Top Asian News 4:50 a.m. GMT
LGBTQ+ couples in Thailand register their marriages on the first day of law giving them equal status
BANGKOK (AP) — Hundreds of LGBTQ+ couples in Thailand are expected to make their wedded status legal Thursday, the first day a law took effect granting them the same rights as heterosexual couples. The enactment of the Marriage Equality Act makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia and the third place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, after Taiwan and Nepal. Marriage registration is customarily done at district offices, but on Thursday, around 300 couples are expected to complete the formalities at a daylong gala celebration in an exhibition hall at a shopping mall in central Bangkok. Hundreds more are predicted to register in less fancy circumstances around the country.
South Korean investigators call for indictment of detained President Yoon
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean investigators asked prosecutors to indict the country’s detained President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law last month, as it accused him of rebellion, abuse of power and obstruction of parliament on Thursday. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials said that Yoon staged a “riot” and sought to undermine the constitution when he declared martial law on Dec. 3 and sent troops and police officers to seal the National Assembly. Lee Jae-seung, deputy chief prosecutor at the CIO, told a televised briefing that Yoon also abused his power by mobilizing troops for an illegitimate purpose and attempted to obstruct parliament’s right to vote on ending martial law.
Afghans who fled Taliban rule urge Trump to lift refugee program suspension
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power appealed Wednesday to U.S. President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States, some saying they risked their lives to support U.S. troops. An estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting in Pakistan to be approved for resettlement in the U.S. via an American government program. It was set up to help Afghans at risk under the Taliban because of their work with the U.S. government, media, aid agencies and rights groups, after U.S. troops pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, when the Taliban took power.
China and US partners are moving closer as Trump returns to the White House
BEIJING (AP) — China’s relations are starting to improve with Japan, India and other countries that former U.S. President Joe Biden courted, just as Donald Trump brings his more unilateralist approach back to the White House. The change of leadership in Washington on Monday could be an opportunity for China, which has long railed against Biden’s strategy of building partnerships with “like-minded countries” to counter its growing influence. Biden reinvigorated a grouping known as the Quad — the United States, India, Japan and Australia. China’s relations with all three of those U.S. partners are improving, as are its ties with Britain.
Man convicted of stalking Chinese ex-official by leaving him a dire note gets prison in US
NEW YORK (AP) — A man who taped a sinister note to a Chinese ex-official’s door in New Jersey was sentenced Wednesday to 16 months in prison. He was convicted of participating in what U.S. authorities called a Beijing-driven pressure campaign targeting expatriates. Zheng Congying was one of three men convicted at the first trial highlighting U.S. claims that China’s government harasses and intimidates dissidents and critics on foreign soil. Beijing denies doing so and says its “Operation Fox Hunt” is an effort to bring fugitives home to face justice. A federal court jury in Brooklyn found Zheng and co-defendants Michael McMahon and Zhu Yong guilty of playing various roles in seeking out Xu Jin, a former official in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and pressing him to return to his homeland.
The Taliban say a Chinese national has been killed in northeastern Afghanistan
A Chinese man was killed as he traveled in northeastern Afghanistan while working for a mining company, Taliban officials said Wednesday. A militant resistance group took responsibility for the killing, alleging the man was working with Taliban intelligence. The killing of foreigners is rare in Afghanistan, especially since 2021 when foreign troops withdrew from the country and the Taliban returned to power. The Chinese man, surnamed Li, was on his way to the Dasht-e-Qala district with an interpreter on Tuesday when he was killed by “unknown people,” Taliban police spokesman Mohammed Akbar said. The interpreter was unharmed, he said. Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the Chinese man was working for a mining company and that authorities had informed him to tell local security officials “when crossing districts or provinces,” but that he had failed to do so.
China moves to boost languishing markets by ordering funds to invest more in shares
BANGKOK (AP) — The Chinese government plans to ensure that share prices will rise by ordering pensions and mutual funds to invest more in domestic stocks, to help jolt the markets out of the doldrums. Officials told reporters in Beijing on Thursday that beginning this year mutual funds should increase holdings of onshore stocks, called A-shares, by at least 10% a year over the next three years. Commercial insurance funds will have to put 30% of their annual new premium revenue into share markets beginning this year, they said. “This means that at least several hundred billion yuan of long-term funds will be added to A-shares every year,” said Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
At least 12 rail passengers killed in western India after jumping onto tracks over train fire alert
NEW DELHI (AP) — At least 12 train passengers were killed in western India Wednesday after being struck by another train on an adjacent track after they jumped from their coaches in panic to escape a rumored fire incident, the Press Trust of India reported. At least six other people were injured, the news agency cited police officer Dattatraya Karale as saying. The accident occurred in Maharashtra State, near the Pardhade railroad station, 410 kilometers (255 miles) northeast of Mumbai, India’s financial capital. PTI said the victims jumped off the Pushpak Express train, which had stopped after some passengers pulled an emergency chain.
1 person is killed and 2 injured in stabbing outside Nagano station in central Japan
TOKYO (AP) — One person died and two others were injured in a knife attack Wednesday night outside a train station in Nagano in central Japan, and police were looking for a suspect who fled, authorities said. Nagano police and fire department officials said a 49-year-old man was pronounced dead at a hospital. A 37-year-old man was wounded but conscious, while a 46-year-old woman had a head injury from falling. Those attacked described the suspect as an unfamiliar middle-aged man, the Kyodo News agency reported. The stabbing occurred near a bus terminal outside Nagano station. Violent crimes are rare in Japan, which has strict gun control laws.
Police investigate whether foreign actors are paying for antisemitic crimes in Australia
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian detectives are investigating whether foreign actors are paying criminals to commit antisemitic attacks in the country, police said on Wednesday. Australia Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw was meeting on Wednesday with state police chiefs to discuss an increase in antisemitic crime in Australia since the war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, 2023. “We believe criminals-for-hire may be behind some incidents,” Kershaw told reporters in the national capital, Canberra. “So part of our inquiries include: Who is paying those criminals, where those people are, whether they are in Australia or offshore, and what their motivation is,” Kershaw added.