Top Asian News 3:46 a.m. GMT

Thaksin indicted on charge of royal defamation as more court cases stir Thailand’s political woes

BANGKOK (AP) — Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was formally indicted Tuesday on a charge of defaming Thailand’s monarchy in one of several court cases that have unsteadied Thai politics. Thaksin, an influential political figure despite being ousted from power 18 years ago, reported himself to prosecutors just before 9 a.m. and the indictment process has been completed, Prayuth Bejraguna, a spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General, said at a news conference. A car believed to be carrying Thaksin arrived at the Criminal Court in Bangkok but he did not come out to meet reporters, and it is unclear whether he went to the court or the nearby prosecutors’ office.

South Korean soldiers fire warning shots after North Korean troops intrude for 2nd time this month

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean soldiers fired warning shots to repel North Korean soldiers who temporarily crossed the rivals’ land border Tuesday for the second time this month, South Korea’s military said. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said around 20 to 30 North Korean soldiers, while engaging in unspecified construction work on the northern side of the border, briefly crossed the military demarcation line that bisects the countries as of 8:30 a.m. It said the North Korean soldiers retreated after the South broadcasts warnings and fired warning shots and the South’s military didn’t spot any suspicious activities after that.

Before his summit with North Korea’s Kim, Putin vows they’ll beat sanctions together

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea for supporting his actions in Ukraine and said their countries will cooperate closely to overcome U.S.-led sanctions as he headed to Pyongyang on Tuesday for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Putin’s comments appeared in an op-ed piece in North Korean state media hours before he was expected to arrive in the North for a two-day visit as the countries deepen their alignment in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with Washington. Putin, who will be making his first visit to North Korea in 24 years, said he highly appreciates its firm support of his invasion of Ukraine.

Thailand has tried for years to solve its pollution problem. But ‘haze season’ always comes back

SAMOENG, Thailand (AP) — When the haze season comes, village chief Nanthawat Tiengtrongsakun and his tribesmen start preparing the land for fire. They cut shrubs and trees on their small parcels of land, then set controlled burns that will clear their fields for planting — and send up plumes of smoke that add to some of the worst air in the world. It’s a slightly sweet gray haze that blurs the mountains in this part of northern Thailand to a faint outline, makes the air itself feel solid and turns breathing and swallowing painful for some. The Pakanyo, who have carried out the practice as long as they have lived in these hills about 90 minutes from Chiang Mai, a top tourist destination, say they get blamed by city dwellers for fouling the air and damaging forest land.

Chinese premier focuses on critical minerals and clean energy during Australian visit

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang ends his Australian tour on Tuesday in the west coast city of Perth where he will focus on China’s investment in critical minerals and clean energy. Li last week became the first Chinese premier to visit New Zealand then Australia in seven years. Later Tuesday, he is to become the first premier to visit Malaysia since 2015. Li, China’s second-most powerful leader after President Xi Jinping, will inspect iron ore miner Fortescue’s clean energy research facility in Perth. Fortescue’s chairman Andrew Forrest said Li was interested in the company’s plans to produce iron ore without carbon emissions and potentially “green iron.” “I think China chose us because it’s not just the best technology to go green in Australia, it’s the best technology to go green in the world and we’ve got real examples of it in trains, ship engines, trucks,” Forrest told The Associated Press.

Akio Toyoda, grandson of Toyota founder, wins shareholders’ approval to stay in leadership

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota shareholders voted Tuesday in support of all the company’s proposals, including keeping Akio Toyoda, grandson of the Japanese automaker’s founder, as chairman on the board. Details on the vote tallies were not immediately available. But the company confirmed the majority voted in support of its positions. A shareholder proposal requesting that Toyota issue an annual report on its climate-related lobbying activities was rejected. The annual meeting, held at company headquarters in Toyota city, central Japan, has drawn attention because Toyota and other major domestic makers have been embroiled in a scandal centered around fraudulent certification tests for vehicles.

China blames Philippines for ship collision in South China Sea. Manila calls the report deceptive

TAIPEI (AP) — A Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Monday, China’s coast guard said, in the latest flare-up of escalating territorial disputes that have sparked alarm. The coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, part of a territory claimed by several nations. The Philippines says the shoal falls within its internationally recognized exclusive economic zone and often cites a 2016 international arbitration ruling invalidating China’s expansive South China Sea claims based on historical grounds.

Chinese and Philippine ship collision just the latest in a string of South China Sea confrontations

BANGKOK (AP) — China has been at odds with many other countries in the Asia-Pacific for years over its sweeping maritime claims, including almost all of the South China Sea, a strategic and resource-rich waterway around which Beijing has drawn a 10-dash-line on official maps to delineate what it says it its territory. Beijing is in the midst of a massive military expansion and has become increasingly assertive in pursuing its claims, giving rise to more frequent direct confrontations, primarily with the Philippines, though it is also involved in longtime territorial disputes with Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. A 2016 arbitration ruling by a United Nations tribunal invalidated Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, but China did not participate in the proceedings and rejected the ruling.

Indian national pleads not guilty in plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in New York City

NEW YORK (AP) — An Indian national extradited to the United States pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges arising from an alleged failed plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in New York. Nikhil Gupta, 52, was extradited to the U.S. on Friday from the Czech Republic following his arrest in Prague a year ago. He made an initial appearance on Monday in Manhattan federal court, where his attorney, Jeff Chabrowe, entered the not guilty plea on his behalf. The lawyer told a U.S. magistrate judge that his client might seek bail at a future court date. Gupta is scheduled to appear before a district judge on June 28.

At least 9 dead, dozens injured as trains collide in India’s Darjeeling district, a tourist hotspot

NEW DELHI (AP) — A cargo train rammed into a passenger train in India’s eastern state of West Bengal on Monday, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens of others, officials said. Television channels showed video of one train rammed into the end of the other, with one compartment rising vertically in the air. Doctors and ambulances rushed to the accident site in the Darjeeling district, a tourist spot nestled in the Himalayan foothills, soon after the collision. Scores of people gathered as rescuers searched through the debris. Three of the nine dead were railway personnel, said Sabyasachi De, spokesperson of the Northeast Frontier Railway.