Top Asian News 3:27 a.m. GMT

Huge crowds march in rival rallies for and against South Korea’s impeached president

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Thousands of South Koreans on Saturday filled the streets of downtown Seoul in massive rival rallies for and against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, as the Constitutional Court nears a decision on whether to formally remove him from office over his imposition of martial law in December. Waving banners and signs demanding the ouster of the conservative president, big crowds of anti-Yoon protesters packed the streets near the court, where police had recently tightened security in anticipation of the ruling expected as early as next week. Yoon’s supporters rallied in nearby streets, waving South Korean and U.S.

An airstrike in Myanmar kills nearly 30 people, an opposition group says

BANGKOK (AP) — An airstrike by Myanmar’s military on a central village under the control of resistance forces has killed at least 27 civilians and injured 30 others, an opposition group and Myanmar’s online media said Saturday. The attack occurred Friday at 3 p.m. in Let Pan Hla village in Singu township, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, a spokesperson for the Mandalay People’s Defense Force said. The military did not comment on Saturday. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb.

‘Filled with arrogance': China lashes out at G7 over statements on maritime security

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China has lashed out at accusations it is endangering maritime safety made by top diplomats from the Group of 7 industrialized democracies in a joint statement, saying the G7 members are “filled with arrogance, prejudice and malicious intentions.” Even for China’s generally overheated diplomatic language, the statement issued Saturday was unusually vitriolic, although it did not threaten any retaliation. In the Friday statement that sparked the Chinese response, the G7 said, “We condemn China’s illicit, provocative, coercive and dangerous actions that seek unilaterally to alter the status quo in such a way as to risk undermining the stability of regions, including through land reclaimations, and building of outposts, as well as their use for military purpose.” “We reaffirm that our basic policies on Taiwan remain unchanged and emphasize the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as indispensable to international security and prosperity,” the statement said, referring to the crucial waterway separating China from the self-governing island republic it claims as its own territory.

US imposes sanctions on Thai officials after Uyghur men are deported to China

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. State Department on Friday announced sanctions on an unknown number of current and former Thai officials for their role in deporting at least 40 Uyghur men to China despite worries that they could be jailed or even face death there. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was immediately moving to impose visa restrictions on current and former officials responsible for or complicit in the deportations. No Thai official has been named. The visa restrictions were not explained but can entail a denial of entry to the U.S. “We are committed to combating China’s efforts to pressure governments to forcibly return Uyghurs and other groups to China, where they are subject to torture and enforced disappearances,” Rubio said in a statement.

At least 11 dead after separate security operations against militants in restive northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s security forces raided two militant hideouts in the country’s restive northwest on Saturday, triggering gun battles that left at least two soldiers and nine militants dead, the military said in a statement. The raids were conducted in the Mohmand and Dera Ismail Khan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. According to local police officials, the insurgents were Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The outlawed TTP is a separate group but an ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of a withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war.

Indonesia’s cocoa farmers work with businesses to fight the bitter impact of climate change

TANJUNG REJO, Indonesia (AP) — The loud whirr of a chainsaw sounds through the forest as a small group of farmers gathers around a tree filled with red seed pods. With one slow stroke, a severed knobby branch hits the ground. “Now it will help the tree grow new fruit,” farmer Tari Santoso says with a smile. Thousands of cocoa farmers across Indonesia like Santoso are working with businesses and other organizations to protect their crops from the bitter impacts of climate change and underinvestment that have pushed cocoa prices to record levels. Cocoa trees are high maintenance: Grown only near the equator, they require a precise combination of steady temperatures, humidity and sunlight.

Kashmir’s Sufi music lovers are sticking with the audio cassette

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Farooq Ahmad Shaksaaz presses a button on his 1970 Sharp cassette player, and with a hefty clack the machine whirrs to life. As the Kashmiri tailor stitches, the machine crackles for a moment before Ghulam Ahmad Sofi’s otherworldly voice fills his shop with verses about divine love and the pain of separation from the beloved creator of the universe. Shaksaaz, a tailor in the Kashmiri city of Srinagar, inherited his passion for local Sufi music from his grandfather along with a meticulously preserved collection of audio cassette tapes from the 1970s, which he often listens to as he works.

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.

AP Photos: “Shinbyu,” a rite of passage for young Buddhists in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Brightly dressed boys and girls mounted on horses and carts, accompanied by their guardians, make their way to a Buddhist monastery in southern Myanmar, as they prepare to enter a period of monkhood that can last anywhere between a few days to months. A novitiation, or “Shinbyu,” ceremony is mostly held in March across the Buddhist-majority country. It is followed by all Myanmar Buddhists and is said to date back more than 2 1/2 millennia, a religious gift given by Buddha to his own son, Rahula. On Saturday, the colors pink and gold seemed to dominate many of the girls’ intricately tailored dresses, as some smiled widely at the cameras.

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.