Top Asian News 4:52 a.m. GMT

Pakistan votes for a new parliament as militant attacks surge and jailed leader’s party cries foul

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistanis braved cold winter weather and the threat of violence to vote for a new parliament Thursday a day after twin bombings claimed at least 30 lives in the worst election-related violence ahead of the contested elections. Tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed at polling stations to ensure security. Still, on the eve of the election, a pair of bombings at election offices in restive southwestern Baluchistan province killed at least 30 people and wounded more than two dozen others. The balloting has also been marred by allegations from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan that its candidates were denied a fair chance at campaigning.

Pakistan is electing a new parliament. Here are the key players in Thursday’s vote

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan is electing a new parliament on Thursday. No less than 44 political parties are vying for a share of the 266 seats up for grabs in the National Assembly, or the lower house of parliament, where an additional 70 seats are reserved for women and minorities. But in a country where civilian governments have been upended by military takeovers and where the army has ruled the nation for half of its 76 years of independence, it’s often the traditional elites that have called the shots. Here are the key players ahead of the country’s elections. Business mogul, multi-millionaire and three-time premier, Nawaz Sharif hails from one of the top two families that have dominated Pakistani politics for decades.

Pakistan’s election: Who’s running, what’s the mood and will anything change?

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s 127 million voters are choosing members of a new parliament Thursday. The election is the 12th in the country’s 76-year history, which has been marred by economic crises, military takeovers and martial law, militancy, political upheavals and wars with India. On the eve of the election, bombs struck two political offices in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 30 people. Forty-four political parties are vying for a share of the 266 seats that are up for grabs in the National Assembly, or the lower house of parliament, with an additional 70 seats reserved for women and minorities. After the election, the new parliament chooses a prime minister.

Azerbaijan’s Aliyev appears headed to a landslide win in election called after retaking Karabakh

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Incumbent President Ilham Aliyev appeared to be headed to an expected landslide victory in Azerbaijan’s presidential election Wednesday in an early vote he called following his government’s swift reclaiming of a region formerly controlled by ethnic Armenian separatists. With just over 93% of the ballots counted, Aliyev had 92.05% of the votes, the head of the Central Election Commission, Mazahir Panahov, reported in the early hours of Thursday. The runner-up was getting just 2.19% of the votes, according to Panahov. Three of his challengers have conceded and congratulated Aliyev on winning reelection, the Interfax Azerbaijan news agency reported.

China, US hold economic talks as trade issues heat up on the campaign trail

BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese and U.S. officials have met in Beijing for talks on tough issues dividing the two largest economies, as trade and tariffs increasingly draw attention in the runup to the U.S. presidential election. China’s Ministry of Finance said Beijing raised objections to higher tariffs on Chinese exports, two-way investment restrictions and other limits on trade and technology during the talks by the countries’ Economic Working Group. In a statement, it characterized the Monday-Tuesday talks as “constructive.” The talks sent a “positive signal,” the Global Times, a newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, said in an article published late Tuesday.

Thailand and Muslim separatist rebels agree on roadmap to peace, Malaysian facilitator says

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s facilitator said Wednesday that the Thai government and Muslim separatist rebels in southern Thailand have agreed in principle on a roadmap to try to end a decades-long Muslim insurgency. The sides held two days of talks in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, and will meet again over the next two months to iron out details of the peace plan, said Malaysian facilitator Zulkifli Zainal Abidin. “It is a major breakthrough after the dialogue was stalled the past year due to the Thai election,” he told a news conference. “The (peace plan), if the technical teams agree, will be signed as soon as possible.

A landslide hits a village in the southern Philippines, leaving 7 dead and 48 missing

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A landslide in the southern Philippines left at least seven villagers dead and 48 others missing, including miners waiting in buses for a ride home, officials said Wednesday. Army troops, police and volunteers rescued 31 residents who were injured when the landslide hit the mountain village of Masara in Davao de Oro province Tuesday night. The search resumed Wednesday after it was suspended overnight due to fears of more landslides, officials said. More than 750 families have been moved to evacuation centers, disaster response officials said. Among the missing were 27 miners who had been waiting in two buses to be driven home when the landslide hit, Davao de Oro provincial spokesperson Edward Macapili said.

Japan court approves a transgender man’s request for legal recognition without needing surgery

TOKYO (AP) — A court in western Japan on Wednesday approved a transgender man’s request to have his gender changed in official records without undergoing sterilization surgery, the first known ruling of its kind since the country’s top court struck down a surgery requirement for such record changes. The Okayama Family Court’s Tsuyama Branch said Tacaquito Usui, 50, could get the gender listed for him in his family registry updated to male. Usui original application for the revision was rejected five years ago. “It’s like I’m standing at the start line of my new life,” he said during a televised news conference after Wednesday’s ruling came out.

South Korean president reiterates that Seoul will not seek its own nuclear deterrent

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol reiterated that the country would not seek its own nuclear deterrent in the face of threats from nuclear-armed North Korea as he vowed further efforts to sharpen nuclear deterrence strategies with ally United States. In a pre-recorded interview with KBS television that aired Wednesday night, Yoon insisted that South Korea clearly has the technology to quickly acquire nuclear weapons capabilities if it ever decides to do so. But taking that step isn’t a realistic option as it would ruin a trade-dependent economy, he said. “If we develop nuclear weapons, we will receive various economic sanctions like North Korea does now, and our economy will be dealt a serious blow,” Yoon said, while emphasizing Seoul’s commitment to the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

A pod of killer whales trapped in drift ice off northern Japan has apparently safely escaped

TOKYO (AP) — A pod of killer whales that was trapped in drift ice off Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido, prompting concern from environmental groups, has apparently safely escaped, officials said Wednesday. The killer whales, also known as orcas, were initially spotted by a local fisherman who reported them to officials in the nearby town of Rausu on the northeastern coast of Hokkaido on Tuesday morning. Town officials traveled to the coast later Tuesday and saw about a dozen whales bobbing up and down in a tiny gap surrounded by drift ice, about 1 kilometer (half a mile) offshore. After analyzing drone footage filmed by a conservationist group, officials counted 13 killer whales there.