Top Asian News 5:39 a.m. GMT

Former Thai PM Thaksin indicted on charge of royal defamation as court cases stir political woes

BANGKOK (AP) — Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was granted release on bail hours after he was formally indicted Tuesday on a charge of defaming the country’s monarchy in one of several court cases that have unsteadied Thai politics. Thaksin, an influential political figure despite being ousted from power 18 years ago, reported himself to prosecutors Tuesday morning and was indicted, Prayuth Bejraguna, a spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General, said at a news conference. A car believed to be carrying Thaksin arrived at the Criminal Court in Bangkok but he did not come out to meet reporters.

South Korean soldiers fire warning shots after North Korean troops intrude for a 2nd time this month

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean soldiers fired warning shots to repel North Korean soldiers who temporarily crossed the rivals’ land border Tuesday for the second time this month, South Korea’s military said. The South’s military observed increased North Korean construction activities along their heavily armed border to install suspected anti-tank barriers, reinforce roads and plant land mines. The work has gone on uninterrupted despite several explosions caused by mines that killed or injured an unspecified number of North Korean soldiers, said the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, around 20 to 30 North Korean soldiers, while engaging in unspecified construction work on the northern side of the border, briefly crossed the military demarcation line that bisects the countries as of 8:30 a.m.

Before his summit with North Korea’s Kim, Putin vows they’ll beat sanctions together

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea for supporting his actions in Ukraine and said their countries will cooperate closely to overcome U.S.-led sanctions as he headed to Pyongyang on Tuesday for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Putin’s comments appeared in an op-ed piece in North Korean state media hours before he was expected to arrive in the North for a two-day visit as the countries deepen their alignment in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with Washington. Putin, who will be making his first visit to North Korea in 24 years, said he highly appreciates its firm support of his invasion of Ukraine.

Thailand has tried for years to solve its pollution problem. But ‘haze season’ always comes back

SAMOENG, Thailand (AP) — When the haze season comes, village chief Nanthawat Tiengtrongsakun and his tribesmen start preparing the land for fire. They cut shrubs and trees on their small parcels of land, then set controlled burns that will clear their fields for planting — and send up plumes of smoke that add to some of the worst air in the world. It’s a slightly sweet gray haze that blurs the mountains in this part of northern Thailand to a faint outline, makes the air itself feel solid and turns breathing and swallowing painful for some. The Pakanyo, who have carried out the practice as long as they have lived in these hills about 90 minutes from Chiang Mai, a top tourist destination, say they get blamed by city dwellers for fouling the air and damaging forest land.

Chinese premier focuses on critical minerals and clean energy during Australian visit

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang ends his Australian tour on Tuesday in the west coast city of Perth where he will focus on China’s investment in critical minerals and clean energy. Li last week became the first Chinese premier to visit New Zealand then Australia in seven years. Later Tuesday, he is to become the first premier to visit Malaysia since 2015. Li, China’s second-most powerful leader after President Xi Jinping, will inspect iron ore miner Fortescue’s clean energy research facility in Perth. Fortescue’s chairman Andrew Forrest said Li was interested in the company’s plans to produce iron ore without carbon emissions and potentially “green iron.” “I think China chose us because it’s not just the best technology to go green in Australia, it’s the best technology to go green in the world and we’ve got real examples of it in trains, ship engines, trucks,” Forrest told The Associated Press.

India and US vow to boost defense, trade ties in first high-level US visit since Modi’s election win

NEW DELHI (AP) — India and the United States on Monday pledged to boost defense and technology cooperation and remove long-standing barriers to bilateral strategic trade, following a meeting between the national security advisers of both countries. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is on a two-day visit to the Indian capital, New Delhi, the first from a high-ranking U.S. official since Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured a third straight term in India’s general election earlier this month. Sullivan met with his counterpart, Ajit Doval, to discuss progress on the Initiative on Critical Emerging Technologies, which the two countries launched in 2022.

Southern China faces heavy floods, and landslides kill at least 9

BEIJING (AP) — Southern China was reeling Tuesday from heavy rains that triggered landslides killing at least nine people, knocking out power for entire villages and burying crops. Meanwhile, northern parts of the country are battling drought, as the country faces two extremes of severe weather. Four people were killed and two others were missing in Wuping county in the coastal province of Fujian due to landslides caused by torrential rain. Severe downpours started on Sunday afternoon, with authorities measuring 372.4 millimeters (14.7 inches) of rainfall over a 24-hour period. At least 378 houses collapsed in the county, and 880 hectares (2,175 acres) of crops were damaged, amounting to economic losses of at least 415 million yuan ($57.2 million) in Wuping, authorities said, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

China targets Europe’s farmers, and not its automakers, in response to EU tariffs on electric cars

BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese government is taking aim at European farmers instead of German automakers by launching an investigation into European Union pork imports, just days after the EU said it plans to impose provisional tariffs on China-made electric vehicles. The Commerce Ministry didn’t mention the EV tariffs when it announced Monday that it is opening an anti-dumping investigation into pork from Europe, but the move is widely seen as a response to the EU move on electric cars. It also gives China a bargaining chip in any trade negotiations. China could have slapped a 25% duty on imports of gasoline-powered vehicles with large engines in the name of combating climate change, a step that would would have hit Mercedes and BMW hard.

Akio Toyoda, grandson of Toyota founder, wins shareholders’ approval to stay in leadership

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota shareholders voted Tuesday in support of all the company’s proposals, including keeping Akio Toyoda, grandson of the Japanese automaker’s founder, as chairman on the board. Details on the vote tallies were not immediately available. But the company confirmed the majority voted in support of its positions. A shareholder proposal requesting that Toyota issue an annual report on its climate-related lobbying activities was rejected. The annual meeting, held at company headquarters in Toyota city, central Japan, has drawn attention because Toyota and other major domestic makers have been embroiled in a scandal centered around fraudulent certification tests for vehicles.

China blames Philippines for ship collision in South China Sea. Manila calls the report deceptive

TAIPEI (AP) — A Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Monday, China’s coast guard said, in the latest flare-up of escalating territorial disputes that have sparked alarm. The coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, part of a territory claimed by several nations. The Philippines says the shoal falls within its internationally recognized exclusive economic zone and often cites a 2016 international arbitration ruling invalidating China’s expansive South China Sea claims based on historical grounds.