Top Asian News 3:57 a.m. GMT

Southeast Asian leaders meet in Laos in a summit set to tackle crisis in Myanmar and disputed sea

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders gathered in the capital of Laos on Wednesday for an annual regional forum that will focus on tackling the prolonged civil war in Myanmar and territorial tensions in the South China Sea. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit will also be followed by meetings with global powers including China, the United States and Russia, which are contending for influence in the region. The timing of the meetings in Vientiane makes it likely that talks will also touch on the escalation of violence in the Middle East, although Southeast Asia has faced only indirect fallout.

North Korea vows to block border with South Korea and boost front-line defense postures

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday it will permanently block its border with South Korea and boost its front-line defense posture to cope with “confrontational hysteria” by South Korean and U.S. forces, while not announcing an expected constitutional revision to formally designate South Korea its principal enemy and codify new national borders. While the moves were likely a pressure tactic, it’s unclear how they will affect ties with South Korea since cross-border travel and exchanges have been halted for years. North Korea’s military said Wednesday it will “completely cut off roads and railways ” linked to South Korea and “fortify the relevant areas of our side with strong defense structures,” according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.

China puts provisional tariffs on European brandy after EU OKs duties on Chinese EVs

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese drinkers may pay more for Remy Martin and other European brandies after the government announced on Tuesday provisional tariffs of 30.6% to 39% on those liquors, four days after a majority of European Union countries approved duties on electric vehicles made in China. The tit-for-tat move potentially gives Chinese negotiators leverage in talks with the EU on reducing or eliminating the tariffs of up to 35.3% on Chinese EVs, which would take effect at the end of this month. The brandy tariffs are provisional and require importers to make a deposit with the Chinese customs agency for the amount of the tariff, starting Friday.

Pakistan’s Imran Khan is charged with attempted murder over policeman’s death in weekend protests

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani police have charged the country’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan with attempted murder over the death of a policeman during violent protests last weekend by his supporters, officials said Tuesday. Khan, who has been behind bars since 2023, is accused of inciting people to violence, they said. Police argue that Khan — who had urged his followers to rally on his behalf and demand his release from prison — had allegedly incited his supporters, leading to the killing of officer Abdul Hameed. According to police official Murtaza Qamar, Hameed was critically injured in clashes between Khan’s supporters and police in Islamabad and died at a hospital.

Military board substantiates misconduct but declines to fire Marine who adopted Afghan orphan

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — A U.S. Marine whose adoption of an Afghan war orphan has spurred a yearslong legal battle and raised alarms at the highest levels of government will remain on active duty. A three-member panel of Marines found Tuesday that while Maj. Joshua Mast acted in a way unbecoming of an officer in his zealous quest to bring home the baby girl, it did not warrant his separation from the military. Lawyers for the Marine Corps argued Mast abused his position, disregarded orders of his superiors, mishandled classified information and improperly used a government computer in his fight over the child who was found orphaned on the battlefield in rural Afghanistan in 2019.

Self-described Nazi will be sent to prison for salute at sentencing next month

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A self-described Nazi will become the first person in Australia sentenced to prison for performing an outlawed Nazi salute when a magistrate sets his term later his month. Magistrate Brett Sonnet told Jacob Hersant on Wednesday he will be sentenced to a “relatively modest term of imprisonment” at a court appearance on Oct. 23. “It will not be a severe term of imprisonment, but I have not determined the length,” Sonnet said. The maximum potential sentence is 12 months in prison plus a 24,000 Australian dollar ($16,177) fine. Hersant, 25, gave the salute and praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in front of news media cameras outside the Victoria County Court on Oct.

Biggest Kashmir party opposed to India’s stripping of region’s autonomy wins most seats in election

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Kashmir’s biggest political party opposed to India’s stripping of the region’s semi-autonomy won the most seats in a local election, according to official data on Tuesday, following a vote seen as a referendum against the move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government five years ago. National Conference, or NC, won 42 seats, mainly from the Kashmir Valley, the heartland of the anti-India rebellion, according to the data. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party secured 29 seats, all from the Hindu-dominated areas of Jammu. India’s main opposition Congress party, which fought the election in alliance with the NC, succeeded in six constituencies.

Qantas Airways apologizes after R-rated film reportedly airs on every screen during flight

NEW YORK (AP) — Qantas Airways has drawn up a stir after broadcasting a slightly-racy movie across an entire flight. And the Australian carrier now is apologizing to customers. There were technical issues with the in-flight entertainment for a trip from Sydney to Haneda last week, Qantas confirmed to The Associated Press — making individual movie selection unavailable. As a result, the crew chose one movie to play across all screens “based on the request from a number of passengers,” the company said. Qantas did not identify the movie by name, but several media outlets have reported that it was “Daddio,” an R-rated film that hit theaters earlier this year.

Small town in Thailand hold mass cremation for 23 who died in a school trip bus fire

LAN SAK, Thailand (AP) — Mourners wept and monks prayed at a cremation ceremony Tuesday in a small town in central Thailand for 23 young students and teachers who died in last week’s bus fire on a school field trip. A large cremation site was set up close to the temple in Lan Sak town whose compound hosts the school that was attended by the victims. Several furnaces with tall chimneys were erected, with floral adornments placed in front of them. Six teachers and 39 elementary and junior high school students were on the bus when it caught fire on Oct.

Japan prosecutors will not appeal acquittal of world’s longest death-row inmate in retrial

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese prosecutors said Tuesday they will not appeal the acquittal of the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate in a retrial last month, bringing closure to the 1966 murder case after more than a half-century of legal battles. Prosecutor-general Naomi Unemoto said the prosecution decided not to appeal the Shizuoka District Court decision that found Iwao Hakamada not guilty in a retrial 58 years after his arrest, saying: “We feel sorry for putting him in a legally unstable situation for an extremely long time.” Hakamada, an 88-year-old former boxer, was found not guilty on Oct. 26 by the Shizuoka court, which concluded that police and prosecutors collaborated in fabricating and planting evidence against him.