Top Asian News 7:07 p.m. GMT

Nepal’s prime minister loses a confidence vote forcing him to step down

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s prime minister lost a vote of confidence in parliament on Friday after the largest party in his governing coalition withdrew its support, forcing him to step down from office after 19 months in power. Pushpa Kamal Dahal failed to get the support of more than half the members of the House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament on Friday, needed to win the vote. Parliament Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire announced that he only received 63 votes in his favor while 194 other members voted against him denying him the majority that was required for him to hold on to power.

2 buses carrying more than 50 people were swept into a river by a landslide in Nepal

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A landslide swept two passenger buses carrying more than 50 people into a swollen river in central Nepal early Friday, while continuous rain and more landslides were making rescue efforts difficult. Three survivors apparently swam to safety, but rescuers by late morning had not found any trace of the buses, which likely were submerged and swept downstream in the Trishuli River. Nepal’s rivers generally are fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain. Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned their waters murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreckage.

Australian army private and her husband accused of spying for Russia

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian army private and her husband accused of spying for Russia were denied bail Friday, on the first charges against suspected operatives under Australia’s sweeping espionage laws enacted in 2018. Kira Korolev, 40, and her husband Igor Korolev, 62, are Russian-born Australian citizens and hold Russian passports. They did not appear in person and were represented by lawyers in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on a charge each of preparing for an espionage offense. They did not enter pleas and will appear next in a federal court on Sept. 20. Their lawyers made no public statements. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw had earlier told reporters the couple allegedly “worked together to access Australian Defense Force material that related to Australia’s national security interests.” “We allege they sought that information with the intention of providing it to Russian authorities.

US and South Korea sign joint nuclear deterrence guidelines in face of North Korean threats

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. and South Korea signed joint nuclear deterrence guidelines for the first time, a basic yet important step in their efforts to improve their ability to respond to North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats. Meeting Thursday on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington, President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol commended what they called “the tremendous progress” that their countries’ alliance has made a year after creating a joint Nuclear Consultative Group. The two leaders authorized “the U.S.-ROK Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula,” which were signed by defense officials Thursday, according to South Korea’s presidential office.

US renews call on China to stop aggressive actions in disputed sea, where hostilities have flared

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States on Friday renewed its call on China to stop its aggressive actions in the South China Sea, saying a broader web of security alliances has emerged to preserve the rule of law in the disputed waters. Washington’s top diplomat in Manila was joined by counterparts from key Western and Asian allies, including Japan and Australia, in a Manila forum to express alarm over increasing hostilities in the contested waters, particularly between China and the Philippines. They committed to help defend a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region. In the worst confrontation so far, Chinese coast guard personnel armed with knives, spears and an axe aboard motorboats repeatedly rammed and destroyed two Philippine navy supply vessels on June 17 in a chaotic faceoff at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal that injured Filipino sailors and led to the seizure of seven Philippine navy rifles.

Japan punishes hundreds of defense officials for mishandling classified data and other misconduct

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s defense ministry announced disciplinary action on Friday against more than 200 senior officials and service members over mishandling of classified materials and other misconduct, an embarrassment that could undermine Tokyo’s efforts to work more closely with United States and other partners in the face of China’s growing threat. The Ministry and its Self Defense Forces have been under scrutiny over allegations that members of the navy violated the sensitive information protection law, as well as other misconduct such as falsely claiming allowances for special assignments, or wrongfully claiming free meals at base cafeterias. Ministerial staff were also accused of abuses of power.

The son of Asia’s richest man is set to marry in the year’s most extravagant wedding

MUMBAI, India (AP) — Global celebrities, business tycoons and politicians began arriving in India’s financial capital on Friday to attend the wedding of the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, highlighting the billionaire’s staggering wealth and rising clout. Anant Ambani, 29, is marrying his longtime girlfriend, Radhika Merchant, in what many have dubbed the wedding of the year. The celebrations are taking place at the Ambani-owned Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai and their family home and are the culmination of months of wedding events that featured performances by pop stars including Rihanna and Justin Bieber. The four-day wedding celebrations begin with a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on Friday, followed by a grand reception that will run through the weekend.

Increasingly popular ‘parametric insurance’ helps farmers and others hit hard by extreme weather

MINDANAO, Philippines (AP) — Joemar Flores, a spindly 28-year-old, gestured across his family’s farmland, nestled between a steep hill and a river, and expressed gratitude for the rice paddies in the distance. They’re still there, producing food and an income for him, thanks in part to a novel form of insurance that is increasingly being used to help vulnerable populations build resilience to climate change. Back in 2022, the young father of a toddler and a newborn faced ruin when heavy rains and violent winds decimated his rice crop. “We were very discouraged,” he recalled, as he pointed to a photo of the destroyed paddies.

These Picassos prompted a gender war at an Australian gallery. Now the curator says she painted them

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — They were billed as artworks by Pablo Picasso, paintings so valuable that an Australian art museum’s decision to display them in an exhibition restricted to women visitors provoked a gender discrimination lawsuit. The paintings again prompted international headlines when the gallery re-hung them in a women’s restroom to sidestep a legal ruling that said men could not be barred from viewing them. But the artworks at the center of the uproar were not really by Picasso or the other famed artists billed as their creators, it emerged this week when the curator of the women-only exhibition admitted she had painted them herself.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court awards more seats to imprisoned ex-premier Imran Khan’s party

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s top court on Friday found that the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan was improperly denied at least 20 seats in parliament, in a significant blow to the country’s fragile governing coalition. The ruling by the Supreme Court was hailed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which was previously excluded from a system that gives parties extra seats reserved for women and minorities in the National Assembly or lower house of the parliament. Though the verdict is a major political win for Khan, it will not put his party in a position to oust the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who came into power following a Feb.