Top Asian News 4:45 a.m. GMT

Jetliner skids off runway and bursts into flames while landing in South Korea, killing 179

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A jetliner skidded off a runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames Sunday in South Korea after its landing gear apparently failed to deploy. All but two of the 181 people aboard were killed in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters, officials said. The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air plane arrived from Bangkok and crashed while attempting to land in the town of Muan, about 290 kilometers (180 miles) south of Seoul. Footage of the crash aired by South Korean television showed the plane skidding across the airstrip at high speed, evidently with its landing gear still closed, and slamming into the wall, triggering an explosion and generating plumes of thick, black smoke.

South Korean authorities seek warrant to detain impeached President Yoon in martial law probe

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean law enforcement officials on Monday requested a court warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol as they investigate whether his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3 amounted to rebellion. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the power grab that lasted only a few hours, confirmed it requested the warrant from the Seoul Western District Court. They plan to question Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion. The warrant request came after Yoon dodged several requests by the joint investigation team and public prosecutors to appear for questioning and also blocked searches of his offices.

South Korean families pray for relatives who vanished into North Korean prisons a decade ago

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In the past year, Choi Jin-young has done everything he can to bring attention to his father, a missionary who’s serving a life sentence in North Korea. He’s met senior U.N., U.S. and other human rights officials, testified at public events, and accepted many media interviews. But as he marks 10 years since his father’s arrest this week, Choi doesn’t know where his father is, or even if he’s still alive. “I have some good memories of my dad. I’m his son so I must fight hard to get him returned,” Choi, a 34-year-old beer company official in South Korea, told The Associated Press.

Brace for turbulence: Lessons from a bumpy ‘super year’ of global elections

LONDON (AP) — When voters around the globe had their say in 2024, their message was often: “You’re fired.” Some 70 countries that are home to half the world’s population held elections this year, and in many incumbents were punished. From India and the United States to Japan, France and Britain, voters tired of economic disruption and global instability rejected sitting governments — and sometimes turned to disruptive outsiders. The rocky democratic landscape just seemed to get bumpier as a dramatic year careened toward its end, with mass protests in Mozambique and Georgia, an election annulled in Romania and an attempt to impose martial law in South Korea.

North Korea’s Kim vows the toughest anti-US policy before Trump takes office

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to implement the “toughest” anti-U.S. policy, state media reported Sunday, less than a month before Donald Trump takes office as U.S. president. Trump’s return to the White House raises prospects for high-profile diplomacy with North Korea. During his first term, Trump met Kim three times for talks on the North’s nuclear program. Many experts however say a quick resumption of Kim-Trump summitry is unlikely as Trump would first focus on conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. North Korea’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine also poses a challenge to efforts to revive diplomacy, experts say.

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who instituted economic reforms, cremated in New Delhi

NEW DELHI (AP) — Manmohan Singh, the former Indian prime minister widely regarded as the architect of the country’s economic reform program, was cremated after a state funeral on Saturday as politicians and the public mourned his death. The veteran leader, who was also credited for a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, died late Thursday at age 92. Singh’s body was taken Saturday morning to the headquarters of his Congress party in New Delhi, where party leaders and activists paid tributes to him and chanted “Manmohan Singh lives forever.” Abhishek Bishnoi, a party leader, said Singh’s death was big loss for the country.

Afghan forces target Pakistan in retaliation for deadly airstrikes

Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that its forces hit several points inside Pakistan in retaliation for deadly airstrikes last week. Pakistan last Tuesday launched an operation to destroy a training facility and kill insurgents in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province. The strikes killed dozens of people, mostly women and children. Comments from the Taliban Defense Ministry on Saturday, posted on X, said its forces targeted Pakistani points that “served as centers and hideouts for malicious elements and their supporters who organized and coordinated attacks in Afghanistan.” Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarzami gave no further information about the strikes, including how they were carried out and if there were any casualties on either side.

Hundreds gathered in Hong Kong for the city’s first pyrotechnics drone show

HONG KONG (AP) — Hundreds gathered in Hong Kong on Saturday to watch the city’s first pyrotechnics drone show, as part of a campaign to raise support and awareness of panda conservation. The 10-minute drone show featured 1,000 drones, some of which were equipped with fireworks, flying over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour and forming images of the city’s giant pandas. During certain parts of the spectacle, some drones displayed fireworks, while hundreds of others formed a three-dimensional panda that slowly rotated in the sky. Some eager spectators arrived hours before the show to ensure that they would get a good viewing spot.

2 sailor deaths result in muted celebrations on winning yacht in Sydney to Hobart race

Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney to Hobart line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital. There were no such celebrations this year when defending champion LawConnect won the race in the early hours of Saturday morning, and with good reason: It came about 24 hours after two sailors died on separate boats in sail boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the race. LawConnect, a 100-foot super maxi skippered by Australian tech millionaire Christian Beck, sailed up the River Derwent just after 2:30 a.m.

Chinese workers found in ‘slavery-like conditions’ in Brazil taken to hotels as probe gets underway

CAMACARI, Brazil (AP) — Dozens of Chinese workers found by authorities in poor condition at a construction site in Brazil for electric vehicle automaker BYD have been taken and placed in hotels in the country’s tropical northeast region. Local prosecutors alleged that the laborers are victims of human trafficking who were living in “slavery-like conditions” under contractor Jinjiang Group, but offered no evidence to back up their claims. It’s unclear if the Chinese workers were in Brazil without proper papers and working permits. The Bahia state Labor Prosecutor’s Office could not comment when reached by The Associated Press, saying an investigation was underway.