Top Asian News 3:40 a.m. GMT

North Korean rocket carrying its 2nd spy satellite explodes shortly after launch

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A rocket launched by North Korea to deploy the country’s second spy satellite exploded shortly after liftoff Monday, state media reported, in a setback for leader Kim Jong Un’s hopes to operate multiple satellites to better monitor the U.S. and South Korea. Monday’s failed launch came hours after leaders of South Korea, China and Japan met in Seoul in their first trilateral meeting in more than four years. It’s highly unusual for North Korea to take provocative action when China, its major ally and economic pipeline, is engaging in high-level diplomacy in the region. The launch drew rebukes from the North’s neighbors because the U.N.

At least 2,000 feared dead in Papua New Guinea landslide. These are some challenges rescuers face

BANGKOK (AP) — The Papua New Guinea government said more than 2,000 people are believed to have been buried alive in a landslide in the South Pacific island nation, after the side of a mountain came down in the early hours of Friday morning when the village of Yambali was asleep. The settlement is located in a restive and remote area in the interior of the poor, rural nation off the northern coast of Australia, making search and rescue efforts complicated and hazardous. The government death toll is roughly triple the U.N. estimate of 670 killed. The remains of only six people had been recovered so far.

Papua New Guinea says Friday’s landslide buried more than 2,000 people and formally asks for help

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A Papua New Guinea government official has told the United Nations that more than 2,000 people are believed to have been buried alive by last Friday’s landslide and has formally asked for international help. The government figure is roughly triple the U.N. estimate of 670 killed by the landslide in the South Pacific island nation’s mountainous interior. The remains of only five people had been recovered by Monday, local authorities reported. It was not immediately clear why the tally of six reported on Sunday had been revised down. In a letter to the United Nations resident coordinator dated Sunday and seen by The Associated Press, the acting director of the country’s National Disaster Center, Luseta Laso Mana, said the landslide “buried more than 2,000 people alive” and caused “major destruction” in Yambali village in Enga province.

Russia will build Central Asia’s first nuclear power plant in an agreement with Uzbekistan

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia and Uzbekistan signed an accord Monday for Moscow to build a small nuclear power plant in the Central Asian country, as Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Uzbek capital with Uzbekistan leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Mirziyoyev hailed the project as “vital” in remarks after the talks, noting that Uzbekistan has “its own large reserves of uranium.” Putin, in turn, vowed to “do everything in order to work effectively on Uzbekistan’s (nuclear energy) market.” If the agreement is implemented, the plant would become the first in Central Asia, further increasing Russia’s influence in the region. Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti quoted the Russian state-owned energy corporation, Rosatom, as saying that the project envisions building six reactors with the total capacity of 330 megawatts.

100 Muslims arrested for attacking 2 Christian men on allegations of desecrating Quran in Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Police in eastern Pakistan arrested more than 100 Muslim men and charged them under anti-terrorism laws for attacking a Christian father and son over allegations they desecrated pages of Islam’s holy book, officials said Monday. The mob went on a rampage Saturday after locals said they saw burnt pages of the Quran outside the two Christian men’s house and accused the son of being behind it, setting their house and shoemaking factory on fire in the city of Sargodha in Punjab province, said senior police officer Assad Ijaz Malhi. They also attacked the son. Malhi said police forces rescued the two wounded men and transported them to a hospital where they were in stable condition, and that at least 100 men were arrested following multiple police raids.

France to lift state of emergency in efforts to allow political dialogue in riot-hit New Caledonia

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron decided on Monday to lift the state of emergency in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia in a move meant to allow political dialogue following the unrest that left seven people dead and a trail of destruction, his office said. The president’s office said in a statement that the state of emergency won’t be extended “for the moment” and will therefore end Monday at 8 p.m. in Paris, which is 5 a.m. Tuesday in New Caledonia. The decision aims at “enabling meetings of the various components” of pro-independence movement FLNKS, the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front, and allowing elected officials and other local leaders “in a position to call” for lifting the barricades to go there and meet with protesters, the statement said.

A tropical storm floods villages and cuts power to millions in parts of Bangladesh and India

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The weakening tropical storm Remal flooded dozens of coastal villages and left nearly 30 million people without power Monday in southern Bangladesh and eastern India. At least 10 people died in Bangladesh. About 3.7 million people along the coast were affected, said Bangladesh’s junior minister for disaster management and relief, Mohibbur Rahman. More than 35,000 homes were destroyed and nearly 115,000 were damaged. Nearly 800,000 people were evacuated from vulnerable areas on Sunday. Bangladesh, a delta nation of nearly 170 million people, has a history of violent storms. Disaster preparedness programs have upgraded the capacity to tackle natural disasters, resulting in fewer casualties.

7 Pakistani soldiers, 23 militants killed in separate shootouts during raids along the Afghan border

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s security forces were conducting several raids in the country’s volatile northwest, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, when shootouts ensued leaving seven soldiers and 23 militants dead, the army said Monday. The first exchange of fire occurred overnight on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing six militants and two army officers who “embraced martyrdom,” according to a statement by Pakistan’s military. A second shootout happened during another security operation on Monday in the district of Tank, leaving 10 militants dead, the statement said, adding that five soldiers and seven militants were also killed during a separate fire exchange in the district of Khyber.

US lawmakers pledge support for Taiwan and its new president after China’s military drills

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A U.S. congressional delegation met Taiwan’s new leader on Monday in a show of support days after China held drills around the self-governing island in response to his inauguration. Rep. Andy Barr, the co-chair of the Taiwan caucus in the U.S. Congress, said the United States is fully committed to supporting Taiwan militarily, diplomatically and economically. “There should be no doubt, there should be no skepticism in the United States, Taiwan or anywhere in the world, of American resolve to maintain the status quo and peace in the Taiwan Strait,” the Republican from Kentucky said at a news conference in the capital, Taipei, after the delegation met Taiwan President Lai Ching-te.

A Thai court sentences an opposition lawmaker to 2 years in prison for defaming the monarchy

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai court on Monday sentenced a lawmaker from a progressive opposition party to two years in prison after finding her guilty of defaming the monarchy in a speech she made during a protest rally three years ago. Chonthicha Jangrew of the Move Forward Party was greeted by several supporters when she arrived at the Thanyaburi Provincial Court in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok, with some party colleagues. Chonthicha, popularly known by her nickname “Lookkate,” represents a constituency in Pathum Thani. Her charges stemmed from her speech in 2021 that demanded the release of all political prisoners during a rally in front of the same court that delivered Monday’s sentence.