Top Asian News 4:53 a.m. GMT

Feleti Teo is named Tuvalu’s new prime minister after elections that ousted Taiwan supporter

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tuvalu’s former Attorney General Feleti Teo was named prime minister of the tiny South Pacific nation Monday after elections a month ago ousted the last government leader. Teo was the only candidate nominated by his 15 lawmaker colleagues and Governor General Tofiga Vaevalu Falani declared him elected without a vote, government secretary Tufoua Panapa said in a statement. The swearing-in ceremony for Teo and his Cabinet will be held later this week. It was not immediately clear how the new government will affect China’s influence in the country of around 11,500 people halfway between Australia and Hawaii.

South Korea sets Thursday as deadline for striking young doctors to return to work

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s government gave striking young doctors four days to report back to work, saying Monday that they won’t be punished if they return by the deadline but will face indictments and suspensions of medical licenses if they don’t. About 9,000 medical interns and residents have stayed off the job since early last week to protest a government plan to increase medical school admissions by about 65%. The walkouts have severely hurt the operations of their hospitals, with numerous cancellations of surgeries and other treatments. Government officials say adding more doctors is necessary to deal with South Korea’s rapidly aging population.

In water-stressed Singapore, a search for new solutions to keep the taps flowing

SINGAPORE (AP) — A crack of thunder booms as dozens of screens in a locked office flash between live video of cars splashing through wet roads, drains sapping the streets dry, and reservoirs collecting the precious rainwater across the tropical island of Singapore. A team of government employees intently monitors the water, which will be collected and purified for use by the country’s six million residents. “We make use of real-time data to manage the storm water,” Harry Seah, deputy chief executive of operations at PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, says with a smile while standing in front of the screens. “All of this water will go to the marina and reservoirs.”

Many in Myanmar consider fleeing to Thailand to escape conscription into an army they despise

BANGKOK (AP) — Thwel, a 25-year-old schoolteacher, saw very few options left to her after Myanmar’s military announced it is implementing conscription to fill its ranks. “As a person living in this country, I only have two options: to go abroad illegally or die here,” Thwel told The Associated Press by phone while traveling to a border area to try crossing into Thailand with a small group of like-minded people. Some observers believe a mass exodus of young talent is taking place and could become a social problem, with their exit heightening the instability that followed the military takeover that now amounts to a civil war.

The Taliban release an 84-year-old Austrian man who was detained in Afghanistan last year

VIENNA (AP) — An 84-year-old Austrian man who traveled to Afghanistan last year and was arrested there was released by the country’s Taliban rulers, the Austrian government said Sunday. The Austrian Foreign Ministry in a statement identified the man as Herbert Fritz and said he arrived in Doha, Qatar from Afghanistan on Sunday afternoon. If necessary, he will be given medical treatment before continuing on to Austria, it said. A spokeswoman for the Austrian Foreign Ministry told the Associated Press that Fritz had been held in a prison in Kabul. He was not immediately available for comment. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer thanked the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his team for their “strong support in releasing one of our citizens from prison in Afghanistan.” “It is only due to our trusted collaboration that this Austrian citizen will be able to return home to his daughter and grandchildren,” Nehammer said.

Senators urge Biden to end duty-free treatment for packages valued at less than $800

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. senators looking to crack down on the number of packages from China that enter the country duty-free are calling on President Joe Biden to take executive action, saying U.S. manufacturers can’t compete with low-cost competitors they say rely on forced labor and state subsidies in key sectors. U.S. trade law allows packages bound for American consumers and valued below a certain threshold to enter tariff-free. That threshold, under a category known as “de minimis,” stands at $800 per person, per day. The majority of the imports are retail products purchased online. Alarmed by the large increase in such shipments from China, lawmakers in both chambers have filed legislation to alter how the U.S.

23 Hindu devotees die in northern India after a farm tractor overturns and falls into a pond

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — A farm tractor pulling a wagon loaded with Hindu devotees overturned and fell into a pond in northern India on Saturday, killing at least 23 people, including eight children, officials said. The wagon was carrying around 40 devotees on their way to take a ritual bath in the Ganges River when it veered off the road in Kasganj district of Uttar Pradesh state, police said. Officials said at least nine injured were being treated in hospitals, some of them in serious condition. Authorities have banned tractor-pulled wagons from transporting passengers, but the order is generally flouted in rural India.

An Australian tourist has gone missing in Zimbabwe’s famous Victoria Falls park, officials say

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — An Australian tourist has gone missing in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls National Park, home to one of the world’s natural wonders, the country’s parks spokesman said. Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo told The Associated Press that the tourist went missing in the vast rainforest on Friday. “We have a fully-fledged team that includes the police looking for the tourist. We have deployed sniffer dogs, drones and trackers on the ground,” said Farawo. He said the tourist was 67 years old but did not share further details. Such incidences are rare in Victoria Falls, a destination that attracts thousands of tourists from across the globe for its majestic water curtain that tumbles down more than 350 feet (108 meters) from the mighty Zambezi River to a gorge below, sending up a mist visible from miles away.

Taiwan giant chipmaker TSMC opens first plant in Japan as part of key global expansion

TOKYO (AP) — Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. opened Saturday in an official ceremony its first semiconductor plant in Japan as part of its ongoing global expansion. “We are deeply grateful for the seamless support provided by you at every step,” TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said after thanking the Japanese government, local community and business partners, including electronic giant Sony and auto-parts maker Denso. The company’s founder Morris Chang, was also present. This comes as Japan is trying to regain its presence in the chip production industry. The Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, or JASM, is set to be up and running later this year.

A watch that melted during the atomic blast over Hiroshima, Japan, sells for more than $31,000

BOSTON (AP) — A watch melted during the Aug. 6, 1945, bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, has sold for more than $31,000 at auction. The watch is frozen in time at the moment of the detonation of an atomic bomb over the Japanese city — 8:15 a.m. — during the closing days of World War ll, according to Boston-based RR Auction. The winning bid in the auction that ended Thursday was $31,113. The artifact was recovered from the ruins of Hiroshima and offers a glimpse into the immense destruction of the first atomic bomb detonated over a city. The small brass-tone watch, a rare survivor from the blast zone, was auctioned alongside other historically significant items, according to the auction house.