Top Asian News 3:26 a.m. GMT

Duterte refused fingerprinting and threatened lawsuits during chaotic arrest, Philippine police say

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Ex-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened a police general with lawsuits, refused to be fingerprinted and told law enforcers “you have to kill me to bring me to The Hague” in a tense confrontation after his arrest in Manila that was ordered by the International Criminal Court, a Philippine police general said Thursday. Police Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre provided details for the first time of Tuesday’s 12-hour standoff at a Philippine air base before he and other police officers managed to bring the 79-year-old former leader onto a government-chartered jet that took him to The Hague, Netherlands, where he was detained by the global court on charges of crimes against humanity.

Belgian prosecutors arrest suspects in Huawei bribery probe targeting EU Parliament

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian federal prosecutors on Thursday announced the arrests of several people in a corruption probe linked to the European Parliament and the Chinese company Huawei, which is suspected of bribing EU lawmakers. The arrests came as an investigation by Le Soir newspaper and other media said lobbyists working for the Chinese telecoms giant were suspected of bribing current or former European Parliament members to promote the company’s commercial policies in Europe. The prosecutor’s office confirmed in a statement that the alleged bribery “is said to have benefited Huawei.” About 100 federal police officers carried out 21 searches in Brussels, the Flanders and Wallonia regions, and Portugal.

Pakistan’s leader meets survivors of deadly train hijacking and the commandos who ended the siege

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister on Thursday commended the country’s armed forces for successfully rescuing 339 passengers after a deadly train hijacking by insurgents in the southwest. A total of 25 people were killed by the attackers. The dead included 21 civilian hostages and four troops, one of whom was killed during the military’s rescue operation. Authorities haven’t provided the number of wounded. All of the insurgents were killed, officials said. “The terrorists who attacked the train even showed no regard for the sanctity of the fasting month of Ramadan,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in his televised remarks in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, where he also met with survivors of the train attack.

China is taking issue with Trump’s move to link tariffs to fentanyl

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump threw a curve ball at China by linking the fentanyl issue to his tariffs on imports. The Chinese government is swinging back. First it issued a report detailing its efforts to control the illegal trade in fentanyl, specifically the ingredients for the opioid that are made in China. Then, the Chinese foreign minister blasted the U.S. for responding to Beijing’s goodwill with tariffs. And this week, Chinese officials expressed their indignation at a rare background briefing with journalists. “In the spirit of humanity, China assisted the U.S. in various ways,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi told journalists last week in an annual appearance before the media.

Police arrest man in fatal knife attack on a YouTuber during livestreaming on Tokyo street

TOKYO (AP) — Police in Japan said Friday that they had arrested a suspect in the fatal stabbing of a YouTuber while she was livestreaming on a downtown Tokyo street. Tokyo metropolitan police said they had arrested Kenji Takano, 42, on the spot on suspicion of attempted murder Tuesday. He has since been sent to the prosecutors but has not been charged yet. The victim, Airi Sato, 22, was rushed to a hospital with critical injuries after the attacker stabbed her repeatedly in her upper body, police said, and was later pronounced dead. Witnesses and livestream viewers said that they heard her screaming for help, and the stream suddenly went black.

UN chief in Bangladesh for a first-hand look at Rohingya camps as he pushes for aid

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is getting a first-hand look at the situation of more than 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh as fears mount of serious aid cuts across the world following Washington’s decision to shut down USAID operations. Bangladesh’s foreign affairs adviser, Touhid Hossain, welcomed Guterres at Dhaka’s main airport on Thursday. Guterres’s four-day visit — his second to Bangladesh — is seen as crucial after the announcement of possible aid cuts by the World Food Program, or WFP, and others in teh aftermath of the USAID shuttering. Bangladesh’s interim government — which came to power last August after a mass uprising ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina — hopes the visit will boost international efforts to mobilize aid for the Rohingya refugees and attract new global attention to their crisis.

Taiwan’s leader says tougher measures needed to counter stepped-up Chinese infiltration and spying

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te said Thursday tougher measures are needed to counter stepped-up Chinese infiltration, spying and other efforts to weaken the island’s defenses and speed Beijing’s goal of taking control of the self-governing island republic, a close U.S. partner. Lai cited a range of recent incidents involving China that fall into a “gray area” including psychological warfare short of open armed conflict. Beijing’s efforts to “subvert, obtain secrets, lure members of the armed forces and influence public opinion to lose confidence in our national defense require that we step up our legal safeguards to prevent and detect such incidents,” Lai said at a news conference.

American who snatched a baby wombat leaves Australia as she was being investigated for a visa breach

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An American influencer left Australia on Friday after the government announced it was reviewing her visa over a video she posted of her snatching a baby wombat from its mother. Sam Jones, who describes herself as an “outdoor enthusiast & hunter,” made her Instagram account private Thursday after she was widely condemned for the video. “There’s never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement after a government official confirmed Jones had flown from the country voluntarily. In the video, Montana-based Jones lifts the wombat joey by its front legs in darkness from a roadside then runs away from its mother.

The Asian elephant population in Cambodia is more robust than previously thought, a study finds

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A genetic study of Asian elephants in northern Cambodia published Thursday reveals a larger and more robust population than previously thought, raising hopes the endangered species could slowly recover. Researchers from the Fauna & Flora conservation group collected samples from elephant dung in Cambodia’s northern plains and extracted DNA. From the DNA they were able to identify individual elephants, estimate population size, and determine the sex of the animals and the overall genetic diversity of the population. From their work they estimated that there are 51 elephants in the Prey Lang, Preah Roka, and Chhaeb Wildlife Sanctuaries, with greater genetic diversity — a “critical factor for long-term viability,” the researchers said — than in two other areas of the country in which they live.

Indonesian fishermen sue Bumble Bee and say the canned tuna giant knew of abuse in its supply chain

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Lawyers representing four Indonesian fishermen who say they were beaten and trapped on vessels that were part of the global supply chain that provided tuna to Bumble Bee Seafoods filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the canned seafood giant. It is believed to be the first such case of forced labor at sea brought against a U.S. seafood company, the men’s lawyer, Agnieszka Fryszman, said. U.S. companies that benefit from forced labor and undercut other businesses need to be held accountable, Fryszman said. “What you see is really devastating,” she said. The lawsuit accuses the company headquartered in San Diego of violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.