Top Asian News Stories

HONG KONG (AP) – Hong Kong will set up an independent committee headed by a judge to determine the cause of a deadly apartment block fire that shocked the city, and to make recommendations to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again, its leader said Tuesday. John Lee, the chief executive of the Chinese region, pledged to overcome vested interests and bring about systemic change in the construction industry. Police said Tuesday afternoon that the death toll had risen to at least 156 people after more bodies were found. About 30 others remain missing. “We must uncover the truth, ensure that justice is served, let the deceased rest in peace and provide comfort to the living,” he told reporters at a weekly press conference.

BATANG TORU, Indonesia (AP) – Emergency crews raced to reach survivors and recover more bodies Tuesday as the death toll from last week’s catastrophic floods and landslides surged past 1,300 in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, with nearly 900 people missing. Days of heavy monsoon rains inundated vast areas, leaving thousands stranded and many clinging to rooftops and trees waiting for help. The flooding and landslides killed at least 1,338 people: 744 in Indonesia, 410 in Sri Lanka, 181 in Thailand and three in Malaysia, authorities said Tuesday. Sri Lanka’s president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, said it’s too early to determine the exact number of dead in his country.

HONG KONG (AP) – Uncomfortable questions are being raised over who is to blame for Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades. As the territory mourns over the high-rise apartment fire that killed at least 156 people, anger and frustration are mounting over building safety lapses, suspected construction corruption and lax government oversight. But bigger issues are at play. Some political analysts and observers say the tragedy could be the “tip of an iceberg” in Hong Kong, a city whose skyline is built on high-rise buildings. Suspicions of bid-rigging and use of hazardous construction materials in renovation projects across other housing estates have left many worried the disaster could be repeated.

BANGKOK (AP) – Behind the hoopla over the promise of artificial intelligence lay difficult realities, including how such technology might affect people already disadvantaged in a data-driven world. A new report by the United Nations Development Program notes most of the gains from AI are likely to be reaped by wealthy nations unless steps are taken to use its power to help close gaps in access to basic needs, as well as such advanced know-how. The report released Tuesday likens the situation to the “Great Divergence” of the industrial revolution, when many Western countries saw rapid modernization while others fell behind.

NEW DELHI (AP) – India’s telecoms ministry has directed smartphone manufacturers to pre-install a government-run cybersecurity app on all new devices, according to a government order, raising concerns of data privacy and user consent in one of the largest handset markets in the world. The Ministry of Communications’ order issued Monday asked smartphone makers to pre-install the government’s “Sanchar Saathi” app on all new devices within 90 days and to prevent users from deleting it. The order also requires manufacturers to push the app onto older models through a software update, extending the mandate beyond phones available in the market.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities carried out a public execution at a stadium in the eastern city of Khost on Tuesday, putting to death a man who the country’s Supreme Court said had killed 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people, including relatives of the victims, attended the execution in the sports stadium, which the Supreme Court said was the 11th carried out since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces. United Nations’ Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan Richard Bennet posted on X earlier Tuesday that reports had suggested the public execution was imminent and called for it to be halted.

LONDON (AP) – A long-delayed decision on controversial plans for a super-sized Chinese embassy in central London has been pushed back again, authorities said Monday, following mounting security concerns. The plans for the “mega embassy” on a huge site close to London’s financial district and sensitive data cables have been stalled for years. Critics have raised concerns that the building will be used as a base for espionage, and lawmakers from across the political spectrum have urged the government to reject the proposal. Officials were due to make a decision on the embassy by Dec. 10, but the Planning Inspectorate said the deadline has been postponed to Jan.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) – Suspected militants ambushed a vehicle carrying a government administrator in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing him, two of his guards and a passerby, officials said. The attack took place in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Alam Khan, a police official. He identified the administrator killed as Shah Wali, who served in Miran Shah near the Afghan border. The ambush came a day after a suicide bombing near a police vehicle in the northwestern district of Lakki Marwat killed a senior police officer. No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD (AP) – Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan is in good health but is largely being kept under solitary conditions, one of his sisters said Tuesday after authorities allowed her the first family visit in weeks. Uzma Khan’s remarks appeared aimed at reassuring Khan’s millions of supporters in Pakistan and abroad after concerns were raised over his wellbeing – and even whether he was still alive – though authorities had dismissed any rumors about his condition as baseless. Khan, 73, has been serving multiple prison terms since 2023 on convictions for corruption and other charges that the former cricket star and his supporters have alleged are aimed at blocking his political career.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) – A court in Bangladesh’s capital sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to five years in prison and her niece, British Labour Party lawmaker Tulip Siddiq, to two years in prison on Monday for corruption involving a government land project. Rabiul Alam, the judge of Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court, said Hasina misused her power as prime minister while Siddiq was guilty of corruptly influencing her aunt in helping her mother and two siblings get a land plot in a government project. Siddiq’s mother, Sheikh Rehana, was given seven years in prison and was considered the prime participant in the case.