Top Asian News 3:31 a.m. GMT
Indian farmers strike to demand guaranteed crop prices as others attempt to march to New Delhi
NEW DELHI (AP) — Farmers blocked highways and held demonstrations in many rural areas in northern India on Friday to protest over a range of grievances that have also led tens of thousands to march toward the capital in tractors and wagons. Farmers in the northern states of Haryana and Punjab held sit-ins near toll plazas on major highways in the strike, supported by some trade unions. Authorities advised commuters to plan routes carefully to avoid blocked roads. Tens of thousands of farmers began a protest march toward New Delhi earlier this week to demand guaranteed prices for their produce, but were stopped by the police about 200 kilometers (125 miles) away from the capital.
Why tens of thousands of Indian farmers are protesting again
NEW DELHI (AP) — Tens of thousands of Indian farmers are protesting for guaranteed crop prices, renewing a movement that succeeded in getting contentious new agricultural laws repealed in 2021. Earlier this week, they began marching toward New Delhi, but their efforts so far have been blocked by authorities, who have used tear gas, detained a number of farmers and heavily barricaded entry points into the capital. Talks between the farmers and government ministers have failed to reach a breakthrough after three rounds and they have agreed to continue their discussions this weekend. Meanwhile, some farmer and trade unions plan a countrywide rural strike on Friday.
How will Prabowo Subianto, an ex-general who’s never held elective office, lead Indonesia?
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Foreign leaders congratulated Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto on his apparent victory in Indonesia’s presidential election, while rights activists called him a threat. But how he’ll govern remains uncertain after a campaign in which he made few concrete promises besides continuity with the popular outgoing president. The 72-year-old ex-general has never held elective office. He’ll lead a massive, diverse island nation whose economy has boomed amid strong global demand for its natural resources, but he’ll have to contend with global economic distress and regional tensions in Asia, where territorial conflicts and the U.S.-China rivalry loom large. The election outcome capped a long comeback for Subianto, who was expelled from the Indonesian army over allegations his men tortured dissidents, and banned from traveling to the United States and Australia for years.
Indonesian activists protest ex-general’s win in presidential election and allege massive fraud
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Protesters marched in Indonesia’s capital on Friday demanding the election authority stop Prabowo Subianto from taking office as the next president and claiming widespread electoral fraud. Subianto, a former general linked to past human rights abuses, has claimed victory in the presidential election on Wednesday after unofficial tallies showed him taking over 58% of the vote in a three-way race. Subianto’s win is not yet official as the official results could take up to a month to be tabulated. His two rivals, former governors Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo, refused to concede and alleged massive fraud in the election.
At least 11 dead and 4 injured in massive fire at paint factory in New Delhi
NEW DELHI (AP) — A massive fire swept through a paint factory in India’s capital, New Delhi, killing at least 11 people and leaving four others injured, news agency Press Trust of India reported. Fire officials said that the blaze started late Thursday on the ground floor of the factory, trapping the victims on the floors above with no way out. The building, which also houses a chemical warehouse, is located in the Alipur area in northern New Delhi. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. The charred bodies of the 11 victims were recovered from the rubble after 22 fire engines doused the flames after battling for more than five hours.
Japan’s new flagship H3 rocket reaches planned trajectory in key test after failed debut last year
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese flagship H3 rocket lifted off from a space station in southwestern Japan Saturday, successfully reaching its planned trajectory and releasing one of the two payloads in a key second test, overcoming its failed debut launch a year ago and buoying hope for the country to stay competitive in the global space race. The H3 rocket blasted off from a launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center on time Saturday morning, two days after its originally scheduled liftoff which was delayed due to bad weather. The rocket’s initial flight has been smooth as planned and it successfully released the first of two small payloads, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said.
Hong Kong customs arrests 7 in a $1.8 billion money laundering case linked to transnational crime
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong customs officials have arrested seven people linked to the territory’s largest ever money laundering case, involving about 14 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.8 billion) some of it linked to a scam case in India. The seven local residents, aged between 23 and 74, were part of a large-scale transnational syndicate that used various shell companies and bank accounts to transfer large sums from overseas to the city under the guise of running international trading businesses, customs officials said Friday. One account once received as much as 100 million Hong Kong dollars ($12.8 million) on a single day, they said.
Imprisoned former Pakistani premier Khan appeals 3 recent convictions
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The legal team of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday appealed his recent convictions and sentences in three controversial legal cases, a defense lawyer said. Khan was sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison on charges of corruption, revealing official secrets and marriage law violations in three separate verdicts in late January and early February during trials at a prison in Rawalpindi. The appeals in all three cases were filed Friday, Khan’s lawyer Latif Khosa said. Supporters of Khan said the prosecutions were politically motivated moves to make him ineligible to run in the country’s Feb.
Cambodia to install hundreds of wildlife cameras in an effort to restore its tiger population
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia will begin installing hundreds of monitoring cameras and import four tigers from India as part of a plan to restore its tiger population, officials said Friday. Tigers were declared “functionally extinct” in Cambodia in 2016 by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The last tiger spotted in the country was seen in 2007 by a camera trap -– a hidden camera that is triggered by the movement of animals -– in the forests of eastern Mondulkiri province. Cambodia’s Environment Ministry said it plans to install cameras at one-kilometer intervals in the Cardamom Mountains for use over a three-month period covering both the dry and rainy seasons to monitor wildlife, particularly those preyed upon by tigers such as deer and wild boar.
Godzilla, Oscar newbie, stomps into the Academy Awards
NEW YORK (AP) — Godzilla has been to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, San Francisco, Boston, Moscow, London and Hawaii. But before now, he’s never been to the Oscars. When the Academy Awards roll around on March 10, Godzilla will stretch its scaly, reptilian legs down the Oscars red carpet for the first time in the franchise’s 70-year history. “Godzilla Minus One,” the 37th film in the film series, is nominated for best visual effects. Though one of the most potent and long-running (or at least long-stomping) forces in movies, Godzilla has never before rubbed elbows at the Academy Awards. Its domain has been, well, the Pacific Ocean, but also the more popcorn-chomping realm of moviedom.