Top Asian News 1:58 a.m. GMT

The son of Asia’s richest man gets married in the year’s most extravagant wedding

MUMBAI, India (AP) — The youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, married his longtime girlfriend early Saturday in what many dubbed the wedding of the year, attended by global celebrities, business tycoons and politicians, highlighting the billionaire’s staggering wealth and rising clout. The wedding rituals, including exchanging garlands by the couple and walking around the sacred fire, began Friday and were completed past midnight. The celebrations of Anant Ambani marrying Radhika Merchant took place at the Ambani-owned Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai and the family home. The marriage culminated months of wedding events that featured performances by pop stars including Rihanna and Justin Bieber.

An Indian billionaire’s son is married after lavish celebrations that spotlight his global clout

NEW DELHI (AP) — It has been a wedding like no other — and the festivities have been going on for months. So where does one start? With a three-day pre-wedding celebration in March when Rihanna and Akon performed for a star-studded 1,200-person guest list? Or a four-day European cruise in May that featured on-deck concerts from the Backstreet Boys and Pitbull, followed by a masquerade ball where Katy Perry sang? Or last week’s traditional music night in Mumbai where Justin Bieber belted out his music hits? Wait. There’s more. An actual wedding that finally happened early Saturday and was attended by the likes of Mike Tyson, Nick Jonas, Tony Blair, Boris Johnson and Kim Kardashian, who was escorted to her hotel room by artists playing a flute.

A Pakistani court acquits ex-PM Khan but supporters’ hopes of his release are dashed

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court on Saturday overturned the convictions and seven-year sentences of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, but officials quickly moved to prevent his release from prison. The acquittal in a case relating to the legality of the couple’s 2018 marriage seemed to have removed the last hurdle in the way of Khan’s release, nearly a year after he was jailed, and his followers had started gathering near the prison where he was being held in the garrison city of Rawalpindi to greet him on his release. But shortly after the court’s ruling, Khan was arrested yet again, in connection to riots last year, his party said.

A Taiwan-based Buddhist charity attempts to take the founding nun’s message of compassion global

HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — When a 7.4-magnitude earthquake ripped through Taiwan in April, it took about 30 minutes for the region’s most ubiquitous charity to set up an emergency response center. Tzu Chi, an international Buddhist organization led by an 87-year-old nun, the Venerable Cheng Yen, and her followers, sprang into action. They prepared hot meals and assembled necessities for survivors and rescue teams, from drinking water and energy drinks to blankets, beds and tents. The nuns reside in the Jing Si Abode in Hualien, the quake’s epicenter on the island’s east coast. It is also the spiritual home of the global organization, which is supported by millions of members across 67 countries, including the United States.

Who is the Buddhist nun who built a global charity from a tiny apartment in rural Taiwan?

HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — The Buddhist teacher who founded what is now a global charity and religion with a $283 million operating budget grew up at a time when women could not be ordained as Buddhist nuns. What Cheng Yen, now 87, started in 1966 in Taiwan’s countryside as a grassroots effort among housewives has now burgeoned across 67 countries, including the United States. The organization, called Tzu Chi, has mobilized 10 million volunteers who have helped build schools and hospitals, run programs for refugees in Ukraine and victims of mass shootings, and respond to natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods.

North Korea threatens to boost nuke capability in reaction to US-South Korea deterrence guidelines

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea threatened Saturday to boost its nuclear fighting capability and make the United States and South Korea pay “an unimaginably harsh price” as it slammed its rivals’ new defense guidelines that it says reveal an intention to invade the North. On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol authorized the signing of joint nuclear deterrence guidelines as part of efforts to enhance their capabilities to cope with North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal. The guidelines were adopted a year after the two countries established a consultation body to bolster information-sharing on nuclear operations and discuss how to integrate U.S.

Taiwan steps up alertness after detecting test-firing by China’s missile unit

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Saturday it was monitoring “waves of test-firing” by China’s missile unit in a region more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from the self-ruled island and that its air force stepped up its alertness. China views the democratic island as a breakaway province that should be reunified with the mainland. According to Taiwan’s military news agency, the ministry had detected “multiple waves of test-firing operations” by China’s Rocket Force in Inner Mongolia on Saturday. It did not give details on the tests taken by the force, which takes charge of China’s arsenal of missiles.

Thousands of Islamists rally near the Pakistani capital to denounce Israeli strikes in Gaza

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Thousands of supporters of a Pakistani radical political party rallied near the capital, Islamabad, on Saturday, denouncing Israeli strikes in Gaza and urging the government to send more aid to the Palestinians. The protesters also demanded that Pakistan declare Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a terrorist.” There was no immediate response from the government following the rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Pakistan has no diplomatic relations with Israel. Pakistan has been calling for a cease-fire in the nine-month Israel-Hamas war, and in recent months has sent relief items for the Palestinians in Gaza. Saad Rizvi, head of the Islamist Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan party, which led the rally, said the sit-in at the protest would continue as long as its demands are not accepted by the government.

Court voids last conviction of Kansas researcher in case that started as Chinese espionage probe

A federal appeals court has reversed the conviction of a researcher who was accused of hiding work he did in China while employed at the University of Kansas. Feng “Franklin” Tao was convicted in April 2022 of three counts of wire fraud and one count of making a materially false statement. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson threw out the wire fraud convictions a few months later but let the false statement conviction stand. She later sentenced him to time served. But the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday ruled that the government failed to provide sufficient evidence that Tao’s failure to disclose his potential conflict of interest actually mattered, and it directed the lower court to acquit him of that sole remaining count.

Cambodia’s defense ministry says a search is on for a military helicopter missing since Friday

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s Defense Ministry on Saturday announced that a military helicopter had gone missing while flying over the heavily forested Cardamom Mountain range in the country’s southwest, confirming earlier media reports that contact with the aircraft had been lost on Friday. The brief statement said the helicopter had been on a training flight, and was flying in bad weather when air force headquarters lost touch with it. The statement did not say how many people were aboard. An intensive search for the missing aircraft was launched Saturday morning, the statement said. Local press reports said the search was focused on Pursat province.