Week in Focus: Thailand Cave Rescue, 2 Philippine Mayors Shot Dead, US-China Trade War
What you need to know
A weekly roundup of the region's most important news.
China:
The United States imposed the first duties on US$34 billion of Chinese goods early Friday, officially launching a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Moments later, China fired back, accusing the United States of violating World Trade Organization rules and setting off “the largest trade war in economic history to date.” — The Washington Post
China is on the fast track to drone deliveries. JD.com and SF Holding are building networks of large and small UAVs, and working with regulators to create rules for widespread use. — Bloomberg
The co-chairman and co-founder of HNA Group, a Chinese conglomerate that spent heavily in recent years to build a global profile but that has since grappled with high debt, died from an accidental fall in France, the company said on Wednesday. — The New York Times
China has spent nearly five years steering an ever-growing stream of hundreds of billions of dollars to a bold plan to gain greater global influence by funding big projects across Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. — The New York Times
Hong Kong:
Hong Kong’s top court ruled on Wednesday that a British lesbian should be granted a spousal visa in a landmark judgment that could open the door for expatriate same-sex partners to move to the Chinese-ruled city. — Reuters
Thousands of Hong Kong residents marched on Sunday to observe the 21st anniversary of the territory’s return to China from Britain, a public demonstration of their dissatisfaction with the local government and their fears about the Chinese Communist Party’s growing influence in the territory. — The New York Times
Thailand:
At least 33 people drowned and another 23 are missing after a tourist boat packed with passengers capsized in rough seas in southern Thailand, police said Friday. — The Wall Street Journal
Elon Musk is sending engineers from his SpaceX and The Boring Co. companies to aid in the rescue of a youth soccer team in Thailand that's trapped in a cave as rescue workers scramble to assist them. — Space.com
Relief has given way to anxiety around the site of a vast cave complex where a soccer team of 12 boys and their 25-year-old coach remain trapped after 11 days, as rescuers deliberate the best way to extract them before severe storms hit. — The Washington Post
Philippines:
Catholic churches in this fiercely religious country are giving sanctuary to people who fear for their lives in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, pitting an influential institution against a strongman leader in an intensifying battle for moral supremacy. — The Wall Street Journal
A Philippine mayor who paraded suspected drug dealers through the streets was shot dead on Monday while attending a weekly flag-raising ceremony, police said. — Reuters
The Philippines on Wednesday deported an American missionary found to have engaged in “political activities,” but two of his colleagues, both Africans, were waiting for their fates to be decided by the government. — The New York Times
Malaysia:
Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak posted about US$123,000 in bail to be able to return to his Kuala Lumpur home, capping a 24-hour period in which he was arrested, detained overnight and charged in court in connection with a multibillion-dollar financial scandal that helped topple his government. — The Wall Street Journal
India:
A nun and another employee of Mother Teresa’s charity in India have been arrested after child-welfare authorities accused them of selling a baby and are suspected in the sale of three other infants. — The Washington Post
Police are investigating the mysterious deaths of 11 members of a deeply religious New Delhi family, 10 of whom were found bound and hanging in their home with handwritten notes detailing a mystical suicide ritual. — The Washington Post
More than a dozen people have been killed across India since May in violence fueled primarily by fake social media messages, as officials struggle to rein in this growing technology-driven menace. — The Washington Post
Perched high in the Himalayas, near India’s border with China, the tiny town of Leh sometimes seems as if it has been left behind by modern technology. Internet and cellphone service is spotty, the two roads to the outside world are snowed in every winter, and Buddhist monasteries compete with military outposts for prime mountaintop locations. — The New York Times
North Korea:
Sung Kim, the US ambassador to the Philippines, held talks with North Korean officials in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas over the weekend, the State Department said Mond, amid skepticism of the country’s denuclearization efforts. — The Washington Post
North Korea is thought to be developing a new submarine capable of launching nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, a senior South Korean lawmaker said, signaling an increased threat to the US and allied forces while raising doubts about the regime’s pledges to disarm. — The Wall Street Journal
Japan:
Seven members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult which carried out a deadly chemical attack on the Tokyo underground in 1995 have been executed, including cult leader Shoko Asahara. — BBC News