Top Asian News 3:26 a.m. GMT

Philippine president orders shutdown of Chinese-run online gambling industry employing thousands

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday ordered an immediate ban on widespread and mostly Chinese-run online gaming operations, accusing them of venturing into crimes, including financial scams, human trafficking, torture, kidnappings and murder. His move to ban the Chinese-run online gambling outfits — estimated to number more than 400 across the Philippines and employing tens of thousands of Chinese and Southeast Asian nationals— came amid a crackdown backed by Beijing. That has led to the shutdown of several sprawling complexes where authorities suspect thousands of Chinese, Vietnamese and other nationals mostly from Southeast Asia have been illegally recruited and forced to work in dismal conditions.

A top Chinese university fires a professor after a student accused him of sexual harassment

HONG KONG (AP) — A top Chinese university fired a professor on Monday, a day after a graduate student accused him of sexual harassment on social media in a rare public allegation and posted recordings as evidence, drawing widespread support. The woman, who identified herself as Wang Di, said she is studying in a doctoral program at Renmin University of China’s School of Liberal Arts. She posted a 59-minute video on Sunday on the Weibo social media platform in which she said her supervisor, an ex-vice dean and former Communist Party representative at the school in Beijing, physically and verbally abused her.

Internet is still down in Bangladesh despite apparent calm following deadly protests

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh remained without internet for a fifth day and the government declared a public holiday Monday, as authorities maintained tight control despite apparent calm following a court order that scaled back a controversial system for allocating government jobs that sparked violent protests. This comes after a curfew with a shoot-on-sight order was installed days earlier and military personnel could be seen patrolling the capital and other areas. The South Asian country witnessed clashes between the police and mainly student protesters demanding an end to a quota that reserved 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971.

UAE sentences Bangladeshi nationals to prison over protests against their home government

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A court in the United Arab Emirates sentenced dozens of Bangladeshi nationals to prison, including three for life imprisonment, over protests against their home government in the Gulf country, state media reported Monday. The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal on Sunday handed 10-year prison sentences to 53 Bangladeshi nationals and an 11-year term to another Bangladeshi national, in addition to the three life imprisonments, according to the state-owned Emirates News Agency, WAM. The court ordered the deportation of the Bangladeshis from the UAE following their prison terms. “The court heard a witness who confirmed that the defendants gathered and organised large-scale marches in several streets of the UAE in protest against decisions made by the Bangladeshi government,” WAM reported.

Pakistan police raid former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party office and arrest its spokesman

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s police raided the imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political party office in Islamabad on Monday and arrested its spokesman for carrying out anti-state propaganda, the Interior Ministry said. In a statement, the ministry said officers also arrested Ahmad Janjua, a media coordinator for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI party. Janjua was arrested over the weekend in a separate raid. The arrests have drawn criticism from Gohar Ali Khan, the chairman of PTI, who said authorities also arrested some other workers of the party’s media wing, in a series of police raids in recent weeks. Pakistani authorities often accuse the PTI of running a campaign against the country’s institutions, a reference to the military, a charge the party denies.

Heading to Asia, Blinken aims to shore up Indo-Pacific ties and stress US commitment to the region

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ignoring the political chaos surrounding President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection campaign, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head to Asia this week on a long-planned eight-day trip aimed at shoring up ties with Indo-Pacific allies and partners but with the priority of assuring them that the United States remains committed to the region. The State Department announced Monday that Blinken, a longtime close aide to Biden dating from the president’s days in the Senate, will travel to Vietnam, Laos, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia for a series of international and bilateral meetings. Those will include discussions in Laos with his Chinese counterpart and strategic and security talks in Tokyo and Manila also involving Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The leader of Myanmar’s army government is named acting president so he can renew state of emergency

BANGKOK (AP) — Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military-government, on Monday also took the position of acting president to replace the holder of that post who was unable to perform his duties due to health problems, state media reported. The announcement of the declaration naming Min Aung Hlaing to replace Myint Swe came four days after his predecessor was publicly reported to be ailing. It came about a week before the procedures have to be carried out to renew the state of emergency the military originally declared after it seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

Belarus’ foreign minister will visit North Korea for possible talks on Russia cooperation

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Belarus’ foreign minister is to visit North Korea this week, the two countries announced Monday, a trip expected to focus on discussions of trilateral cooperation involving Russia in the face of their separate confrontations with the West. Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov will come to North Korea on Tuesday for a three-day trip at the invitation of the North Korean Foreign Ministry, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported in a one-sentence report. Belarus’ Foreign Ministry issued a similar brief statement on his planned trip. Neither country provided details of Ryzhenkov’s itinerary in North Korea, though observers say he’s expected to meet his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui.

Pakistan protests to Germany after protesters get into the grounds of its Frankfurt consulate

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has lodged a strong protest with Germany over its failure to prevent protesters getting into the grounds of the Pakistani consulate in Frankfurt, demanding action against “a gang of extremists” that it says breached security and endangered the lives of its staff. It was unclear what prompted the demonstrators to hold Saturday’s protest outside the building. Pakistan has not identified those involved in the protest but some of the demonstrators were carrying the tricolor flags of Afghanistan. Videos circulating on social media showed a protester taking down the Pakistani flag. Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, Ishaq Dar, said on X that Pakistan has urged Germany to take immediate measures to arrest and prosecute those involved in the incident.

Anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrested in Greenland. He faces possible extradition to Japan

BERLIN (AP) — Greenland police said they apprehended veteran environmental activist and anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson on an international arrest warrant issued by Japan. Watson, a 73-year-old Canadian-American citizen, is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society whose direct action tactics, including high-seas confrontations with whaling vessels, have drawn support from A-list celebrities and featured in the reality television series “Whale Wars.” He was arrested Sunday when his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, a police statement said. He later appeared before a district court to look into a request to detain him pending a decision on his possible extradition to Japan, the statement said.