Top Asian News 1:13 a.m. GMT

An American pastor detained in China for nearly 20 years has been released

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Christian pastor from California has been freed from China after nearly 20 years behind bars and is back home in the U.S., the State Department said Monday. David Lin, 68, was detained after he entered China in 2006, later convicted of contract fraud and sentenced to life in prison, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and advocacy groups. “Praise God! We got the call late last night!!! Dad is free and over Alaska now,” the pastor’s daughter, Alice Lin, said by text message Sunday to Bob Fu, a longtime supporter and the founder of China Aid, an U.S.-based advocacy group for persecuted activists in China.

DEA closing 2 offices in China even as the agency struggles to stem flow of fentanyl chemicals

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is shutting down two of its hard-won offices in China, The Associated Press has learned, a move that comes even as the agency struggles to disrupt the flow of precursor chemicals from the country that have fueled a fentanyl epidemic blamed for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. “These closings reflect the need to harness DEA’s limited and strained resources to target where we can make the biggest impact in saving American lives,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram told agents in an email last week that also included plans to close a dozen other offices worldwide to trim DEA’s current footprint of 93 offices in 69 countries.

The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN says

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the U.N. said Monday. It’s a devastating setback for polio eradication, since the virus is one of the world’s most infectious and any unvaccinated groups of children where the virus is spreading could undo years of progress. Afghanistan is one of two countries in which the spread of the potentially fatal, paralyzing disease has never been stopped. The other is Pakistan. It’s likely that the Taliban’s decision will have major repercussions for other countries in the region and beyond. News of the suspension was relayed to U.N.

A union leader freed from prison vows to continue a strike against Cambodia’s’s biggest casino

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A union leader freed from prison Monday after serving time for her part in a strike against Cambodia’s biggest casino has vowed to continue the labor action until justice is done. Chhim Sithar was sentenced in May 2023 to two years’ imprisonment for incitement to commit a felony, including time served before her conviction, in connection with the strike against the NagaWorld casino, the longest such labor action in the country’s history. She had been leading a strike of hundreds of workers that began in December 2021 to protest mass layoffs and alleged union-busting at the casino in the capital, Phnom Penh, and was arrested and charged after a January 2022 demonstration of dismissed employees who were demanding to be rehired.

Papua New Guinea violence leaves between 20 and 50 people dead, UN official says

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Violence among illegal miners in Papua New Guinea has left between 20 and 50 people dead, a United Nations official said Monday. The fighting started days ago and is continuing in the Porgera Valley, near the site of a landslide in May estimated to have killed more than 2,000 people, according to the South Pacific island nation’s government. The U.N.'s humanitarian adviser for Papua New Guinea, Mate Bagossy, said the death toll of at least 20 as of Sunday was based on information from community members and local authorities in Enga province in the nation’s mountainous inland.

Man who appeared intent on killing Trump wrote a book urging Iran to assassinate the ex-president

KAAAWA, Hawaii (AP) — Ryan Wesley Routh portrayed himself online as a man who built housing for homeless people in Hawaii, tried to recruit fighters for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia, and described his support and then disdain for Donald Trump — even urging Iran to kill him. “You are free to assassinate Trump,” Routh wrote of Iran in an apparently self-published book in 2023, “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” which described the former president as a “fool” and “buffoon” for both the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and the “tremendous blunder” of leaving the Iran nuclear deal. Routh wrote that he once voted for Trump and must take part of the blame for the “child that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless.” Routh, 58, was arrested Sunday after authorities say he stalked the GOP presidential nominee as he golfed in West Palm Beach, Florida, with an SKS-style rifle in an apparent assassination attempt thwarted by the Secret Service.

Japan celebrates record Emmy wins for ‘Shogun’

TOKYO (AP) — Japan erupted with joy Monday as the samurai series “Shogun” won a record 18 Emmys for its first season. It took home prizes including Outstanding Drama Series, as star and co-producer Hiroyuki Sanada became the first Japanese actor to win the Emmy for best lead actor in a dramatic series. Co-star Anna Sawai won best actress in a dramatic series, also a first for Japan. “You did it. You did it. Congratulations,” Takashi Yamazaki, director of ” Godzilla Minus One,” wrote on social media. People followed the awards live as the wins made national headlines. Entertainment media Oricon proudly reported that a work whose spoken lines were mostly in the Japanese language “made Emmy history.” “The grand scale of Hollywood combined with the high quality of the production, including costuming, props and mannerisms; the collaboration between the Japanese professional team, headed by producer Sanada, and the local production team; as well as the acting that delivered a strong sense of reality, all came together,” the report said.

A smelly penguin wins New Zealand’s hard-fought bird election

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — It’s noisy, smelly, shy — and New Zealand’s bird of the year. The hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, won the country’s fiercely fought avian election on Monday, offering hope to supporters of the endangered bird that recognition from its victory might prompt a revival of the species. It followed a campaign for the annual Bird of the Year vote that was without the foreign interference scandals and cheating controversies of past polls. Instead, campaigners in the long-running contest sought votes in the usual ways — launching meme wars, seeking celebrity endorsements and even getting tattoos to prove their loyalty.

Strongest typhoon since 1949 hits Shanghai and knocks out power to some homes

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The strongest typhoon to hit Shanghai since at least 1949 flooded roads with water and broken tree branches, knocked out power to some homes and injured at least one person as it swept over the financial hub Monday. More than 414,000 people had been evacuated ahead of the powerful winds and torrential rain. Schools were closed and people were advised to stay indoors. One elderly man was injured by a falling tree on Shanghai’s Chongming Island, according to state media. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. Typhoon Bebinca made landfall around 7:30 a.m. in the sprawling Pudong business district with winds of 151 kph (94 mph) near its center.

Islamic State claims responsibility for weekend bombing that killed 2 police officers in Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the weekend bombing that killed two police officials in restive southwestern Pakistan, officials said Monday. Analysts say the latest violence is a sign of increasing coordination between Islamic militants and separatists who for years have been targeting security forces and civilians in the oil- and gas-rich Balochistan province bordering Iran and Afghanistan. The Islamic State group said in a statement on Sunday that it detonated an explosive device a day earlier targeting a Pakistani police vehicle in Kuchlak town near Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. Pakistani officials say the attack killed two officers and wounded two others on a highway.