Top Asian News 3:59 a.m. GMT

North Korea slams Rubio for calling it ‘rogue’ state in 1st direct criticism of new Trump government

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In its first direct criticism of the Trump administration, North Korea lashed out at U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for calling it a “rogue” state and warned Monday that such “coarse and nonsensical remarks” will never contribute to U.S. interests. The statement is the latest in a series of North Korean signals that it will maintain its tough stance on the U.S. for now, though Trump has said he’s intent on reaching out to its leader Kim Jong Un to revive diplomacy. “The hostile words and deeds of the person who is in charge of the U.S.

Southeast Asia looks to nuclear power to supercharge its energy transition

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asia’s only nuclear power plant, completed four decades ago in Bataan, about 40 miles from the Philippine capital Manila, was built in the 1970s but left idle due to safety concerns and corruption. It has never produced a single watt of energy. Now the Philippines and other countries in fast-growing Southeast Asia are looking to develop nuclear energy in their quest for cleaner and more reliable energy. Nuclear energy is viewed by its proponents as a climate solution since reactors don’t emit the plant-warming greenhouses gases released by burning coal, gas or oil. Advances in technology have helped reduce the risks from radiation, making nuclear plants safer, cheaper to build and smaller.

Trump says Americans could feel ‘some pain’ from tariffs as he threatens more import taxes

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday that Americans could feel “some pain” from the emerging trade war triggered by his tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, and claimed that Canada would “cease to exist” without its trade surplus with the United States. The trade penalties that Trump signed Saturday at his Florida resort caused a mix of panic, anger and uncertainty, and threatened to rupture a decades-old partnership on trade in North America while further straining relations with China. Trump on Sunday night returned from Florida and threatened to impose steeper tariffs elsewhere, telling reporters that the import taxes will “definitely happen” with the European Union and possibly with the United Kingdom as well.

What do Trump’s executive orders say on tariffs and how would they work?

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — With a trio of executive orders, President Donald Trump has almost instantly thrown the world economy and his own goal of cutting inflation into turmoil. His tariffs against Canada and Mexico in order to stop illegal immigration and the illicit fentanyl trade led to retaliatory taxes by both countries on U.S. imports. He placed an additional 10% tariff on imports from China with the stated goal of stopping the production of fentanyl. But on a deeper level, Trump suddenly hit the U.S. economy with tax increases that, if sustained, could total more than $1 trillion in 10 years.

Rubio says Panama must reduce Chinese influence around the canal or face possible US action

PANAMA CITY (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio brought a warning to Panamanian leader José Raúl Mulino on Sunday: Immediately reduce what President Donald Trump says is Chinese influence over the Panama Canal area or face potential retaliation from the United States. Rubio, traveling to the Central American country and touring the Panama Canal on his first foreign trip as top U.S. diplomat, held face-to-face talks with Mulino, who has resisted pressure from the new U.S. government over management of a waterway that is vital to global trade. Mulino told reporters after the meeting that Rubio made “no real threat of retaking the canal or the use of force.” Speaking on behalf of Trump, who has demanded that the canal be returned to U.S.

Japan launches a navigation satellite on a new flagship rocket for an improved positioning system

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s space agency said on Sunday it successfully launched a navigation satellite on its new flagship H3 rocket as the country seeks to have a more precise location positioning system of its own. The H3 rocket carrying the Michibiki 6 satellite lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center on a southwestern Japanese island. Everything went smoothly and the satellite successfully separated from the rocket as planned about 29 minutes after the liftoff, said Makoto Arita, H3 project manager for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA. Officials said it is expected to reach its targeted geospatial orbit in about two weeks.

AP PHOTOS: Tens of thousands of migratory birds have made this Indian lake their winter home

NAGROTA SURIYAN, India (AP) — Before the day breaks on a winter morning at the Pong Lake wetland in northern India, muffled honks of geese are heard in the distance. A lone fisherman wrapped in a blanket rides his bicycle in the darkness, relying on his familiarity with the landscape. The air is heavy with water vapor and headlights of motorbikes zigzag across the swampy plain as more fishermen arrive, two on each vehicle. Before the sun rises, the fishermen’s creaky wooden boats are specks in the distance. In the soft light of dawn, a large flock of bar-headed geese at the water’s edge becomes visible.

AP PHOTOS: Japanese mark the end of winter with bean-throwing ritual to ward off evil spirits

TOKYO (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered Sunday at a Buddhist temple in downtown Tokyo, eagerly stretching their hands to catch the dried soybeans thrown at them in the hope of warding off evil spirits and inviting good luck. Japan’s annual ritual of “mame-maki,” or bean-throwing, at Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and homes sees people marking “setsubun,” the last day of the winter in the Japanese lunar calendar. Like rice, soybeans are considered a symbol of vitality and purity. Inside the Zojoji temple in Tokyo, a number of people including sumo wrestlers, actors and other celebrities, dressed in formal kimonos, stood on an elevated podium, excitedly throwing the dried soybeans as the crowds gathered to happily pick the small packs of “fukumame.” “Oniwa soto, Fukuwa uchi!” or “Demons out, fortune in!” everyone chanted in sync, loudly enough to be heard outside the temple, where hundreds queued up for the next session.

Peace prospects look bleak in Myanmar as a civil war rages

BANGKOK (AP) — Peace prospects look bleak in Myanmar as a civil war rages despite international pressure on the military four years after it seized power from an elected civilian government. The political situation remains tense with no negotiation space in sight between the military government and the major opposition groups fighting against it. The four years after the army’s takeover on Feb. 1, 2021, have created a profound situation of multiple, overlapping crises with nearly half the population in poverty and the economy in disarray, the U.N. Development Program said. The U.N. Human Rights Office said the military ramped up violence against civilians last year to unprecedented levels, inflicting the heaviest civilian death toll since the army takeover as its grip on power eroded.

18 Pakistani soldiers killed in fighting with separatist rebels in Balochistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani troops fought separatist insurgents who set up roadblocks in the restive northwestern region of Balochistan, leaving 18 paramilitary security forces and 23 rebels dead in some of the heaviest clashes in recent years, officials said Saturday. The military said troops suffered casualties when they engaged the insurgents who erected barricades on a key highway in Kalat, bordering Afghanistan. The security forces “successfully removed the roadblock” following the fighting overnight into Saturday morning, the military said in a statement. It said 18 security personnel died during the operation and vowed that “the perpetrators, facilitators and abettors of this heinous and cowardly act, will be brought to justice.” Security forces recovered the bodies of 12 insurgents, the military said.