Top Asian News 2:12 a.m. GMT

North Korea fires an intermediate-range missile into its eastern waters, South Korea says

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea test-fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile toward waters off its eastern coast Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, as it pushes to advance its weapons aimed at remote U.S. targets in the Pacific. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from an area near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and flew about 600 kilometers (372 miles) before landing in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the launch likely followed up on a North Korean test in March of a solid-fuel engine built for a new intermediate-range hypersonic missile it has been developing.

Here’s what you need to know about the world’s largest democratic election kicking off in India

NEW DELHI (AP) — The world’s largest democratic election could also be one of its most consequential. With a population of over 1.4 billion people and close to 970 million voters, India’s general election pits Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist, against a broad alliance of opposition parties that are struggling to play catch up. The 73-year-old Modi first swept to power in 2014 on promises of economic development, presenting himself as an outsider cracking down on corruption. Since then, he has fused religion with politics in a formula that has attracted wide support from the country’s majority Hindu population.

An Indian court sends a top opposition leader to jail until shortly before election

NEW DELHI (AP) — A court in India on Monday placed a top opposition leader in two weeks of judicial detention after his 10 days in the custody of a federal agency expired, in a case that opposition parties say is part of a crackdown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on rivals ahead of a national election later this month. Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man’s Party, is the top elected official in the city of New Delhi and one of the country’s most consequential politicians of the past decade. He was arrested by the federal Enforcement Directorate, India’s main financial investigation agency, on March 21.

South Korea’s Yoon vows not to back down in the face of doctors’ strike over medical school plan

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president vowed Monday not to back down in the face of vehement protests by doctors seeking to derail his plan to drastically increase medical school admissions, as he called their walkouts “an illegal collective action” that poses “a grave threat to our society.” About 12,000 medical interns and residents in South Korea have been on strike for six weeks, causing hundreds of cancelled surgeries and other treatments at university hospitals. In support of their action, many senior doctors at their teaching schools have also submitted resignations though they haven’t stopped treating patients. Officials say they want to raise the yearly medical school cap by 2,000 from the current 3,058 to create more doctors to deal with the country’s rapidly aging population.

Japan’s royal family makes formal debut on Instagram as world’s oldest monarchy tries to draw youth

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s imperial family made an Instagram debut with a barrage of posts on Monday, hoping to shake off their reclusive image and reach out to younger people on social media. The Imperial Household Agency, a government agency in charge of the family’s affairs, posted 60 photos and five videos showing Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako’s public appearances over the past three months. The agency said they wanted the public to have a better understanding of the family’s official duties and that Instagram was chosen because of its popularity among youth. By Monday evening, their verified account Kunaicho_jp had more than 270,000 followers.

An old land mine found by children near an Afghanistan village explodes, killing 9

ISLAMABAD (AP) — An old land mine found by children in eastern Afghanistan exploded while they were playing with it, killing nine children, a Taliban spokesman said Monday. The mine, which the children found near their village in Gero district in Ghazni province, was from decades ago, said Hamidullah Nisar, director of the Taliban’s information and culture department in Ghazni. He said the explosion Sunday killed five boys and four girls who were 5 to 10 years old. Afghanistan has suffered from decades of war and remains highly dangerous for children who collect scrap metal to sell to support their families.

Pakistani police arrest 12 people over a suicide bombing that killed 5 Chinese workers

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani counterterrorism police in multiple raids arrested at least 12 suspects in connection with last week’s suicide bombing that killed five Chinese workers and their Pakistani driver in the volatile northwest, officials said Monday. Those arrested were not directly involved in the attack but they helped orchestrate Tuesday’s bombing targeting the Chinese, three police and security officials said. They said some of them had links with Pakistani militants, adding that the suspects were still being questioned and other raids were ongoing. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the record.

In Taiwan, a group is battling fake news one conversation at a time — with a focus on seniors

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Their days often began at the crack of dawn. They’d head out to a church, a temple, a park and set up a stall. They’d seek out seniors in particular, those who are perhaps the most vulnerable citizens of the information-saturated society that has enveloped them. To get people to stop and listen, they’d offer free bars of soap — a metaphor for the scrubbing that they were undertaking. They’d talk to people, ask them about their lives and their media consumption habits. They’d ask: How has fake news hurt you? They’d teach techniques to punch through the static, to see the illogic in conspiracy theories, to find the facts behind the false narratives that can sometimes shape our lives.

Indonesian President-elect Subianto visits China in bid to strengthen ties

BEIJING (AP) — Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto pledged to continue his country’s friendly policy toward China as he met Monday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. Subianto, who will succeed Joko Widodo in October, chose Beijing for his first official visit after his February election victory in a bid to emphasize the countries’ robust ties amid rising tensions in the South China Sea. He will follow up his Beijing trip with a visit to Japan, suggesting that Indonesia will continue to pursue a middle road between Beijing and the United States’ allies in the region, such as Japan and the Philippines.

Pakistani court suspends sentence for ex-PM Khan and wife in a graft case but couple won’t be freed

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani appeals court on Monday suspended a 14-year prison sentence for former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife in a corruption case, but the couple won’t be released because they are already serving prison terms in other cases, officials said. However, the court order was a legal victory for Khan, who was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in April 2022. Khan now has more than 170 legal cases hanging over him. The Islamabad High Court suspended the sentence for Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, after hearing an appeal from their lawyer, according to Zulfiqar Bukhari, the spokesperson for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.