Top Asian News 5:38 a.m. GMT

Make room Starbucks and McDonald’s. China’s Mixue and other brands win fans in Southeast Asia

HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese food and beverage brands are gaining ground across Southeast Asia, offering alternatives to big name American chains and expanding Beijing’s commercial and cultural influence in neighboring economies. The Chinese beverage giant Mixue Group has become the world’s largest F&B chain by number of outlets, overtaking Starbucks and McDonald’s. The company, whose brand name Mixue Bingcheng means “Honey Snow Ice City,” in Chinese, is capitalizing on the region-wide sweet tooth with affordable offerings of ice cream, coffee and bubble tea drinks. “Even on social media like TikTok and others, there is a joke that any empty shophouse would soon turn into a Mixue store,” Rahma Yuliana said, referring to a popular saying in Indonesia, where Mixue has more than 2,600 outlets.

Elevated road under construction in Bangkok collapses, killing at least 5 people

BANGKOK (AP) — An elevated road being built in Thailand’s capital Bangkok collapsed, killing at least five people, officials said. The collapse, which happened in the early morning in southwestern Bangkok, also injured 24 other people at the construction site, said Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit. Suriya offered his condolences and said victims would be compensated by contractors and relevant agencies. He said four workers and an engineer were killed, and no road users were affected as traffic lanes near the construction were closed at the time. Bangkok police commander Siam Boonsom said authorities were still investigating to determine the cause of the collapse and that they would pursue legal actions against those found responsible.

Millions of people celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of people in South Asia celebrated Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, on Friday by smearing each other with brightly colored powder, dancing to festive music and feasting on traditional sweets prepared for the occasion. The raucous spring festival sees Hindus take part in a kaleidoscopic celebration of the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil. The festival is a national holiday in India, while in Nepal it’s a two-day event that began Thursday. It’s also observed in other South Asian countries as well as among the Indian diaspora. Holi has its origins in Hindu mythology and lore and celebrates the divine love between the Hindu god Krishna and his consort Radha, and signifies a time of rebirth and rejuvenation.

Philippine ex-President Duterte appears by video link at International Criminal Court hearing

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Jailed former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appeared Friday by videoconference before judges at the International Criminal Court, days after his arrest in Manila on murder charges linked to the deadly “ war on drugs ” that he oversaw while in office. The 79-year-old Duterte didn’t show up at the court in The Hague, but appeared on a video screen from the detention center where he is being held, about a mile (1½ kilometers) away. For families of victims of the drugs crackdown, Duterte’s appearance in court was a long-awaited sign of hope. Duterte’s vocal supporters call the arrest illegal.

UN World Food Program to cut food aid for over 1 million people in Myanmar

BANGKOK (AP) — The United Nations food agency said on Friday that more than 1 million people in the war-torn nation of Myanmar will be cut off from food assistance due to critical funding shortfalls. A statement released by the World Food Program said that most food rations currently distributed in Myanmar will be cut off in April, even as the country faces a desperate humanitarian crisis caused by bitter fighting between the military government and powerful militias opposed to its rule. The WFP said it would need $60 million to continue food assistance in Myanmar and called on its partners to identify additional funding.

A river ‘died’ overnight in Zambia after an acidic waste spill at a Chinese-owned mine

KITWE, Zambia (AP) — Authorities and environmentalists in Zambia fear the long-term impact of an acid spill at a Chinese-owned mine that contaminated a major river and could potentially affect millions of people after signs of pollution were detected at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) downstream. The spill happened on Feb. 18 when a tailings dam that holds acidic waste from a copper mine in the north of the country collapsed, according to investigators from the Engineering Institution of Zambia. The collapse allowed some 50 million liters of waste containing concentrated acid, dissolved solids and heavy metals to flow into a stream that links to the Kafue River, Zambia’s most important waterway, the engineering institution said.

Japan’s Ishiba criticized over gifts to lawmakers months after a scandal-fueled election loss

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is being criticized for distributing gift certificates to 15 first-year lawmakers in his party in a scandal shaking his already weak grip on power. Ishiba has denied breaking political funding laws and said he won’t resign. But opposition lawmakers and rivals in his own party have said the gifts were excessive and showed Ishiba was out of touch, especially after the governing Liberal Democratic Party had a disastrous election loss last year due to its earlier political funding irregularities. Japanese media reported earlier this week that Ishiba’s aide delivered gift certificates worth 100,000 yen ($670) to the offices of the 15 lawmakers prior to their private dinner with the prime minister.

Wombats are cute, furry marsupials — that shouldn’t be picked up

Wombats are furry, nocturnal marsupials found only in Australia. Baby wombats have recently been in the news after an American influencer filmed herself snatching a young joey from its mother, setting off a global conversation about mistreatment of wildlife. Wild animals are cute -- but please don’t touch, for your sake and theirs. Unlike kangaroos and koalas, most wombats actually do spend much of their time down under — in burrows that sometimes include up to ten entrances and tunnels up to 325 feet (100 meters) long. That’s a lot of digging for an animal about the size of a medium dog with short legs, but also wide feet and sharp claws.

Pakistan’s army accuses India of sponsoring terror after 26 hostages were killed in a train attack

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s military accused neighboring India on Friday of sponsoring insurgents in the restive southwest as more survivors recounted their ordeal from the unprecedented attack by armed separatists this week that killed 26 passengers aboard a hijacked train. The scope of the attack in Balochestan province underscored the struggles that Pakistan faces in efforts to reign in militant groups as attacks across the country escalated in recent years. Accusing India and neighboring Afghanistan has been Islamabad’s go-to strategy in the past. No evidence was offered for the latest accusation, which New Delhi promptly rejected. In the attack Tuesday, members of the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army ambushed a train in a remote area, took about 400 people onboard hostage and triggered a firefight with security forces.

UN chief describes aid cuts as ‘a crime’ during visit to Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday described humanitarian aid cuts by the United States and countries in Europe to Bangladesh, where thousands of Rohingya refugees are located, as “a crime.” Guterres was on a four-day visit to Bangladesh where he is assessing the plight of more than 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar whose future remained uncertain over possible aid cuts soon. Every year, he chooses a Muslim country to visit during the holy month of Ramadan. He said that Bangladesh’s southern coastal district of Cox’s Bazar, where most of the Rohingya have been sheltered, is “ground zero for the impact of the budget cuts on people in desperate need.” Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, including more than 700,000 who arrived in 2017, have lived in Bangladesh for decades.