Top Asian News 4:45 a.m. GMT

Myanmar’s conflict-torn Rakhine state could face an imminent acute famine, UN report warns

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Myanmar’s Rakhine state, home to the Rohingya minority and engulfed in conflict between government forces and a powerful ethnic group, could face an imminent acute famine, the United Nations development agency warned in a new report. The U.N. Development Program said in the report issued Thursday that “a perfect storm is brewing” which has put western Rakhine “on the precipice of an unprecedented disaster.” It pointed to a chain of interlinked developments including restrictions on goods from elsewhere in Myanmar and neighboring Bangladesh, the absence of income for residents, hyperinflation, significantly reduced food production, and a lack of essential services and social safety net.

Typhoon floods villages, rips off roofs and damages 2 domestic airports in northern Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Typhoon Yinxing battered the northern Philippines with floods and landslides before blowing away from the country on Friday, leaving two airports damaged and aggravating a calamity caused by back-to-back storms that hit in recent weeks. There were no immediate reports of casualties from Yinxing, the 13th major storm to hit the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago this year. The typhoon, locally called Marce, was last tracked over the South China Sea about 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of the northern Philippine province of Ilocos Norte with sustained winds of up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 205 kph (127 mph), according to government forecasters.

Self-described Nazi becomes first person jailed in Australia for performing outlawed salute

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A self-described Nazi became the first person in Australia to be sentenced to prison for performing an outlawed salute when he was ordered by a magistrate on Friday to spend one month behind bars. Jacob Hersant, 25, is also the first person in Victoria state to be convicted of performing the Nazi salute. The gesture has been outlawed nationwide since he committed the offense. He was convicted in the Melbourne Magistrates Court last month of performing the salute before news cameras outside the Victoria County Court on Oct. 27, 2023. Hersant had just avoided a prison sentence on a conviction for causing violent disorder.

Australia plans a social media ban for children under 16

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian government announced on Thursday what it described as world-leading legislation that would institute an age limit of 16 years for children to start using social media, and hold platforms responsible for ensuring compliance. “Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. The legislation will be introduced in Parliament during its final two weeks in session this year, which begin on Nov. 18. The age limit would take effect 12 months after the law is passed, Albanese told reporters. The platforms including X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook would need to use that year to work out how to exclude Australian children younger than 16.

China to unveil much-anticipated economic stimulus package

BEIJING (AP) — China is expected to announce much-anticipated steps to boost its flagging economy Friday at the end of this week’s meeting of its legislature. Analysts say bold, multi-trillion yuan measures are needed to reinvigorate the world’s second largest economy, which has yet to bounce back fully from the COVID-19 pandemic. The central bank loosened restrictions on borrowing in late September, sparking a stock market rally, but economists say the government needs to do more to ignite a sustained recovery. Government officials have indicated that could come at this week’s meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, which must give official approval to any new spending.

At least 2 dead and 12 missing after a fishing boat sinks off South Korea’s Jeju island

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A fishing boat capsized and sank off the coast of South Korea’s Jeju island Friday, leaving at least two people dead and 12 others unaccounted for, coast guard officials said. Nearby fishing vessels managed to pull 15 crew members out of the water, but two of them were later pronounced dead after being brought to shore. The other 13 did not sustain life-threatening injuries, said Kim Han-na, an official at Jeju’s coast guard. She said 27 crew members – 16 South Korean nationals and 11 foreigners – were on the 129-ton boat, which left Jeju’s Seogwipo port late Thursday to catch mackerel.

Japan’s defense chief steps aboard visiting South Korean warship as the two nations strengthen ties

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’ s Defense Minister Gen Nakatani was welcomed aboard a South Korean warship during its port call near Tokyo on Wednesday, a first for a Japanese defense chief, as the two countries step up security ties against a backdrop of growing tension in the region. Nakatani greeted and spoke with South Korean sailors aboard their Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship ROKS Marado which was making a port call at a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force base in Yokosuka, west of Tokyo, on Thursday. “Japan-South Korea security and defense cooperation have become more important than ever as we face an extremely severe security environment and global issues,” Nakatani told a welcome ceremony.

Runway fire breaks out at Sydney Airport after emergency landing

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — An engine failure on a passenger plane taking off from Sydney, Australia on Friday prompted the aircraft to circle before a safe emergency landing, the airline Qantas said. At the same time, a grass fire broke out along one side of a runway, Sydney Airport said in a statement. It was not known if the two events were linked. The fire has been brought under control, but flight delays are expected. Qantas did not say how many passengers were on board the twin jet Boeing 737-800 bound for Brisbane when the engine failed with a loud bang.

A tiny grain of nuclear fuel is pulled from ruined Japanese nuclear plant, in a step toward cleanup

TOKYO (AP) — A robot that has spent months inside the ruins of a nuclear reactor at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant delivered a tiny sample of melted nuclear fuel on Thursday, in what plant officials said was a step toward beginning the cleanup of hundreds of tons of melted fuel debris. The sample, the size of a grain of rice, was placed into a secure container, marking the end of the mission, according to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which manages the plant. It is being transported to a glove box for size and weight measurements before being sent to outside laboratories for detailed analyses over the coming months.

Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupts for the second time in a week

MAUMERE, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki unleashed towering columns of ash into the air on Thursday, in an even larger eruption than the one that killed nine people and injured dozens of others three days ago. There were no reports of casualties from the latest eruption as residents living in the danger zone spanning a radius of 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from the crater had been evacuated to other villages, said Kensius Didimus, a local disaster agency official. The 1,584-meter (5,197-foot) volcano on the remote island of Flores shot billowing columns of ash 11 times on Thursday, with the latest and largest rising 8,000 meters (26,240 feet, nearly 5 miles high), said Hadi Wijaya, the head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.