Top Asian News 3:16 a.m. GMT

Climate change makes India’s monsoons erratic. Can farmers still find a way to prosper?

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Each year from June to September, a heavy band of rain makes its way from India’s southwest coast to its northeastern borders, quenching farmers’ thirsty fields. India’s monsoon season is arguably the single most important weather phenomenon for the country, and a good monsoon can noticeably boost the nation’s economy and the livelihoods of its 120 million farmers. But human-caused climate change is making the rainfall more erratic, making it difficult for farmers to plant, grow and harvest crops on their rain-fed fields. “Either it rains too much within a short time or it doesn’t rain at all,” said Vijay Jawandhia, a 77-year-old farmer in western Maharashtra state.

A vocational school student stuns China by besting university competitors in a math contest

A 17-year-old vocational school student from rural China became a celebrity on social media after reaching the final round of a math competition, beating many others from top universities and raising questions about the education system. Jiang Ping, who is studying fashion design, finished 12th in the Alibaba Global Math Competition, one of 802 who made it to the final round — an eight-hour test that takes place Saturday. A video that included an interview with Jiang got more than 800,000 likes and 90,000 comments after it was posted on social media by Damo Academy, the organizer of the contest. Most expressed their amazement, while some questioned if it was real.

South Korea summons Russian ambassador as tensions rise with North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the country’s new defense pact with North Korea on Friday, as border tensions continued to rise with vague threats and brief, seemingly accidental incursions by North Korean troops. Earlier Friday, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a vague threat of retaliation after South Korean activists flew balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border, and South Korea’s military said it had fired warning shots the previous day to repel North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the rivals’ land border for the third time this month.

How did North Korean soldiers wander across the world’s most heavily guarded border?

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Don’t believe the name: The Demilitarized Zone between the two rival Koreas might be the most heavily armed place on earth. Two million mines, barbed wire fences, tank traps and tens of thousands of troops from both countries patrol a divided swath of land 248 kilometers (154 miles) long and 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) wide. So how are North Korean soldiers continuing to wander over the line separating North from South, causing South Korea to fire warning shots for the third time this month? The short answer appears to be shrubbery: Because of an overgrowth of foliage, the North Koreans may not have seen the signs marking the thin military demarcation line that divides the DMZ into northern and southern sides.

Russia-North Korea pact could dent China’s influence, but Beijing still holds sway over both

BEIJING (AP) — With no obvious options, China appears to be keeping its distance as Russia and North Korea move closer to each other with a new defense pact that could tilt the balance of power among the three authoritarian states. Experts say China’s leaders are likely fretting over a potential loss of influence over North Korea after its leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the deal this week, and how that could increase instability on the Korean Peninsula. Beijing may also be struggling to come up with a response to what could be the strongest Russia-North Korea partnership since the Cold War because it has conflicting goals: keeping peace in the Koreas while countering the U.S.

Historic flooding in southern China kills 47, with more floods feared in coming days

BEIJING (AP) — At least 47 people have died as downpours in southern China’s Guangdong province caused historic flooding and slides, state media reported Friday, while authorities warned of more extreme weather ahead in other parts of the country. State broadcaster CCTV said Friday afternoon that another 38 people were confirmed dead in a county under the jurisdiction of Meizhou city, adding to nine others previously reported dead elsewhere in Meizhou. Heavy rains caused landslides, floods and mudslides that severely damaged eight townships in Pingyuan county, where the latest deaths were reported, CCTV said. The heaviest rains were on Sunday, with an average rainfall of 199 mm (7.83 inches), and one town seeing 365.7 mm (14.4 inches).

Roadside bomb attack targeting security convoy kills 5 soldiers and wounds 2 in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A roadside bomb exploded near a security convoy in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing five soldiers and wounding two others, officials said, a sign of increasing attacks on security forces in the volatile region. The latest attack in the region happened in the district of Kurram, a former militant stronghold in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. In a statement, the military said a search operation was underway in the region where the attack happened “to eliminate any terrorists present in the area and perpetrators of this heinous act will be brought to justice.” No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack.

An ex-gun lobbyist is revising New Zealand’s gun laws, tightened after the 2019 mosque attack

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s government will overhaul the tighter gun laws introduced after a deadly mass shooting by a white supremacist five years ago, because they put excessive burdens on gun owners who feel vilified by law enforcement and the public, the lawmaker leading the changes said. “What’s happened is a massive change with massive penalties and targets on people who didn’t do anything wrong,” Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee — a lobbyist for gun owners before she entered Parliament in 2020 — told The Associated Press in an interview this week. Every part of the law will be scrutinized, including the restrictions that bar all but a few hundred New Zealanders from firing banned semiautomatic weapons, she said.

The Putin-Kim summit produced an unusual — and speedy — flurry of glimpses into North Korea

The imagery from Pyongyang emerged quickly, notable in its variety — glimpses into North Korea in near-real time that showed its leader, Kim Jong Un, grinning and glad-handing with Russian President Vladimir Putin and showing him around the capital of one of the world’s least accessible nations. For those who follow the happenings of the Kim family’s three-generation rule, the coverage of the Kim-Putin meeting this week — visuals released only by the respective propaganda arms of each government — represented an extraordinary flurry of views into a nation where imagery that feels even remotely off the cuff, not vetted and edited ad nauseam, is rare.

China sanctions several Lockheed Martin units, three executives over arms deals with Taiwan

BEIJING (AP) — China said Friday it has banned a number of business units of American aviation manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp. and three of its executives over arms deals the company has signed with Taiwan, the self-ruling island it claims as its own territory. The statement from China’s Foreign Ministry said the company’s cooperation with Taiwan had violated the country’s sovereignty, standard terminology in its discussions of any outside dealings that support the island’s government. The effects of the sanctions appeared largely symbolic since military cooperation between the U.S. and China has been suspended since the People’s Liberation Army’s crackdown on student-led pro-democracy protests in Beijing and other cities in 1989.