Top Asian News 3:17 a.m. GMT

Japan’s ruling party loses all 3 seats in special vote, seen as punishment for corruption scandal

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s governing party, stung by an extensive slush funds scandal, lost all three seats in parliamentary by-elections Sunday in a major setback for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in seeking reelection as his party’s leader in the autumn. The loss is considered punishment by voters for the Liberal Democratic Party scandal that erupted last year and has undermined Kishida’s leadership. The party’s loss of power is unlikely, however, because the opposition is fractured. “The results were extremely severe,” LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters. “We humbly accept the severe results, and we will do our utmost to regain the trust from the public as we continue our effort to reform and tackle the challenges.” The liberal-leaning main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan clinched all three seats in Shimane, Nagasaki and Tokyo, according to final vote counts posted on prefectural election committee websites.

Deforestation in Indonesia spiked last year, but resources analyst sees better overall trend

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — From trees felled in protected national parks to massive swaths of jungle razed for palm oil and paper plantations, Indonesia had a 27% uptick in primary forest loss in 2023 from the previous year, according to a World Resources Institute analysis of deforestation data. But the loss is still seen as historically low compared to the 2010s, it said. “Deforestation has been declining from six or so years ago, when there were peak rates,” said Rod Taylor, global director of the forests program at WRI. “It’s good news and commendable for Indonesia.” But others saw cause for concern in the uptick, and tied some of the more recent deforestation to the world’s appetite for mining Indonesia’s vast deposits of nickel, which is critical for the green energy transition.

Australian prime minister describes domestic violence as a ‘national crisis’ after protests

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday described domestic violence as a “national crisis” after thousands rallied around the country against violence toward women. Thousands protested in cities around Australia on Sunday to draw attention to the deaths of 27 women so far this year allegedly caused by acts of gender-based violence in a population of 27 million. Albanese said on Monday the rallies were a call to action for all levels of Australian government to do more to prevent gender-based violence. “Quite clearly, we need to do more. It’s not enough to just have empathy,” Albanese told Nine Network television.

Aerial photos show wide devastation left by a deadly tornado in China’s Guangzhou

BEIJING (AP) — Aerial photos posted by Chinese state media on Sunday showed wide devastation in part of the southern city of Guangzhou after a tornado swept through the day before, killing five people, injuring dozens others and damaging more than 140 buildings. As businesses and residents began cleaning debris, the images showed block upon block of devastation in the hardest-hit areas with a few clusters of buildings standing amid the destruction, a truck overturned on its side and cars crushed by rubble. The sheet metal roofs on some buildings were torn off. The tornado Saturday also injured 33 people and knocked out power in the area.

A funeral is held for 20 Cambodian soldiers killed in an arms depot explosion at an army base

CHBAR MON, Cambodia (AP) — A funeral was held Sunday for 20 soldiers who died at an army base in southwestern Cambodia in a huge explosion of stored munitions that also wounded several others and damaged nearby houses. There has been no public explanation of what caused the Saturday afternoon blast at the base in Kompong Speu province, though there were no suggestions it was triggered deliberately. Defense Minister Tea Seiha, representing Prime Minister Hun Manet, presided over the Buddhist funeral ceremony, which was attended by relatives of the victims and fellow soldiers. Cambodian flags covered the wooden coffins. A villager living nearby told The Associated Press on Sunday that he trembled after hearing the blast because he had never before experienced such a loud explosion.

Tesla founder Musk visits China as competitors show off new electric vehicles at Beijing auto show

BEIJING (AP) — Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk met with a top government leader in the Chinese capital Sunday, just as the nation’s carmakers are showing off their latest electric vehicle models at the Beijing auto show. Chinese Premier Li Qiang told Musk that he hopes the U.S. will work more with China on “win-win” cooperation, citing Tesla’s operations in China as a successful example of economic cooperation, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said on its main evening news program. For China, Musk is a welcome antidote to the tough talk from U.S. officials, which played out most recently during a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

A Hindu festival in southwestern Pakistan brings a mountainous region to life

HINGLAJ, Pakistan (AP) — The ascent of steep mud volcanoes marks the start of Hindu pilgrims’ religious rituals in southwestern Pakistan. They climb hundreds of stairs or clamber over rocks to reach the summit, tossing coconuts and rose petals into the shallow crater while seeking divine permission to visit Hinglaj Mata, an ancient cave temple that is the focus of their three-day worship. The dramatic surroundings of Hingol National Park in Baluchistan province are the setting for Pakistan’s largest Hindu festival, Hinglaj Yatra, which started on Friday and ends on Sunday. Organizers say more than 100,000 Hindus are expected to participate.

Armed men kidnap a senior judge in Pakistan’s restive northwest

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Armed men ambushed and kidnapped a senior judge in Pakistan’s restive northwest, a police official said Sunday. Around 15 men on motorbikes intercepted Judge Shakirullah Marwat’s vehicle as he was traveling toward Dera Ismail Khan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said police official Faheem Khan. The assailants set the car on fire before fleeing with him. The driver was not harmed, Khan said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday evening’s assault, but a video distributed by counterterrorism officials Sunday showed the judge saying that the militant Pakistani Taliban group, or TTP, would not release him until their demands were met.

A strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake shakes Indonesia’s Java Island, felt in Jakarta

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook the southern part of Indonesia’s main island of Java on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of injury or significant property damage. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck 102 kilometers (63 miles) south of Banjar city at a depth of 68.3 kilometers (42.4 miles). There was no tsunami warning. High-rises in the capital Jakarta swayed for around a minute and two-story homes shook strongly in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung and in Jakarta’s satellite cities of Depok, Tangerang, Bogor and Bekasi. The quake was also felt in other cities in West Java, Yogyakarta and East Java province, according to Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency.

The US and China talk past each other on most issues, but at least they’re still talking

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his just-concluded latest visit to China with a stop at a Beijing record store where he bought albums by Taylor Swift and Chinese rocker Dou Wei in a symbolic nod to cross-cultural exchanges and understanding he had been promoting for three days. Music, he said at the Li-Pi shop on his way to the airport late Friday, “is the best connector, regardless of geography.” Yet Swift’s “Midnights” and Dou Wei’s “Black Dream” could just as easily represent the seemingly intractable divisions in the deeply troubled relationship between the world’s two largest economies that both sides publicly and privately blame on the other.