Top Asian News 3:58 a.m. GMT

One woman’s custody battle highlights the challenges facing same-sex couples in China

BANGKOK (AP) — It’s been more than four years since Zhang Peiyi last saw her son, one of two children from her former marriage. Denied custody of both kids, Zhang finally settled in June for visitations with her daughter. But after seeing her only once, Zhang’s ex-wife called the meetings off indefinitely. What Zhang thought was the end of a yearslong legal battle is facing yet another hurdle, as she has to go through court again to ask them to enforce her visitation rights. “These types of disputes are not well protected in our country,” said Gao Mingyue, the lawyer representing Zhang.

India’s Modi visits Poland for security and trade talks en route to war-torn Ukraine

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Poland for top-level security and trade talks before heading to neighboring Ukraine, which is at war with India’s strategic partner, Russia. Modi will hold talks Thursday in Warsaw with Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda, which are expected to focus on security, especially in the region bordering Ukraine. Ukraine chastised Modi for his visit to Moscow last month, when he met and hugged President Vladimir Putin. Modi has avoided condemning Russia while emphasizing a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine. Poland offers political, humanitarian and defense supports to Ukraine in its war against Russia’s aggression.

A Japanese woman who loves bananas is now the world’s oldest person

TOKYO (AP) — Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman, became the world’s oldest living person at age 116, following the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyas, according to the Guinness World Records. Her age and birthdate — May 23, 1908 — were confirmed by the Gerontology Research Group, which validates details of people thought to be 110 or older, and put her at the top of its World Supercentenarian Rankings List. Itooka lives in a nursing home in the city of Ashiya, a city in Hyogo Prefecture that also confirmed her birthdate. She assumed the title of world’s oldest person after Branyas’ family announced the 117-year-old’s death Tuesday.

Brazil will restrict entry to some Asian nationals, aiming to curb migration to the US and Canada

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil will begin imposing restrictions on the entry of some foreigners from Asia who use the country as a launching point to migrate to the United States and Canada, the justice ministry’s press office said Wednesday. The move, which starts on Monday, will affect migrants from Asian countries who require visas to remain in Brazil. It does not apply to people from Asian countries currently exempt from visas to Brazil. US citizens and many European nationals also do not require visas for Brazil. A Federal Police investigation has shown these migrants often buy flights with layovers in Sao Paulo’s international airport, en route to other destinations, but stay in Brazil as a place from where they then begin their journey north, according to official documents provided to The Associated Press.

Explosion and fire at a pharmaceutical plant in India kill at least 15 workers, wound 40

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — A big explosion triggered a fire in a pharmaceutical plant in southern India, killing at least 15 workers, police said on Thursday. Another 40 people were wounded in the blast and the fire in the chemical reactor of the plant on Wednesday and were hospitalized, said police officer M. Deepika, adding that some of them were in critical condition. The Press Trust of India news agency reported distressing scenes with the skin of several workers peeling off. Ambulances shifted them to the hospital. Officials suspect the cause was related to the electricity at the plant. State authorities have ordered an investigation.

The UAE accepts credentials of Taliban ambassador in a major diplomatic win for Afghanistan’s rulers

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday accepted the credentials of the Taliban’s ambassador to the oil-rich Gulf Arab state, the biggest diplomatic coup for Afghanistan’s rulers who are not officially recognized as the country’s legitimate government. The development, the first Taliban ambassador since one was appointed to China last December, underscored the international divide over how to deal with the government now in Kabul. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul confirmed the news about Badruddin Haqqani in a post on the social media platform X. The ministry did not respond to requests for information about Haqqani, who was previously the Taliban’s envoy to the UAE.

Putin meets China’s Premier Li as Moscow and Beijing deepen their relations

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese premier Li Qiang Wednesday, hailing growing trade relations as Moscow becomes increasingly dependent on Beijing for political and economic support. “Our trade relations are developing, developing successfully ... The attention that the governments of the two countries on both sides are paying to trade and economic ties is yielding results,” Putin said at the meeting in the Kremlin. He also said that Russia and China have developed “large-scale plans” for economic and other projects. “Chinese-Russian relations are at an unprecedentedly high level,” said Li, who earlier had met with his Russian counterpart, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

China opens investigation into EU dairy exports as trade tensions flare

BEIJING (AP) — European milk and cheese producers have become the latest target in a simmering trade war with China. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said Wednesday that it would launch an investigation into subsidies given by the European Union and EU member countries for dairy products that could lead to tariffs on their export to China. The announcement came one day after the EU released a draft decision to finalize tariffs on electric vehicles made in China, in a follow-up to provisional tariffs announced last month. The tariffs have been denounced by the Chinese government and automakers and threaten to set back the industry’s efforts to go global.

2 injured Russian climbers rescued after 6 days stranded on Pakistan peak

ISLAMABAD (AP) — After six days stranded on a remote peak in Pakistan’s northeast, two injured Russian climbers were rescued, while another remains missing and is presumed dead, a mountaineering official said Wednesday. The five-member team was attemping to climb one of Gasherbrum’s peaks to retrieve the body of a fellow climber who died there last year when it was hit by a pile of ice on Friday, officials said. Rescuers airlifted two of the mountaineers Monday, but more planning was needed to rescue the next two, who were unable to move because of their injuries. An army helicopter, backed by local volunteers, helped rescue the two injured on Tuesday, said Karrar Haidri, the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, adding that the third climber fell into a crevasse and couldn’t be located.

Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley calls for more international support for Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, on Wednesday called for more international backing for Taiwan and a coordinated pushback against China’s claims over the self-ruled democracy. “The United States should elevate Taiwan on the world stage. You should no longer be silenced in global affairs,” Haley told an audience at Ketagalan Forum, a Taipei conference focused on security issues in the Asia-Pacific. She called for Taiwan to become a full member of the U.N. even though it’s being blocked by China from representation in international bodies. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary.