Top Asian News 4:34 a.m. GMT

Bangladesh court acquits Zia’s son and 48 others convicted in 2004 deadly grenade attack

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s High Court on Sunday acquitted former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, and 48 others, overturning their verdicts in a deadly 2004 grenade attack on a political rally. The ruling comes at a critical time as the South Asian country suffers political tension after longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country to India in August following a mass uprising that left hundreds dead. Rahman serves as the acting chairperson of Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party while in self-exile in London, and he could become Bangladesh’s next leader if his party is voted into power.

Taiwan’s president visits East-West think tank as China criticizes his 2-day visit to Hawaii

HONOLULU (AP) — Taiwan’s president visited a U.S. State Department-funded think tank and educational institution Sunday on the second day of a two-day visit to Hawaii that’s part of a Pacific island tour that has already triggered criticism from Beijing. Lai Ching-te met and exchanged gifts with the president of the East-West Center, which is on the University of Hawaii’s flagship Manoa campus. He spoke to an audience at the center but journalists were escorted out of a conference hall before he began speaking. China’s Foreign Ministry said it “strongly condemned” U.S. support for Lai’s visit and had lodged a complaint with the U.S.

Australian police arrest 13 people and seize a record 2.3 tons of cocaine from a fishing boat

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Australian police seized a record 2.3 tons of cocaine and arrested 13 people in raids after the suspects’ boat broke down off the coast of Queensland, authorities said Monday. The drugs had a sale value of 760 million Australian dollars ($494 million) and equaled as many as 11.7 million street deals if they had reached the country of 28 million people, federal police said in a statement. Investigators told reporters in Brisbane that the drugs were transported from an unidentified South American country. The arrests on Saturday and Sunday followed a monthlong investigation after a tipoff that the Comancheros motorcycle gang was planning a multi-ton smuggling operation, Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay said.

India’s Adani says his group is committed to compliance after US bribery and fraud charges

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian tycoon Gautam Adani said his conglomerate is committed to “world-class regulatory compliance” after being indicted in the U.S. on fraud charges and an alleged bribery scheme worth millions of dollars, his first remarks since the accusations surfaced. Adani, 62, is one of Asia’s richest men and perceived as close to Prime Minister Narendra Mo di. He was thrust into the spotlight on Nov. 20 when U.S. prosecutors in New York charged him and seven of his associates with securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and wire fraud, as well as duping investors by concealing that his company’s huge solar energy project on the subcontinent was being facilitated by bribes.

AP PHOTOS: A Japanese artist finds solace and global fans with intricate leaf-cutting

TOKYO (AP) — A frog holding a taro-leaf umbrella. A parade of frolicking animals. An Ukiyo-e style Mount Fuji. Giant waves. A Japanese artist who goes by the name Lito carves these delicate designs on fallen leaves, giving life back to them. The world of Lito’s delicate art, which he began in 2020 and posts on social media almost daily, has won fans from around the world. The leaf art has also given him solace after earlier struggles with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a purpose in life — the joy of making people happy with his art. He enjoys working at night.

Japan’s popular Princess Aiko turns 23 with her future as a royal in doubt

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s popular Princess Aiko turned 23 on Sunday, as she takes on more official duties even while her future in the imperial family remains in doubt. Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, graduated from university earlier this year and has since been participating in official duties and palace rituals while working at the Red Cross Society, according to the Imperial Household Agency. But Japanese law requires her to renounce her royal status and leave the family if she marries outside the imperial family. The vast majority of Japan’s public supports changing the law to allow her to remain a royal and become emperor, but conservatives in the governing party insist on keeping male-only succession.

Negotiators fail to reach an agreement on a plastic pollution treaty. Talks to resume next year

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — Negotiators working on a treaty to address the global crisis of plastic pollution for a week in South Korea won’t reach an agreement and plan to resume the talks next year. They are at an impasse over whether the treaty should reduce the total plastic on Earth and put global, legally binding controls on toxic chemicals used to make plastics. The negotiations in Busan, South Korea, were supposed to be the fifth and final round to produce the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution, including in the oceans, by the end of 2024. But with time running out early Monday, negotiators agreed to resume the talks next year.

What to know about the plastic pollution treaty talks that have concluded in South Korea

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — Negotiations on a treaty to end plastic pollution have concluded in Busan, South Korea without reaching an agreement. This was supposed to be the fifth and final round to produce the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution, including in the oceans, by the end of 2024. Here’s what to know about the talks: After a week of talks and with time running out early Monday, negotiators agreed to meet again next year. They don’t yet have firm plans. This has been the largest session with more than 3,300 participants at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, including delegates from over 170 countries and representatives of nearly 450 organizations.

Sectarian violence has killed at least 130 people in Pakistan’s northwest in the last 10 days

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Sectarian violence has killed at least 130 people and wounded 200 others in Pakistan’s northwest in the last 10 days, officials said Sunday. Violence flared in Kurram district on Nov. 21 when gunmen ambushed a vehicle convoy and killed 52 people, mostly Shiite Muslims. Nobody claimed responsibility for the assault, which triggered retaliatory firing and arson by rival groups in several areas. Over the past 24 hours alone, 14 people have died and 27 have been injured in fighting. Government officials brokered a seven-day ceasefire on Nov. 24 but it didn’t hold. Shiite Muslims dominate parts of the district, although they are a minority in the rest of the country.

Vietnam approves $67 billion high-speed railway project between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam on Saturday approved the construction of a high-speed railway connecting the capital Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh city in the south at an estimated cost of $67 billion. The ambitious railway line will stretch 1,541 kilometers (957 miles) between the Vietnamese capital and the financial capital in the south. The new train is expected to travel at speeds of up to 350 kph (217 mph), reducing the journey from the current 30 hours to just five hours. The decision was taken by Vietnam’s National Assembly, its parliament. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and Vietnam hopes that the first trains will start operating by 2035.