Top Asian News 3:16 a.m. GMT

North Korea confirms it has tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said it has tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korea’s state Korean Central News Agency says that Thursday’s launch was caried out at the order or leader Kim Jong Un. KCNA says its flight records exceeded corresponding ones registered in any previous missile launches. KCNA says Kim was present at the launch site. It cites Kim as saying that the launch was “an appropriate military action” to show North Korea’s resolve to respond to its enemies’ moves that has threatened the North’s safety. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story is below: North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time in almost a year Thursday in a test of what may be a new, more agile weapon targeting the mainland U.S.

North Korean troops in Russian uniforms are heading toward Ukraine, US says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment are moving toward Ukraine, in what he called a dangerous and destabilizing development. Austin was speaking at a press conference in Washington with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, as concerns grow about Pyongyang’s deployment of as many as 12,000 troops to Russia. The U.S. and South Korea say some of the North Korean troops are heading to Russia’s Kursk region on the border with Ukraine, where the Kremlin’s forces have struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion. Some North Korean advance units have already arrived in the Kursk region, and Austin said “the likelihood is pretty high” that Russia will use the troops in combat.

North Korean troops sent to Russia may be pleased to be there, even as they face ferocious fighting

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The thousands of young soldiers North Korea has sent to Russia, reportedly to help fight against Ukraine, include many elite special forces, but that hasn’t stopped speculation they’ll be slaughtered because they have no combat experience, no familiarity with the terrain and will likely be dropped onto the most ferocious battlefields. That may be true, and soon. Observers say some of the troops have already arrived at the front. From the North Korean perspective, however, these soldiers might not be as miserable as outsiders think. They may, in fact, view their Russian tour with pride and as a rare chance to make good money, see a foreign country for the first time and win preferred treatment for their families back home, according to former North Korean soldiers.

A powerful typhoon nears the Philippines, with many shelters still crammed after a recent storm

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Villagers in northern Philippine provinces were forced to evacuate on Wednesday as a powerful typhoon approached the nation still reeling from a recent storm that left at least 182 dead and missing and emergency shelters crammed with displaced people. Typhoon Kong-rey was last tracked 350 kilometers (217 miles) east of northern Cagayan province, with sustained winds of up to 185 kph (115 mph) and gusting up to 230 kph (143 mph). Forecasters said it could further strengthen at sea. It was blowing northwestward and was predicted to pass near the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes before slamming into southeastern Taiwan on Thursday.

Asia needs to spend much more to adapt to climate change and limit its damage, bank study says

BANGKOK (AP) — Countries in Asia will suffer worse damage from the climate crisis than other regions and are falling far behind in spending on improvements to limit the damage and adapt to changing weather patterns and natural disasters, the Asian Development Bank said in a report released Thursday. The report said financing needs in developing Asian countries to cope with climate change range from $102 billion to $431 billion a year. That far exceeds the $34 billion committed to those purposes in 2021-2022, the Manila, Philippines-based regional development bank said. Developing Asia accounted for nearly half of all global emissions in 2021, the latest year for comprehensive data, with China accounting for two-thirds of that and South Asia nearly 20%, the report said.

Indians celebrate Diwali by lighting a record number of earthen lamps

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Millions of Indians began celebrating the annual Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, by symbolically lighting a record 2.51 million earthen oil lamps at dusk on Wednesday on the banks of the river Saryu in a northern Indian city they believe to be the birthplace of the deity, Lord Ram. Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India — for the Hindu majority in particular. It is marked by socializing and exchanging gifts with loved ones. Many light earthen oil lamps, candles, and fireworks are set off. In the evening, a special prayer is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, who is believed to bring luck and prosperity.

What is Diwali, the Festival of Lights? How is it celebrated in India and the diaspora?

Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India — and for Hindus in particular. It is celebrated across faiths by more than a billion people in the world’s most populous nation and the diaspora. Over five days, people take part in festive gatherings, fireworks displays, feasts and prayer. Diwali is derived from the word “Deepavali,” which means “a row of lights.” Celebrants light rows of traditional clay oil lamps outside their homes to symbolize the victory of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. The dates of the festival are based on the Hindu lunar calendar, typically falling in late October or early November.

What to know about Europe’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Union has finalized its sharply higher customs duties on electric vehicles imported from China. EVs are the latest flash point in a broader trade dispute over Chinese government subsidies and Beijing’s burgeoning exports of green technology to the 27-nation bloc. The duties took effect provisionally in July and were finalized after talks between the EU and China failed to resolve their differences. Negotiations are expected to continue, and the EU could lift the duties if an agreement is reached. Here are some basic facts about the EU’s customs duties: The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, conducted an eight-month investigation and concluded that companies making electric cars in China benefit from massive government help that enables them to undercut rivals in the EU on price, take a large market share and threaten European jobs.

Afghan women cannot pray loudly or recite in front of other women, says Taliban minister

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghan women are forbidden from praying loudly or reciting the Quran in front of other women, according to a Taliban government minister. It’s the latest restriction on women following morality laws that ban them from raising their voice and baring their faces outside the home. They are already excluded from education after sixth grade, many public spaces and most jobs. Nobody from the Vice and Virtue Ministry was immediately available Wednesday to clarify the official’s remarks or confirm if the prohibition would also become part of the morality laws. During an event in eastern Logar province on Sunday, Vice and Virtue Minister Khalid Hanafi said: “It is prohibited for a grown woman to recite Quranic verses or perform recitations in front of another grown woman.

Philippine police arrest suspects in the kidnapping of an American

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police said Wednesday they arrested three suspects in the kidnapping of an American in the country’s south and believe the victim, who was shot in the leg during the abduction, is still alive. Two of the suspects in the Oct. 17 kidnapping of Elliot Onil Eastman, 26, in Sibuco town in Zamboanga del Norte province surrendered separately and pointed to a third suspect, who was arrested in Sibuco, police officials said. Three other suspects, who may be holding Eastman, have been identified, police said, adding that more people could be involved. Criminal complaints of abduction were filed against the six suspects on Tuesday.