Top Asian News 11:58 p.m. GMT

Yoon Suk Yeol removed as South Korea’s president over short-lived martial law

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Constitutional Court unanimously removed Yoon Suk Yeol from office Friday, ending his tumultuous presidency and setting up a new election, four months after he threw the nation into turmoil with an ill-fated declaration of martial law. The verdict capped a dramatic fall for Yoon, a former star prosecutor who became president in 2022, just a year after he entered politics. In a nationally televised hearing, the court’s acting chief Moon Hyung-bae said the eight-member bench found Yoon’s actions were unconstitutional and had a grave impact. “By declaring martial law in breach of the constitution and other laws, the defendant brought back the history of abusing state emergency decrees, shocked the people and caused confusion in the society, economy, politics, diplomacy and all other areas,” Moon said.

China slaps a 34% tax on all US imports in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs

BANGKOK (AP) — China announced Friday that it will impose a 34% tax on all U.S. imports next week, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures to U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariffs that delivered the strongest response yet from Beijing to the American leader’s trade war. The tariffs taking effect Thursday match the rate that Trump this week ordered imposed on Chinese products flowing into the United States. In February and March, Trump slapped two rounds of 10% tariffs on Chinese goods, citing allegations of Beijing’s role in the fentanyl crisis. The U.S. stock market plunged Friday following China’s retaliatory moves.

South Koreans are still puzzling over why their leader declared martial law

SEOUL (AP) — Dancing and consoling hugs. Wild whoops and anguished screams. Tears, both of joy and rage. Reaction to the court verdict ousting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol from office Friday was a vivid window into the nation’s deep political divisions, as tens of thousands of Yoon opponents and supporters aired their feelings in downtown Seoul. As South Korea now turns to elect a new president, that divide is only likely to harden. It will be particularly on display as both sides try to answer one question about the night of Dec. 3, when the conservative leader decreed martial law, setting himself on the road to impeachment and the loss of the presidency:

India’s Modi in Sri Lanka on a 2-day state visit as concerns grow over China’s influence

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday began a two-day state visit to neighboring Sri Lanka, where he was expected to sign several power and defense agreements as concerns grow over the influence of regional rival China in the debt-stricken island nation. Modi is the first foreign leader to visit Sri Lanka since its President Anura Kumara Dissanayake assumed office in September and is a follow-up to the latter’s visit to New Delhi in December. Modi was slated to virtually kick off construction work on a new solar power plant in Sri Lanka’s east. India has been highly concerned about China’s increasing presence in Sri Lanka, which is located on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes in what India considers part of its strategic backyard.

A tsunami warning has been canceled for Papua New Guinea after a strong magnitude 6.9 earthquake

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A tsunami warning was canceled for Papua New Guinea after a strong magnitude 6.9 earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was shallow, striking the Pacific island nation at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) on Saturday morning local time. It was centered offshore, 194 km (120 miles) east of the town of Kimbe, on the island of New Britain. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later called off an alert issued immediately after the jolt that warned of waves of 1 to 3 meters along some parts of the Papua New Guinea coastline.

China punches back as world weighs how to deal with higher US tariffs

BANGKOK (AP) — China hit back with a stiff import tax on U.S. goods as countries and industries around the world weighed their responses to President Donald Trump’s latest tariff hikes that are roiling global trade and world markets. China on Friday took the retaliation route by imposing a 34% tariff beginning April 10 on the imports of all U.S. products, matching the added 34% imposed on Wednesday by Trump on Chinese imports along with increased tariffs on other countries and major trading partners. Trump was swift to criticize Beijing’s move. “China played it wrong, they panicked -- the one things they cannot afford to do,” he wrote in a social media post, adding: “My policies will never change.

Police summon US scholar in Thailand after army alleges he insulted the monarchy

BANGKOK (AP) — The Thai army has filed a criminal complaint against an American scholar working in Thailand, alleging that he insulted the country’s monarchy, an offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Paul Chambers, a political science lecturer, said police came to his workplace at Naresuan University in the northern province of Phitsanulok on Friday morning to serve him with an arrest warrant and summoning him to the local police station to formally hear the charges. Chambers said he will report himself on Tuesday and hopes to get released on bail. “I’m basically in limbo because I can’t go anywhere.

Yoon Suk Yeol had a rapid rise in South Korean politics before an abrupt downfall

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Yoon Suk Yeol’s political rise was fast: the former star prosecutor clinched South Korea’s presidency only a year after he entered politics. But his downfall was even faster: The Constitutional Court removed him from office on Friday, about four months after he made a deeply baffling decision to declare martial law and send troops to Seoul’s streets. Yoon’s style — highly assertive and strong-willed, but often uncompromising and inflexible — likely worked for a prosecutor standing up to higher-ups, but not for a president forced to work with an opposition-dominated legislature on an array of contentious issues, observers say.

Prince Andrew’s damaged reputation led to links with Chinese man accused of spying, documents show

LONDON (AP) — Prince Andrew’s damaged reputation and desperate need for cash are again causing headaches for King Charles III after a court released more documents on Friday showing how Andrew’s problems led him to become entangled with a suspected Chinese spy. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission released the witness statement of Dominic Hampshire, a senior aide to Andrew who helped arrange meetings between the prince and the suspected spy, Chinese businessman Tengbo Yang. Yang was eventually authorized to operate on Andrew’s behalf as he sought Chinese investors for an initiative called the Eurasia Fund. Andrew, also known as the Duke of York, needed to find other ways to support himself after he was forced to give up all royal duties following a disastrous interview with the BBC in 2019, Hampshire said in the statement.

South Korea’s ousted president belongs to a long line of troubled leaders

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Three years after becoming president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol was formally removed from office on Friday as the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment over an ill-fated December decision to impose martial law. Yoon’s self-inflicted downfall continues a trend of troubled presidencies. Yoon’s ouster comes eight years after the same court dismissed another conservative president, Park Geun-hye over an explosive scandal involving bribery, extortion, leaking state secrets and abuse of power. Several former presidents, their family members, or top aides have been embroiled in corruption scandals near the end of their terms or after leaving office.