Top Asian News 4:54 a.m. GMT

Australia’s House of Representatives passes bill that would ban young children from social media

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would ban children younger than 16 years old from social media, leaving it to the Senate to finalize the world-first law. The major parties backed the bill that would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts. The legislation passed 102 to 13. If the bill becomes law this week, the platforms would have one year to work out how to implement the age restrictions before the penalties are enforced.

Pakistani authorities start clearing Imran Khan supporters from the capital after deadly clashes

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security forces launched an operation Tuesday night to disperse supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan who had gathered in the capital to demand his release from prison. The latest development came hours after thousands of Khan supporters, defying government warnings, broke through a barrier of shipping containers blocking off Islamabad and entered a high-security zone, where they clashed with security forces, facing tear gas shelling, mass detentions and gunfire. Tension has been high in Islamabad since Sunday when supporters of the former prime minister began a “long march” from the restive northwest to demand his release.

Philippine president and vice president clash in a feud that’s testing an Asian democracy

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A major political storm set off by a bitter feud between the Philippine president and the vice president is testing an Asian democracy that has long been troubled by rowdy politics, poor law enforcement and bareface impunity. Just over two years ago, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte won in landslide electoral victories on a campaign battle cry of national unity. But their fragile alliance rapidly floundered over major differences, including their leanings toward either the United States or China, and Marcos’ rejection of the bloody crackdown on illegal drugs launched by his predecessor and Duterte’s father, Rodrigo Duterte.

Philippine investigators summon VP Duterte over her public threats against President Marcos

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine authorities handed a subpoena to Vice President Sara Duterte’s office Tuesday, inviting her to answer investigators’ questions after she publicly threatened to have the president, his wife and the House of Representatives speaker assassinated if she were killed in an unspecified plot herself. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday described her threat as a criminal plot and vowed to fight it and uphold the rule of law in the country in a looming showdown between the country’s two top leaders. The national police and the military expressed alarm and immediately boosted Marcos’s security. National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said the threats were a national security concern.

An Australia police officer who shocked a 95-year-old woman with a Taser is guilty of manslaughter

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — A police officer in Australia who shocked a 95-year-old nursing home resident with a Taser was found guilty of her manslaughter on Wednesday. A jury found Sen Const Kristian James Samuel White guilty in the New South Wales Supreme Court in Sydney after 20 hours of deliberation. Clare Nowland, a great-grandmother who had dementia and used a walker, was refusing to put down the steak knife she was holding when White discharged his Taser at her in May 2023. Nowland, a resident of Yallambee Lodge, a nursing home in the town of Cooma , fell backwards after White shocked her.

Police in Thailand searching for suspect believed to have killed 3 in financial dispute

BANGKOK (AP) — Police in northern Thailand say they’re searching for a man who is believed to have shot and killed two men and a woman early Wednesday. Nong Bua Lamphu provincial police said the shooting took place in the town of Sri Boonrueang. The suspect is believed to have been involved in a financial dispute with the victims, police said. Further details were not immediately available.

A violent showdown in Pakistan’s capital pits the government against Imran Khan supporters

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Thousands of people are in the heart of Pakistan’s capital to demand the release of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan. He has been behind bars since August 2023 on charges that he and his supporters say are politically motivated. Authorities have deployed thousands of security personnel to seal off the city, suspended phone services, used tear gas and threatened to fire live rounds. It’s the second time in as many months that the government has shut down Islamabad and mobilized massive resources to contain Khan’s supporters. Here is what’s behind the turmoil: Cricket legend Khan can mobilize huge rallies and whip crowds into a frenzy with his claim that he was ousted from power in a conspiracy hatched by the U.S.

Trump’s threat to impose tariffs could raise prices for consumers, colliding with promise for relief

DETROIT (AP) — If Donald Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, booze and other goods. The president-elect floated the tariff idea, including additional 10% taxes on goods from China, as a way to force the countries to halt the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the U.S. But his posts Monday on Truth Social threatening the tariffs on his first day in office could just be a negotiating ploy to get the countries to change behavior.

Rebel group takes key Myanmar border town and rare earth mining hub in setback for military regime

BANGKOK (AP) — A powerful rebel group has seized a key trading town in northeastern Myanmar on the Chinese border, taking control of a lucrative rare earth mining hub in another setback for the military-led government, according to witnesses. The apparent loss of Kanpaiti to the Kachin Independence Army leaves Myanmar’s military in control of only one town with a border crossing, Muse, and deprives it of potential profits from the mines that provide China with rare earth minerals critical for electric motors and wind turbines, as well as high-tech weapons and a broad range of electronics. Neither Col. Naw Bu, the KIA’s spokesperson, nor Thet Swe, spokesperson for the military, responded to multiple requests for comment, but several local media outlets reported that Kanpaiti fell last week.

Chinese warplanes track US Navy aircraft through the sensitive Taiwan Strait

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China deployed military aircraft and ships to track and monitor a U.S. Navy plane transiting the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, Beijing said, as the two nations continue to spar over self-ruled Taiwan. The U.S. Navy’s 7th fleet said in a statement a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft flew through the strait’s international space “in accordance with international law.” The transit upheld navigational rights for all nations and “demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” it added. The U.S. is Taiwan’s most important supporter and arms provider, and American military ships and aircraft regularly transit the waterway separating China from self-ruled Taiwan.