Top Asian News 2:57 a.m. GMT

Zelenskyy says 10,000 North Koreans could join Russian forces in Ukraine as he pushes ‘victory plan’

BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday his government has intelligence information that 10,000 troops from North Korea are being prepared to join Russian forces fighting against his country, warning that a third nation wading into the hostilities would turn the conflict into a “world war.” Zelenskyy did not go into detail about the claim that came a day after U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said that Washington and its allies are alarmed by North Korea’s military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine but couldn’t confirm Ukrainian claims that soldiers were sent to fight for Moscow.

Who is Prabowo Subianto, the former general who becomes Indonesia’s new president?

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A wealthy ex-general with ties to both Indonesia’s popular outgoing president and the country’s dictatorial past will be inaugurated as its leader Sunday. He has promised to continue his predecessor’s widely popular policies, but his human rights record has activists, and some analysts, concerned about the future of Indonesia’s democracy. At the election in February, Prabowo Subianto, 73, presented himself as heir to the immensely popular President Joko Widodo, the first Indonesian president to emerge from outside the political and military elite. Subianto, who was then defense minister, vowed to continue the modernization agenda that has brought rapid growth and vaulted Indonesia into the ranks of middle-income countries.

China’s economy grows at a 4.6% rate in the last quarter, below the official 5% target

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s economy expanded at a slower-than-expected rate of 4.6% in the July-September quarter, the government said Friday. The latest data show the world’s second largest economy slowing from 4.7% annual growth in the previous quarter and falling short of the official target of “about 5%” growth for 2024, a figure that analysts consider ambitious without more aggressive measures to spur consumer demand and spur a recovery in the ailing property sector. The economy has remained sluggish despite the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions at the end of 2022. Consumer confidence is low and the real estate market remains a drag on the economy.

King Charles III’s visit rekindles Australia’s debate on ending ties to the British monarchy

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — King Charles III and Queen Camilla will arrive in Sydney on Friday for the first Australian visit by a reigning monarch in more than a decade, a trip that has rekindled debate about the nation’s constitutional links to Britain. The Sydney Opera House’s iconic sails will be illuminated with images of previous royal visits to welcome the couple, whose six-day trip will be brief by royal standards. Charles, 75, is being treated for cancer, which led to the scaled-down itinerary. He is only the second reigning British monarch to visit Australia. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, became the first 70 years ago.

Indian government employee charged in foiled murder-for-hire plot in New York City

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department announced criminal charges Thursday against an Indian government employee who specialized in intelligence in connection with a foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City. Vikash Yadav, 39, faces murder-for-hire charges in a planned killing that prosecutors first disclosed last year and have said was meant to precede a string of other politically motivated murders in the United States and Canada. Yadav remains at large, but in charging him and releasing his name, the Biden administration sought to call out the Indian government for criminal activity that has emerged as a significant point of tension between India and the West over the last year — culminating this week with a diplomatic flare-up with Canada and the expulsion of diplomats.

India denies Canadian allegation that it uses mobsters to target Sikh separatists in Canada

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s government on Thursday denied it was working with mobsters to target Sikh separatists in Canada as alleged publicly this week by Canadian officials in an escalating diplomatic dispute. But Canada is not the only country that has accused Indian officials of plotting an assassination on foreign soil. The U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges against an Indian government employee Thursday in connection with an alleged foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City. In the case announced by the Justice Department Vikash Yadav, who authorities say directed the New York plot from India, faces murder-for-hire charges in a planned killing that prosecutors have previously said was meant to precede a string of other politically motivated murders in the United States and Canada.

Bangladesh court issues arrest warrant for ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over deaths of protesters

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A special court in Bangladesh issued arrest warrants on Thursday for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 45 others, including her close aides, on charges of crimes against humanity during a student-led uprising in July and August that forced her to flee the country, a prosecutor said. Prosecutor B.M. Sultan Mahmud said the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the country’s interim leader, issued the arrest warrants in response to two petitions submitted by the prosecution. He said the head of the tribunal, Golam Mortuza Majumdar, issued the orders in the presence of other judges.

Kim stresses to North Korean troops they should treat South Korea as a hostile foreign enemy

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reminded his troops to treat South Korea as a hostile foreign enemy and insisted that the North wouldn’t hesitate to attack its rival if the South infringes upon its sovereignty, state media said Friday. Kim’s comments at an army headquarters came after North Korea this week confirmed that it revised its constitution to define South Korea as “a hostile state” and blew up front-line road and rail links that were once connected to the South. The steps punctuated Kim’s calls for North Korea to abandon its longstanding goals of reconciling with the South and reflect his intent to escalate tensions and increase leverage amid a deepening stalemate in diplomacy.

Pakistani police fire tear gas at protesting students as anger spreads over alleged on-campus rape

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police fired tear gas and charged at student protesters who ransacked a college building Thursday, as anger spread over an alleged on-campus rape, prompting the government to shut schools, colleges and universities for two days. Tensions have been high on college campuses since reports of the alleged rape in the eastern city of Lahore spread on social media, and protests have broken out in four cities. Sexual violence against women is common in Pakistan, but it is underreported because of the stigma attached in the conservative country. Protests about the issue have been rare. Thursday’s violence started when hundreds of students demonstrated outside a campus in the city of Rawalpindi in Punjab province.

The youngest woman to climb all of the world’s 14 tallest peaks calls for novices to be regulated

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A British mountaineer who set the record as the youngest female to climb all the 14 tallest mountains in the world said Thursday that inexperienced climbers should not be allowed to climb the highest peaks because they run the risk of endangering their lives and others. Adriana Brownlee, 23, climbed Mount Everest at 20 in 2021 and earlier this month climbed Mount Shishapangma in China, completing her endeavor to scale all 14 peaks over 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) high. She said she has seen numerous climbers who lack training in basic skills and in coping with the unpredictable slopes of the high peaks.