Top Asian News 3:31 a.m. GMT

Singapore opens its first ministerial graft trial in nearly half a century

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Singapore’s first ministerial corruption trial in nearly half a century began Tuesday, with former Transport Minister S. Iswaran battling charges in a rare scandal in the Asian financial hub known for its squeaky clean government. A former senior politician in the long-ruling People’s Action Party, Iswaran pleaded guilty in January to 35 charges of accepting gifts such as concert tickets and golf clubs valued at 403,000 Singapore dollars ($312,000), graft and obstructing justice. But in a twist at the start of the trial, local media said prosecutors will now proceed with only five charges. These include four related to public servants obtaining valuable things, and one charge of obstruction of justice, Channel News Asia reported.

France has a new government. Can it solve the New Caledonia crisis after months of deadly unrest?

NICE, France (AP) — After four months of deadly unrest in New Caledonia, tensions in the French Pacific territory between the pro-independence Indigenous Kanak people and the white settler communities loyal to Paris are simmering as the vast archipelago east of Australia marks the anniversary of colonization on Tuesday. The communities stand far apart on the territory’s future following the Kanaks’ revolt in May against President Emmanuel Macron’ s voting reform in New Caledonia. The loyalists have called on supporters in the capital, Noumea, to mark the 171st anniversary of the French takeover by honking horns during a radio broadcast of France’s national anthem, La Marseillaise.

Who is Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sri Lanka’s new Marxist president?

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Marxist politician Anura Dissanayake won Sri Lanka’s presidential election over the weekend, dealing a blow to a political old guard that has been widely blamed for the unprecedented economic crisis that hit the South Asian island nation two years ago. Dissanayake, whose pro-working class populist campaign won him youth support, secured victory over opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, the runner up; and incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over the country two years ago after its economy hit bottom. Dissanayake is the leader of National People’s Power alliance, and of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, or People’s Liberation Front, a Marxist political party that waged two unsuccessful armed insurrections in 1970s and 1980s to capture power through socialist revolution.

Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayake sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Marxist politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president on Monday after an election that saw voters reject an old guard accused of leading the country into economic crisis. Dissanayake, 55, who ran as head of the Marxist-leaning National People’s Power coalition, defeated President Ranil Wickremesinghe, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and 35 other candidates in Saturday’s election. The election came as the country seeks to recover from a severe economic crisis that led to shortages of essentials such as foods, medicines, cooking gas and fuel in 2022, triggering massive protests that forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign.

Small tsunami waves wash ashore on remote Japanese islands

TOKYO (AP) — Small tsunami waves washed ashore on remote Japanese islands Tuesday morning after an earthquake that may have been triggered by volcanic activity. The offshore quake was not felt, and the tsunami advisory was lifted about three hours later. No damage or injuries were reported. The Japan Meteorological Agency had advised that waves up to 1 meter (yard) above tide levels could occur on the coasts of the Izu and Ogasawara island chains after the magnitude 5.9 quake occurred off the Izu Islands. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake’s strength at 5.6 magnitude. About 21,500 people live on the islands in the Izu group and about 2,500 on the Ogasawara Islands.

Pakistan appoints new army general as head of powerful spy agency

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A senior army general was tapped as Pakistan’s new spy chief, state-run media reported on Monday. The powerful Inter-Service Intelligence, though officially reports to the prime minister, takes its directive from the military which has ruled Pakistan for over three decades since its independence from British colonial rule in 1947. The agency has also been previously criticized for indulging in politics. Lt. Gen. Asim Malik was appointed days ahead of the retirement of Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum, the ISI Director-General. The new chief had held key positions in the military in southwestern Balochistan and the restive northwest bordering Afghanistan.

US-China research has given Beijing’s military technology a boost, House GOP says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Partnerships between the U.S. and China at universities over the past decade have allowed hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to aid Beijing in developing critical technology that could be used for military purposes, congressional Republicans asserted in a new report. The report said U.S. tax dollars have contributed to China’s technological advancement and military modernization when American researchers worked with their Chinese peers in areas such as hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence, nuclear technology and semiconductor technology. The report, released Monday by Republicans on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the House Education and Workforce Committee, raised concerns over the national security risks of scientific collaborations that were once celebrated.

Tugboat powered by ammonia sails for the first time, showing how to cut emissions from shipping

KINGSTON, N.Y. (AP) — On a tributary of the Hudson River, a tugboat powered by ammonia eased away from the shipyard dock and sailed for the first time to show how the maritime industry can slash planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions. The tugboat used to run on diesel fuel. The New York-based startup company Amogy bought the 67-year-old ship to switch it to cleanly-made ammonia, a new, carbon-free fuel. The tugboat’s first sail on Sunday night is a milestone in a race to develop zero-emissions propulsion using renewable fuel. Emissions from shipping have increased over the last decade — to about 3% of the global total according to the United Nations — as vessels have gotten much bigger, delivering more cargo per trip and using immense amounts of fuel oil.

What to know from the UN: Leaders speak of emerging threats, hints of war as big meeting nears

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The security cordons are up. The streets are ready to be sealed off. Aircraft from myriad nations are landing in New York. It all means one thing for the eastern part of Manhattan: The yearly gathering of world leaders at the United Nations is at hand. The U.N. General Assembly’s high-level leaders’ meeting convenes Tuesday in a troubled world — arguably even more troubled than last year, when the chief of the United Nations warned that the problems were overwhelming. Secretary-General ANTONIO GUTERRES will likely issue a similar warning on Tuesday as he opens the meeting, and world leaders take the stage amid war and rumors of war.

Pakistani Taliban deny attacking a convoy of foreign ambassadors

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Pakistani Taliban on Monday denied involvement in a bombing attack on a police convoy that was escorting foreign ambassadors in the restive northwest, as authorities said they were still trying to determine who was behind it. Most of the ambassadors and senior envoys were traveling with their family members on Sunday to the Swat Valley, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, when the attack occurred in Malam Jabba, one of Pakistan’s two ski resorts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, denied detonating the improvised explosive device that hit a police vehicle accompanying the convoy.