Top Asian News 4:33 a.m. GMT

Downloads of DeepSeek’s AI apps paused in South Korea over privacy concerns

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, has temporarily paused downloads of its chatbot apps in South Korea while it works with local authorities to address privacy concerns, according to South Korean officials on Monday. South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission said DeepSeek’s apps were removed from the local versions of Apple’s App Store and Google Play on Saturday evening and that the company agreed to work with the agency to strengthen privacy protections before relaunching the apps. The action does not affect users who have already downloaded DeekSeek on their phones or use it on personal computers.

At least 18 people are dead after a stampede at New Delhi railway station in India

NEW DELHI (AP) — At least 18 people, including 14 women, were killed in a stampede at a railway station in India’s capital of New Delhi, the Press Trust of India news agency reported Sunday. Many of the victims were Hindu pilgrims who were traveling to the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj in northern India, according to Delhi’s caretaker chief minister, Atishi, who uses only one name. The stampede happened late Saturday while thousands of people were gathered at the New Delhi railway station waiting to board a train. The incident occurred after some passengers slipped and fell on others while coming down from a footbridge that connects train platforms, authorities said.

AP PHOTOS: The traditional sari is on colorful display at a massive Hindu festival in India

PRAYAGRAJ, India (AP) — The traditional colorful Indian fabric worn by women is ubiquitous to the world’s largest religious gathering in northern India’s Prayagraj city, where millions of Hindus are thronging to seek absolution from their sins and take dips in the holy waters. This display of Indian women’s most idiosyncratic garment — known as the sari — is, however, seen mostly when it is sun-dried right on the sandy banks at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers after women bathe. Pilgrims, particularly women, are seen sun-drying saris on bamboo rods and on the ground.

AP PHOTOS: 6-month-old twin panda cubs climb and sleep at their debut in Hong Kong

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s youngest celebrities, twin 6-month-old panda cubs, made their first public appearance before adoring fans Sunday. The cubs born Aug. 15 are Hong Kong’s first locally born giant panda cubs. They live at the Ocean Park theme park along with their parents and two other giant pandas that arrived from mainland China last year. Crowds flocked to the park Sunday to glimpse the pandas inside their enclosure. Their caretakers were at hand as the pandas climbed up a tree trunk or slept on a swing. A large selection of panda-themed souvenirs was available. The cubs don’t have names yet — they are being referred to as “Elder Sister” and “Little Brother.” A public competition to name them was launched Saturday following an event attended by Hong Kong leader John Lee and other officials.

Guarded optimism in India as Trump and Modi outline plans to deepen defense partnership

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — There was guarded optimism among military experts in India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump outlined plans to ramp up sales of defense systems to New Delhi, including F-35 stealth fighter jets, to deepen the U.S.-India strategic relationship. “Defense sector is a big money, and India happens to be one of the top buyers in the world,” said Lt. Gen. Vinod Bhatia, India’s director-general for military operations from 2012 to 2014. “As long as we buy, Trump will be happy but it’s surely going to expand our conventional deterrence.” The meeting signaled that “defense diplomacy is the core of diplomacy these days,” Bhatia said.

Construction site catches fire in South Korea, leaving at least 6 dead

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A fire broke out at a resort construction site in the South Korean city of Busan on Friday, killing at least six people, fire officials said. About 100 workers managed to evacuate the site, while another 14 were rescued by helicopter from the top of the structure, said Hong Moon-shik, chief of the Busan Gijang District Fire Department. Hundreds of firefighters were deployed to the site and had largely extinguished the blaze by Friday afternoon, hours after it was reported at around 10:20 a.m. Hong said six people were found unconscious on the first floor of the structure, near where the fire was believed to have started.

Hong Kong plans to ban substandard tiny apartments. Low-income families fear higher rents

HONG KONG (AP) — Jimmy Au’s world shrinks to about the size of a parking space whenever she gets home. Her cramped Hong Kong home is one of four units carved out of what was once a single apartment. Most of the space is occupied by the bunk bed she shares with her husband and son, and their sleep is often disrupted by neighbors returning late or heading out early. Au’s son often gets bruises bumping into things. Privacy is limited, with only a curtain separating the bathroom from the kitchen. But what troubles Au most about her home is that she might lose it.

Why some Hong Kongers live in homes smaller than a parking space, by the numbers

HONG KONG (AP) — Tens of thousands of people in densely populated, land-poor Hong Kong live in tiny dwellings made by dividing up apartments, most smaller than a parking space. It’s an affordable option for students and low-income families but can also mean banging shins in cramped and in some cases substandard living spaces. The city’s government has proposed new rules that would set minimum standards for such housing units, but residents and advocates for the poor worry that it could drive up rents and make it even harder to hang on in the city. The city’s eventual goal, mandated by Beijing, is to eliminate subdivided apartments over the next 25 years.

Takeaways from Modi, Trump meeting: Cooperation on trade and defense — plus some mutual praise

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the U.S. President Donald Trump spoke about easing tariffs, resolving trade issues and shoring up defense ties in a meeting at the White House on Thursday. Even though Trump threatened to impose tariffs, the two leaders said they’d talk about trade, signaling that New Delhi and Washington could offer each other concessions. Trump called Modi a “much better negotiator than me,” while Modi played on Trump’s “MAGA,” or “Make America Great Again,” catchphrase, saying he he was determined to “Make India Great Again.” Here are some key takeaways from the meeting: Trade and tariffs issues figured extensively in the meeting.

Elon Musk met with Modi during the Indian prime minister’s US visit. What does he want from India?

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk during his visit to the U.S. to meet President Donald Trump. The exact nature of the meeting is unclear, although Modi said on X that the two men “discussed various issues, including those he is passionate about such as space, mobility, technology and innovation.” Musk was recently chosen by Trump to head a new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Modi and Musk also met each other in New York in 2023. At that time Musk said he was “confident that Tesla will be in India ...