Top Asian News 4:29 a.m. GMT

AP PHOTOS: Same-sex couples in Thailand speak of happiness before marriage equality law takes effect

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s landmark marriage equality bill was officially written into law on Sept. 24, after it was endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. LGBTQ+ couples will be able to register marriages this week when it takes effect on Thursday, making Thailand the third place to do so in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal. Thailand has a reputation for acceptance and inclusivity, but has struggled for decades to pass a marriage equality law. Thai society has broadly conservative values, and members of the LGBTQ+ community say they face discrimination in everyday life. The government led by the Pheu Thai party has made marriage equality one of its main goals.

South Korea’s impeached president is arrested over martial law declaration and his supporters riot

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Hours after South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was formally arrested, triggering rioting by his supporters, his lawyers said Sunday that he remains defiant in his refusal to answer questions over the probe into his declaration of martial law last month. Yoon was formally arrested early on Sunday, days after being apprehended at his presidential compound in Seoul. He faces possible imprisonment over his short-lived imposition of martial law, which set off the country’s most serious political crisis since its democratization in the late 1980s. Yoon’s arrest could mark the beginning of an extended period in custody, lasting months or more.

Southeast Asia foreign ministers seek breakthrough in Myanmar conflict and South China Sea dispute

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (AP) — Southeast Asian foreign ministers gathered Sunday for their first meeting this year under the regional bloc’s new chair, Malaysia, seeking a breakthrough over Myanmar’s drawn-out civil war and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The retreat on the idyllic northern resort island of Langkawi was the first major meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations hosted by Malaysia. Officials said it aims to chart the bloc’s direction for the year as it tries to resolve Myanmar’s deadly four-year crisis and tensions over China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea. Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Myanmar — represented by a low-level Foreign Ministry official after its junta leaders were barred from formal ASEAN meetings — briefed the gathering about plans for a general election this year.

Funding cuts to Afghanistan are the biggest threat to helping women, aid agency chief warns

Funding cuts to Afghanistan are the biggest threat to helping the country’s women, the chief of a top aid agency warned Sunday. Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said women and girls were bearing the brunt of dwindling financial support for nongovernmental groups and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. The NRC helped 772,484 Afghans in 2022. That number fell to 491,435 in 2023. Last year, the aid agency helped 216,501 people. Half of its beneficiaries are women. Egeland, who has made several visits to Afghanistan since 2021, said: “We see one after the other peer organization cutting programming and staff in the last two years.

Fire burns through multiple tents at Maha Kumbh festival but causes no injuries

NEW DELHI (AP) — A fire tore through at least 18 temporary tents at a massive Hindu festival thronged by millions of people in India’s northern Prayagraj city, officials said Sunday. There were no injuries. The blaze was caused by the explosion of a gas cylinder and was contained by firefighters, police said. Images from the sprawling tent city at the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna rivers showed smoke billowing out as dozens of firefighters doused the blaze. The Maha Kumbh festival, held every 12 years, started last Monday and is the world’s largest religious gathering. At least 77 million people are attending and authorities expected more than 400 million in total over the next six weeks.

Indian police arrest a man suspected of stabbing Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan

NEW DELHI (AP) — Police arrested on Sunday a 30-year-old man in India’s financial capital Mumbai whom they said was considered the prime suspect in the stabbing of Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan. The assault shocked the country’s film industry and raised concerns over the lack of security in Mumbai, home to many Bollywood actors. Khan was stabbed with a knife on Thursday at his home and sustained one deep wound near his spine. A female employee at Khan’s home was also injured during the attack. The actor, who underwent surgery, was out of danger, his doctors said. Senior police officer Dixit Gedam said the suspect was a Bangladeshi citizen who had entered India illegally and changed his name from Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad to Bijoy Das, and that initial evidence suggested he entered Khan’s home with the intention of theft.

Taliban deputy tells leader there is no excuse for education bans on Afghan women and girls

A senior Taliban figure has urged the group’s leader to scrap education bans on Afghan women and girls, saying there is no excuse for them, in a rare public rebuke of government policy. Sher Abbas Stanikzai, political deputy at the Foreign Ministry, made the remarks in a speech on Saturday in southeastern Khost province. He told an audience at a religious school ceremony there was no reason to deny education to women and girls, “just as there was no justification for it in the past and there shouldn’t be one at all.” The government has barred females from education after sixth grade.

Scores of Afghans have left for the US after their visas were processed in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Nearly 200 Afghan nationals have been flown on to the United States after their special immigration visas were processed in the Philippines as part of an agreement between Manila and Washington, the U.S. Embassy in Manila said Sunday. The Afghans left the Philippines in several groups on commercial flights last week after completing their application process for resettlement in the U.S., according to the embassy spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay. An embassy statement expressed “deep appreciation to the government of the Philippines for their cooperation and support for U.S. efforts to assist Afghan special immigrants.” The Afghans, including many children, arrived in the Philippines on Jan.

AP Photos: Japanese bathe in icy water at a Tokyo shrine to purify their souls

TOKYO (AP) — Dozens of people soaked and splashed themselves in painfully icy cold water on Saturday in a pool at a Tokyo shrine, adhering to Japanese tradition to purify the soul and pray for good health in the new year. Mostly half-naked men with just white loincloth around their hips and several women in white robes joined the annual cold endurance ritual at the Kanda Myojin, a Shinto shrine in downtown Tokyo. About 40 participants jogged around the shrine and did some physical exercises to warm up before entering a pool of knee-high water chilled further with big chunks of ice.

Indian police volunteer convicted of rape, murder of a trainee doctor that led to protests

NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian court on Saturday found a police volunteer guilty for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor, a crime that sparked countrywide protests and hospital strikes last year amid renewed concerns over lack of safety for women. The killing of the 31-year-old physician while she was on duty at a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata in August highlighted once again the chronic issue of violence against women in the country. The trial in the case was fast-tracked through India’s notoriously sluggish legal system and arguments began in November. Judge Anirban Das said the sentence for 33-year-old Sanjay Roy will be announced on Monday and could range from life imprisonment to the death penalty.