Top Asian News 4:19 a.m. GMT

South Korean investigators seek to question reluctant president over martial law

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean investigators on Friday again sought to question impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, summoning him for questioning on Christmas Day despite his repeated refusal to cooperate. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the ill-conceived power grab that lasted only a few hours, said it plans to question Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion. Yoon, whose presidential powers have been suspended since the opposition-controlled National Assembly impeached him on Dec.

Indonesians mark 2 decades since the tragic tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Two decades after a catastrophic tsunami destroyed her village, Tria Asnani still cries when she recalls how she lost her mother while trying to escape the giant waves. Asnani, now a school teacher, was only 17 at the time. Her father, who was a fisherman, never returned home from sea. She doesn’t know how she survived. “I cannot swim. I could only rely on dhikr (Islamic prayer).” On Dec. 26, 2004, a powerful 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, reaching as far as East Africa.

The water was their livelihood. Now Thailand’s sea nomads work to preserve a vanishing way of life

SURIN ISLANDS, Thailand (AP) — When Hook was a child, he started his days by jumping off the boat that his family lived on and into the ocean. By age 3, he could already swim and dive in shallow waters. His home was a kabang, a boat, that his family sailed in Thailand’s southern waters. The ocean was his backyard. Now Hook, whose full name is Suriyan Klathale, lives on land like the rest of his community, a people known as the Moken. The recollections of his childhood, which many Moken of his generation still have, are mostly just memories.

Greek authorities say boat capsizing victims and survivors were from Afghanistan. 2 Turks arrested

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s coast guard said Saturday it was searching for survivors or victims of a speedboat capsizing a day earlier involving migrants off the eastern Greek island of Rhodes. The capsizing, the result of the boat’s maneuvering to evade a patrol vessel according to authorities, left eight confirmed dead. A total of 18 migrants — 12 men, three women and three minors — all Afghan nationals, were rescued, the coast guard said Saturday. The dead were also from Afghanistan, it said. Some migrants remained hospitalized, with one in critical condition, authorities said. Two Turkish citizens, ages 23 and 19, were arrested as the suspected traffickers.

AP PHOTOS: Scenes of devastation from the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

On Dec. 26, 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of Sumatra, causing a massive wave that devastated Asian coastal communities across thousands of miles. Some 230,000 people died as the tsunami leveled remote villages, ports and tourist resorts in Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka, among other countries. Ahead of the 20th anniversary of a disaster that’s still vividly remembered in the region, here’s a look back at the aftermath. In these photos, a resident of a fishing village in India’s Tamil Nadu state contemplates the remains of her house as fires continue to burn in her village.

An ethnic armed group in western Myanmar claims to have captured a major regional army headquarters

BANGKOK (AP) — A powerful ethnic armed group in western Myanmar claimed Friday to have scored a major victory in the war against the ruling military, even as neighboring nations at a meeting in Thailand were discussing efforts to end the conflict peacefully. The capture by the Arakan Army of a strategically important regional army headquarters in Rakhine state would put it a step closer to seizing control of the entire state, a goal not achieved by any of the several other rebel groups in other parts of Myanmar. Rakhine has become a focal point for Myanmar’s nationwide civil war, in which pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority armed forces seeking autonomy battle the country’s military rulers, who took power in 2021 after ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Malaysia agrees to resume ‘no find, no fee’ hunt for flight MH370, 10 years after plane disappeared

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s government has agreed in principle to accept a second “no find, no fee” proposal from a U.S. company to renew the hunt for flight MH370, which is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean more than 10 years ago, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Friday. Loke said Cabinet ministers gave the nod at their meeting last week for Texas-based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity to continue the seabed search operation at a new 15,000-square-kilometer (5,800-square-mile) site in the ocean next year. “The proposed new search area, identified by Ocean Infinity, is based on the latest information and data analyses conducted by experts and researchers.

Pakistani Taliban claims responsibility for a deadly military checkpoint attack in the northwest

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — The Pakistani Taliban on Saturday claimed responsibility for a deadly military checkpoint attack in the country’s northwest. The militant group said it killed 35 soldiers and injured 15 others in an early morning raid. It also claimed seizing equipment including a night vision device and weapons. It’s Pakistan Taliban’s latest assault on troops in the restive province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan. They made the claims in one of their WhatsApp chat groups. The army has yet to officially comment on the incident in South Waziristan, but a security official said militants used light and heavy weapons.

Warring tribes in Pakistan’s northwest ordered to hand over weapons after weeks of deadly clashes

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Warring tribes in Pakistan’s northwest were ordered to hand over their weapons after weeks of deadly violence, authorities said Friday. Clashes in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have killed at least 130 people in recent weeks, triggering road closures and other measures that have disrupted people’s access to medicine, food, fuel, education and work. The violence flared on Nov. 21 when gunmen ambushed a vehicle convoy and killed 52 people, mostly Shiite Muslims. Nobody claimed responsibility for the assault, which triggered retaliatory gunfire and arson by rival groups in several areas. On Friday, authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ordered tribes to hand over their weapons and sign an agreement through government mediation to ensure compliance.

A massive fire kills 9 people at a building under construction in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Nine people died Thursday in a massive fire in central Taiwan at a huge food-processing building that was under construction, news reports said. Video posted on social media showed a wall of dark gray smoke and orange flames billowing out of one end of the five-story building in the city of Taichung. The cause of the fire was undetermined but the Taichung government said it spread rapidly because of a large quantity of foam panels on site. One person died after jumping from the third floor and the other victims were found by firefighters in a search that extended into the evening, Taiwanese media said.