suspect during an alleged shootout with armed men, officials said Thursday, the second such apparent extra-judicial killing in a week, drawing condemnation from human rights groups. Police identified the slain man as Shah Nawaz, a doctor in the Umerkot district in the Sindh province, who had gone into hiding two days ago after being accused of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and sharing blasphemous content on social media. Local police chief Niaz Khoso said Nawaz was “killed just by chance” on Wednesday night when officers signaled two men riding on a motorcycle to stop in Mirpur Khas, a city in the southern Sindh province.