Top Asian News 9:52 p.m. GMT

Liquefied Natural Gas: What to know about LNG and Biden’s decision to delay gas export proposals

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Friday it is delaying consideration of new natural gas export terminals i n the United States, even as gas shipments to Europe and Asia have soared since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision by President Joe Biden, announced as the 2024 presidential election year kicks off, aligns the Democratic president with environmentalists who fear the huge increase in exports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is locking in potentially catastrophic planet-warming emissions when Biden has pledged to cut climate pollution in half by 2030. Industry groups and Republicans condemned the pause as a “win for Russia,” while environmentalists cheered it as a way to address climate change and counter Biden’s approval of the huge Willow oil project in Alaska last year.

Australians protest British colonization on a national holiday some mark as ‘Invasion Day’

SYDNEY (AP) — Thousands of Australians protested the anniversary of British colonization of their country with large crowds Friday urging for Australia Day to be moved and for a day of mourning on the holiday some call “Invasion Day.” The holiday marks the arrival of 11 British ships carrying convicts at Port Jackson in present-day Sydney on Jan. 26, 1788. For many activists, the day marked the beginning of a sustained period of discrimination and expulsion of Indigenous people from their land without a treaty. Thousands of people, many of whom waved Indigenous flags, rallied in front of the Victoria state parliament in Melbourne, calling for an official day of mourning to be declared across Australia.

French President Macron joins India’s Republic Day celebrations as chief guest

NEW DELHI (AP) — Thousands of people lined a ceremonial boulevard in the heart of India’s capital on Friday to watch a colorful parade showcasing the country’s military power and cultural heritage to mark its 75th Republic Day. French President Emmanuel Macron attended the parade as the chief guest at the celebration of the adoption of the country’s Constitution on Jan. 26, 1950, following India’s independence from British colonial rule. Indian President Draupadi Murmu escorted Macron in a ceremonial British-era horse-drawn carriage from the nearby president’s palace to the viewing stand. It was the first time the carriage has been used at the parade since it was abandoned by the government 40 years ago in favor of an automobile.

AP Photos: Indians rejoice in colorful Republic Day parade with the French president as chief guest

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indians cheered hundreds of men and women in colorful costumes as they played marches, performed traditional dances and pulled motorbike stunts during India’s Republic Day parade in New Delhi on Friday. Thousands of people braved winter chills and mist in the Indian capital as the parade showcased the country’s military hardware and cultural heritage. It included a camel-mounted regiment with its mustachioed riders, and floats depicting India’s moon lander, its first indigenous aircraft carrier and the Hindu god Lord Ram. India dedicated a controversial temple to Lord Ram earlier this week, built on the site of a demolished mosque.

Kerry and Xie exit roles that defined generation of climate action

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United Nations climate summit in Dubai was wrapping up last month when John Kerry went to a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua only to find a surprise waiting for him. Xie’s 8-year-old grandson had brought Kerry a card for his 80th birthday. The lanky American, who had signed the landmark Paris climate accord with his granddaughter on his knee almost a decade earlier, bent down to thank the boy and praise his grandfather, according to someone who described the private encounter on the condition of anonymity. Just how overheated a planet those two grandchildren half a world apart will inherit has hinged in part on the unusually warm bond between Kerry and Xie, whose relationship for the past decade and a half helped forge the globe’s stutter-step progress in curbing climate change.

Tensions simmering in the South China Sea and violence in Myanmar as Laos takes over ASEAN chair

BANGKOK (AP) — Simmering tensions in the South China Sea between China and several Southeast Asian nations now regularly spark direct confrontation. Fighting in Myanmar against the military government that seized power three years ago has grown to the point that most say the country is now in a civil war. Hopes were high that Indonesia might be able to make significant inroads on both issues during its 2023 chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, using its clout as the bloc’s largest country, but little progress was made. Now Laos, the bloc’s poorest and one of its smallest countries, has taken over the rotating chair.

China confirms the 2022 conviction of a British businessperson on espionage charges

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing confirmed Friday that a longtime British businessperson in China was sentenced to five years in prison in 2022 on an espionage charge. Ian J. Stones was convicted of being bought off to provide intelligence to “external forces,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said when asked about the case at a daily briefing. He did not provide any specific details about the charges. Both the United Kingdom and United States governments have warned about the risk of detention under China’s national security laws. A Japanese pharmaceutical company employee was detained last year on suspicion of spying. A new version of the law that took effect July 1, 2023, has heightened concerns about operating in China.

AP Week in Pictures: Asia

Jan. 19-25, 2024 The gold chariot bearing the idol of Hindu god Lord Murugan moves through the town to mark the start of Thaipusam, an annual festival on Malaysia’s Penang Island; Hindu devotees perform rituals by a polluted Hanumante river during Madhav Narayan festival in Bhaktapur, Nepal; Indian people celebrate the Republic Day throughout the country; workers hurry to finish a tunnel at a Mass Rapid Transit construction site in Jakarta, Indonesia; people gather around a fire in China’s western Xinjiang region following a deadly earthquake; and first responders fight deadly explosions in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images in the Asia-Pacific region made or published by The Associated Press in the past week.

Ukrainian-born Miss Japan rekindles an old question: What does it mean to be Japanese?

TOKYO (AP) — Crowned Miss Japan this week, Ukrainian-born Carolina Shiino cried with joy, thankful for the recognition of her identity as Japanese. But her Caucasian look rekindled an old question in a country where many people value homogeneity and conformity: What does it mean to be Japanese? Shiino has lived in Japan since moving here at age 5 and became a naturalized citizen in 2022. Now 26, she works as a model and says she has as strong a sense of Japanese identity as anyone else, despite her non-Japanese look. “It really is like a dream,” Shiino said in fluent Japanese in her tearful acceptance speech Monday.

South Korean police investigating 14-year-old boy as suspect of attack on lawmaker

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An assailant who repeatedly struck a South Korean lawmaker with a rock as she tried to resist was a 14-year-old boy who was sent to a mental health facility Friday, Seoul police said as they continue to investigate the attack. The attack Thursday on Bae Hyunjin, a member of the conservative ruling party, came just weeks after a man stabbed opposition leader Lee Jae-myung in the neck, and it raised further concerns about the toxic discourse around the country’s intensely polarized politics. Bae was treated for cuts. Doctors said she avoided serious injury. Police investigators who interviewed the middle-schooler suspect in the presence of his parents sent him to a hospital early Friday where they plan to continue investigating him, said Cheon Young-gil, an official at Seoul’s Gangnam district police station.