Top Asian News 1:19 a.m. GMT

They helped US order airstrikes against Taliban. Now Trump’s moves have left those Afghans in limbo

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — They helped the U.S. military order airstrikes against Taliban and Islamic State fighters and worked as drivers and translators during America’s longest war. They were set to start new lives in the United States. Then President Donald Trump issued executive orders that put an end to programs used to help Afghans get to safety in America. Now those same Afghans, who underwent a yearslong background check, find themselves in a state of limbo. “I was shocked. I am still in shock because I have already waited four years for this process, to get out of this hell and to get to a safe place and live in peace and have a new beginning,” said Roshangar, one of the Afghans whose life was upended by Trump’s action.

North Korea’s Kim slams US-South Korea-Japan partnership and vows to boost his nuclear program

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said an elevated U.S. security partnership with South Korea and Japan poses a grave threat to his country and vowed to further bolster his nuclear weapons program, state media reported Sunday. Kim has previously made similar warnings, but his latest statement implies again that the North Korean leader won’t likely embrace President Donald Trump’s overture to meet him and revive diplomacy anytime soon. In a speech marking the 77th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on Saturday, Kim said the U.S.-Japan-South Korea trilateral security partnership established under a U.S.

US Marine from California identified as one of 4 people killed in Philippines plane crash

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) — A U.S. Marine from California was identified by military officials Sunday as one of four people killed when a plane contracted by the U.S. military crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines. Sgt. Jacob M. Durham, 22, of Long Beach, died Thursday in the crash of an aircraft that was conducting a routine mission “providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies,” officials at Camp Pendleton, California, said in a statement. Officials said the cause of the crash was under investigation. Three defense contractors also were killed in the crash, military officials have said.

Rescuers recover 1 body and search for 28 people in a landslide in southwest China

BEIJING (AP) — Emergency teams in China’s southwestern Sichuan province raced against time Sunday to locate 28 people after a landslide triggered by rains killed one person and buried homes. Nearly 1,000 personnel were deployed following the landslide in the village of Jinping in Junlian county on Saturday. Some officers navigated through the remains of collapsed buildings, using drones and life-detection radars to locate any signs of life with the help of locals who were familiar with the area, state broadcaster CCTV said. Two injured people were rescued and about 360 others evacuated after 10 houses and a manufacturing building were buried, CCTV reported.

Released Thai hostages return to Bangkok after being held for over a year in Gaza

BANGKOK (AP) — Five Thai workers released after being held hostage for over a year in Gaza arrived in Bangkok on Sunday. Sarusak Rumnao, 32, Watchara Sriaoun, 33, Sathian Suwannakham, 35, Pongsak Thaenna, 36, and Bannawat Saethao, 27, were freed on Jan. 30 as part of an exchange arrangement. They were embraced by family members, some of whom cried, in the arrivals hall at Suvarnabhumi airport. Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sagniampongsa and the Israeli Ambassador to Thailand Orna Sagiv were both at the airport to welcome home the freed hostages. “We are all very grateful and very happy that we get to return to our homeland.

Dalai Lama’s elder brother, who led several rounds of talks with China, dies at 97

NEW DELHI (AP) — The elder brother of the Dalai Lama and former chairman of the Tibetan government-in-exile in India, Gyalo Thondup, who led several rounds of talks with China and worked with foreign governments for the Tibetan cause, has died. He was 97. Thondup died at his home in Kalimpong, a hill town in the Himalayan foothills of eastern West Bengal state, on Saturday evening, media reports said. No other details were immediately released about his death. Tibetan media outlets credited Thondup for networking with foreign governments and praised his role in facilitating U.S. support for the Tibetan struggle. The Dalai Lama led a prayer session for Thondup at a monastery in Bylakuppe town in India’s southern state of Karnataka on Sunday where the spiritual leader is currently staying for the winter months.

31 suspected Maoist rebels and 2 police officers are killed in forest combat in central India

PATNA, India (AP) — At least 31 suspected Maoist rebels and two police officials were killed on Sunday in the deadliest combat so far this year in central India, police said. Hundreds of police and paramilitary soldiers launched an operation in the forests of the Indravati area of Chhattisgarh state based on intelligence that large number of rebels had gathered there, said state police Inspector General Pattilingam Sundarraj. Sundarraj said as the troops conducted a search operation fighting erupted in the forest, killing at least 31 insurgents and two police officials. Two other police were injured . He said search operations were continuing in the area and the troops had recovered some arms and ammunition, including automatic rifles.

Modi’s party wins most seats in high-stakes New Delhi polls for first time in 27 years

NEW DELHI (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party won the most seats in the high-stakes state legislature election in India’s federal territory, including New Delhi, for the first time in over a quarter-century, according to official data on Saturday. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won 47 seats in the 70-member assembly that includes India’s capital of 20 million people, ousting the Aam Aadmi Party, or AAP, that ruled New Delhi since 2015. The AAP won 22 seats. The outcome of the race in one remaining seat had yet to be declared, according to the Election Commission of India.

Chinese cargo ship runs aground on Russia’s Pacific region of Sakhalin but no spill reported

MOSCOW (AP) — The governor of Russia’s Pacific island region of Sakhalin has declared an emergency after a Chinese cargo ship ran aground off its southwest coast. There was no danger to the crew of the An Yang 2, which is carrying coal and heavy fuel oil, Gov. Valery Limarenko said in a post on Telegram on Sunday. Russia’s emergencies ministry said 20 crew were aboard. Limarenko said that no fuel spillage was recorded, but local authorities had to be prepared for any scenario. Bad weather has prevented access by rescue teams to the bulk carrier, which is stranded in shallow waters off Sakhalin’s Nevelsky district, he added.

Who are the five Thai hostages released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire in Gaza?

BANGKOK (AP) — Five Thai nationals held hostage by Hamas since its attack on Israel returned home on Sunday after their release from captivity last month. The group was the second batch of 31 Thai hostages released so far since the war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023. During an earlier ceasefire in November 2023, 23 Thai nationals were released in a deal negotiated between Thailand and Hamas, with assistance from Qatar and Iran. Two others were confirmed dead and the status of one remaining person is not clear. Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas militants.