Top Asian News 3:41 a.m. GMT

Japan’s new Prime Minister Ishiba vows to push a strong defense under the Japan-US alliance

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to stick to the vital Japan-U.S. alliance while calling for it to be more equitable after he took office Tuesday vowing to tackle a slow economy and regain public trust before an upcoming election. Shigeru Ishiba replaced Fumio Kishida, who stepped down to pave the way for a fresh leader after scandals dogged his government. In a show of Japan’s respect to its most important ally, the United States, Ishiba spoke by telephone with President Joe Biden early Wednesday and told reporters he reassured Biden of his plan to further strengthen the Japan-U.S.

More than 20 are feared dead after a school bus catches fire in suburban Bangkok

BANGKOK (AP) — A bus carrying young students and their teachers on a school trip caught fire in suburban Bangkok on Tuesday, leaving more than 20 feared dead, officials and rescuers said. The bus with 45 passengers — six teachers and 39 elementary and junior high school students — was traveling from the central Uthai Thani province when it caught fire in Pathum Thani province, a northern suburb of Thailand’s capital, acting police commissioner Kitrat Phanphet said. The fire was first reported around noon and was put out less than an hour later, but rescuers said they could not get on board for hours as the heat inside the natural gas-fueled vehicle could have caused more explosions.

France’s new premier postpones election in New Caledonia until next year

NICE, France (AP) — France’s new Prime Minister Michel Barnier announced Tuesday that a provincial election scheduled for December in the restive French Pacific territory of New Caledonia has been postponed for a year. During his inaugural address to parliament, Barnier also said a controversial bill proposed by President Emmanuel Macron to amend the constitution to change voting lists in the territory would not be forwarded to a joint meeting of parliament for ratification. The territory’s Indigenous Kanak people fear changes to the voting registry would favor recent arrivals to the Pacific archipelago. Tensions in New Caledonia have long been simmering between white settler communities loyal to Paris and pro-independence Kanak people.

Walz misleadingly claims to have been in Hong Kong during period tied to Tiananmen Square massacre

WASHINGTON (AP) — Multiple news reports indicate that Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz misleadingly claimed he was in Hong Kong during the turbulence surrounding the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, part of a broader pattern of inaccuracies that Republicans hope to exploit. At Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, Walz was asked about misleading people and he ultimately when pressed said he “misspoke.” But Walz said that he can “get caught up in rhetoric” and that “I’ve tried to do the best I can, but I’ve not been perfect. And I’m a knucklehead at times.” He then added that former President Donald Trump should have come on one of his trips to China, and if he had done so, then the Republican nominee would know better than to compliment Chinese President Xi Jinping on his handling of the 2020 pandemic.

Japanese sponsors Toyota, Bridgestone and Panasonic end Olympic contracts

TOKYO (AP) — The International Olympic Committee’s three major Japanese sponsors — Toyota, Panasonic and Bridgestone — are terminating their contracts. This leaves the IOC without a Japanese sponsor with the focus now expected to shift to the Middle East and India for new sponsorship income. Japanese sponsors have turned away from the Olympics, likely related to the one-year delay in holding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The delay reduced sponsors’ visibility with fans not allowed to attend competition venues, increased costs, and unearthed a myriad of corruption scandals around the Games. The three are among 15 of the so-called TOP Olympic sponsors.

Myanmar’s military government begins a census seen as a way to gather information about opponents

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government began a nationwide census Tuesday, saying it will be used to compile voter lists for a general election promised for next year, even though much of the country is engulfed in civil war. The census is widely seen as an effort to gather information to closely monitor opponents of military rule even more. Census enumerators, mostly schoolteachers and local administrative workers, went door-to-door in the capital, Naypyitaw, accompanied by soldiers and police. State television MRTV reported Tuesday evening the census had been carried out in all 14 of the country’s regions and states, and the initial collected data is hoped to be released by the end of this year.

Australia’s online dating industry adopts code of conduct to keep users safer

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A code of conduct will be enforced on the online dating industry to better protect Australian users after research found that three-in-four people suffer some form of sexual violence through the platforms, Australia’s government said on Tuesday. Bumble, Grindr and Match Group Inc., a Texas-based company that owns platforms including Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid and Plenty of Fish, have agreed to the code that took effect on Tuesday, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said. The platforms, which account for 75% of the industry in Australia, have until April 1 to implement the changes before they are strictly enforced, Rowland said.

AP PHOTOS: A blind pianist from Nagaland says music is ‘one thing that has kept me alive’

KOHIMA, India (AP) — Takosangba Pongen had his vision for 14 years. He has been blind for the past 13. But in front of a piano, nobody can tell. “Playing the piano transports me to another dimension. After losing my vision, music has been one thing that has kept me alive. It opened a window to see the world. It gives me energy and hope to go forward,” he said. On Sunday night, he performed for a crowd at the Brillante Piano Festival in Bengaluru, the capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Pongen, 27, plays by ear. He is self taught, with help from YouTube tutorials that he began in 2020.

Chinese and Russian coast guard ships sail through the Bering Sea together, US says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday that it spotted two Russian ships and two Chinese vessels passing through the Bering Sea in formation on Saturday, in a sign of the growing cooperation between Beijing and Moscow in the Arctic. The Chinese and Russian coast guard ships were spotted about five miles inside the Russian exclusive economic zone in the northernmost location where Chinese vessels have been seen by the U.S. Coast Guard, it said. The Bering Sea separates Russia from Alaska. “This recent activity demonstrates the increased interest in the Arctic by our strategic competitors,” Rear Adm. Megan Dean, commander of the 17th Coast Guard District, said in a statement.

In India, warming climate pressures scientists to keep developing tougher seeds

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Unpredictable rains and increasing heat aren’t just making life more difficult for the people of Rayanpet, a village in India’s arid south. They’re also taking a toll on the thousands of acres of rice grown here. “We used to know when it would rain and for how long and we sowed our seeds accordingly,” said P. Ravinder Reddy, a former soldier who turned to farming on his family’s land 16 years ago. “Now it’s so unpredictable and many times the seeds don’t sprout either because there’s too much rain or it’s completely dry.” Fortunately for Reddy, agricultural research organizations in India have been working for years to engineer rice seeds that can better withstand the vagaries of climate.