Top Asian News 11:25 a.m. GMT

84 Indonesians freed from scam centers in Myanmar are set to go home

MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) — Eighty-four Indonesians freed from scam centers in Myanmar were set to return home Friday as the repatriation of thousands of such workers after a crackdown strains regional resources. The Indonesians were among more than 7,000 people being held in the Myanmar border town Myawaddy following a crackdown on the scam centers by Thailand, Myanmar and China. Two buses carrying the Indonesians arrived Thursday in the Thai border city of Mae Sot, where the passengers had health checks and their identities were verified. Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been lured to work in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos to commit global scams through false romances, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes.

Suicide bomb at a seminary in northwest Pakistan kills top cleric and 4 others ahead of Ramadan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up after walking into a mosque within a pro-Taliban seminary in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing a top cleric and four other worshippers and wounding dozens of others ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan, according to local police. The blast occurred in Akora Khattak, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, district police chief Abdul Rashid said. He said Hamidul Haq, who is the head of a faction of the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI) party, is also among the dead. Rashid said officers transported the wounded to hospitals. The slain cleric Haq is the son of Maulana Samiul Haq, known as the “father of the Taliban,” who was killed in a knife attack at his home in 2018.

Judge overthrows conviction of owners of New Zealand island where 22 died in volcanic eruption

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The owners of an island volcano in New Zealand where 22 tourists and local guides died in an eruption had their criminal conviction for failing to keep visitors safe thrown out by a judge on Friday. The ruling absolves the company from paying millions of dollars in restitutions to the families of those bereaved in the 2019 explosion on Whakaari, also known as White Island, and two dozen seriously injured survivors. Most of the 47 people on the island were U.S. and Australian cruise ship passengers on a walking tour, along with their local guides.

In northeast India, a border fence could cut through villages, houses and lives

LONGWA, India (AP) — To the people who live there, Longwa is a typical hilltop village. The most imposing structure is a corrugated tin roof belonging to the Angh, a hereditary tribal chief. But recently, residents have been worried about another, less visible, local landmark: the border between India and Myanmar, which runs right through the village’s center. National boundaries never mattered before to the local Konyak tribe. “I eat in Myanmar and sleep in India,” says Tonyei Phawang, the Angh, whose house sits on the border. The Indian government is now seeking to stop border crossings for the first time, revoking a system that made it legal for Indigenous people to cross freely and threatening to build a border fence that could cut villages like Longwa in two.

Pakistan reports 2 new polio cases of the year despite anti-polio drives

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has reported two new cases of polio in its southern and eastern provinces, health officials said on Friday, posing a setback to the country’s efforts to eradicate a disease that remains endemic only in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan. The latest cases, confirmed by the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program, were detected in Sindh and Punjab provinces. This brings the total number of polio cases in Pakistan to five since January 2025. In 2024, Pakistan recorded 74 polio cases. The latest development comes as health workers conclude a targeted vaccination drive in high-risk areas later Friday. Earlier this month, authorities launched a weeklong nationwide anti-polio campaign aiming to immunize 44.2 million children under the age of five.

US porn actor visits Afghanistan in a trip unacknowledged by the Taliban

A US porn actor has traveled to Afghanistan in a trip unacknowledged by the Taliban, who have restricted the rights of women and girls and imposed strict morality laws since seizing power in 2021. Whitney Wright, who caused uproar with a visit to Iran last year as authorities there cracked down on women, posted images of her trip to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan on her Instagram account. They show a plane from national carrier Ariana on a runway, a tiled ceiling from the Western city of Herat, supermarket items and vehicles. Wright does not appear in the images. She did not respond to messages from The Associated Press on Friday.

North Korea says it performed cruise missile tests, days after it vowed to respond to US threats

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Friday it had test-fired strategic cruise missiles to demonstrate its nuclear counter-attack capability, days after it vowed to respond to what it called escalating U.S.-led hostilities since the start of the Trump administration. The official Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the missile tests off the country’s west coast Wednesday. They were the North’s fourth missile launch event this year and the second of President Donald Trump’s second term. The launches were designed to inform “the enemies, who are seriously violating our security environment and fostering and escalating the confrontation environment,” of the North Korean military’s counterattack capability and the readiness of its nuclear operations, KCNA said.

Russian tourist dies after being attacked by sharks in Philippine diving spot, another drowns

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Two Russian tourists died when they were swept away by strong undercurrents while scuba diving in waters south of Manila, with one believed to have drowned and the other attacked by sharks, a Philippine coast guard official said Friday. Two other Russian tourists managed to swim back safely to their dive boat Thursday off Verde Island, a popular diving destination in the province of Batangas, Philippine coast guard provincial commander Capt. Airland Lapitan said. The four Russian tourists traveled by boat to the waters off Verde Island from the nearby town of Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro province with a Filipino dive instructor.

At least 41 workers are trapped after being swept away by an avalanche in northern India

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — At least 41 construction workers were trapped after a large group of them was swept away by an avalanche near India’s border with Tibet on Friday, officials said. The incident took place near the Mana Pass in northern Uttarakhand state, and 57 construction workers were initially buried under snow. Senior police officer Rajeev Swaroop said rescue teams have pulled out 16 workers so far. Swaroop said three of them were transported to a military hospital for treatment, and efforts were underway to locate the other missing amid adverse weather conditions. Uttarakhand’s top elected official, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said the national disaster response force was helping with rescue efforts.

South Korean police summon Japanese woman for kissing BTS member without consent

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean police said Friday they are summoning a Japanese woman for questioning over allegedly kissing Jin, a member of the K-pop supergroup BTS, without consent during a free hug event last year. A police officer who answered the phone at Seoul’s Songpa police station said it requested the woman to appear for questioning over an allegation of sexual harassment. The police station refused to disclose her identity citing privacy. The station said it had launched an investigation after receiving an online complaint and refused to provide further details because an investigation was under way. Media reports said that South Korean police were able to confirm the identity of the woman with the help of Japanese police.