Top Asian News 4:09 p.m. GMT

Pope denounces ‘evil’ of nukes as he fulfills Japan dream

TOKYO (AP) — Pope Francis denounced the “evil” of nuclear weapons on Saturday as he began a three-day visit to Japan and fulfilled a dream to be a missionary in a land with a rich but bloody Christian past. The pope’s plane landed in the rain in Tokyo, where he received a small welcome at the airport before heading to the Vatican residence to meet with Japanese bishops. Streets near the residence were lined with smiling well-wishers holding umbrellas. One group held a banner that read: “Gracias! We love you.” After a packed three days in Thailand, Francis has an even busier schedule in Japan, starting off with flights Sunday to Nagasaki and Hiroshima to appeal for total nuclear disarmament, and a meeting Monday with victims of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

From air, pope greets leaders of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis managed an airborne diplomatic dance by sending telegrams of greetings to the leaders of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as he flew through their airspace on his way from Thailand to Japan. Francis made sure not to offend Beijing in the telegrams Saturday, making no mention of the Vatican’s continued diplomatic relations with self-ruled Taiwan or the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, now in their sixth month, though he did appeal for “well-being and peace” in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Papal protocol requires these telegrams be sent, and Francis has used them in the past to reach out to the Beijing government, which severed relations with the Holy See over five decades ago.

Self-confessed Chinese spy spills secrets in Australia

PERTH, Australia (AP) — A self-confessed Chinese spy has given Australia's counterespionage agency inside intelligence on how Beijing conducts its interference operations abroad and revealed the identities of China’s senior military intelligence officers in Hong Kong, media reported. Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told reporters Saturday that the detailed accusations of China infiltrating and disrupting democratic systems in Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are “very disturbing.” The Nine network newspapers reported that Chinese defector Wang "William" Liqiang told ASIO — the country’s counterespionage agency — that he was involved in the kidnapping in 2015 of one of five Hong Kong booksellers suspected of selling dissident materials.

Hong Kong families protest police use of tear gas

HONG KONG (AP) — Chanting “No more tear gas,” dozens of Hong Kong families with young children marched Saturday to oppose the government’s handling of pro-democracy protests on the eve of keenly contested local elections. Riot police have reportedly fired more than 9,000 rounds of tear gas since protests began roiling the Chinese territory in June, often in crowded areas and also near schools. With police now buying canisters from China, there are rising fears that the tear gas could release toxic chemicals including cancer-causing dioxin. A local journalist covering the protests reportedly said he had been diagnosed with a skin condition linked to exposure to toxins including dioxin.

HONG KONG (AP) — Overturned chairs. Empty plastic bottles scattered around. Food leftovers rotting in the canteen. Most of the protesters who took over the Hong Kong Polytechnic University have left following clashes with police, but an unknown number have remained inside, hoping somehow to avoid arrest. Six masked protesters surrendered before dawn Friday, bringing to about 30 the number that have come out the previous day from the campus surrounded by police. Tang Chun-Keung, head of the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools, said that the holdouts include minors, numbering less than 10, and they are emotionally unstable.

Japan, South Korea meet after saving intelligence pact

NAGOYA, Japan (AP) — The Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers met on the sidelines of a Japan-hosted G-20 meeting Saturday, a day after Seoul kept alive a 2016 military intelligence sharing pact with Tokyo, reversing its planned termination amid bilateral tensions. Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi and South Korea’s Kang Kyung-wha discussed ways to mend their countries’ troubled ties as they met in Nagoya, where Japan was hosting the foreign ministers meeting from the Group of 20 major economies. Motegi was expected to press Kang to stick with a 1965 agreement in resolving their dispute over wartime Korean laborers, seen as the root cause of tensions that led to Japan’s trade curbs against South Korea and subsequent retaliatory measures that spilled into the area of national security.

Indian students protest increased housing fees at university

NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of students and activists sang, danced and chanted anti-government slogans in India’s capital on Saturday as they marched against increased student housing fees at a public university. During the protest in New Delhi, the students chanted slogans such as “Fight, fight, fight for your right to study” and “Keep fighting, keep dying.” The protest took a jovial turn from last week, when several students clashed with police, sustained injuries, and were detained and charged with destroying public property. The initial protests last week were mainly by students from Jawaharlal Nehru University, where a new hostel manual aims to increase rent for a single-bed room to more than $8 per month from less than $1 per month earlier.

Sumatran rhino extinct in Malaysia as lone survivor dies

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Sumatran rhinoceros has become extinct in Malaysia, after the last of the species in the country succumbed to cancer on Saturday. The Wildlife Department in eastern Sabah state on Borneo island said the rhino, named Iman, died of natural causes due to shock in her system. She had uterine tumors since her capture in March 2014. Department director Augustine Tuuga said in a statement that Iman, who reportedly was 25 years old, was suffering significant pain from growing pressure of the tumors to her bladder but that her death came sooner than expected. It came six months after the death of the country’s only male rhino in Sabah.

Trump claims he’s why China didn’t crush Hong Kong protests

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday wouldn’t commit to signing bipartisan legislation supporting pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong as he tries to work out a trade deal with China. Trump’s comments came after the House and Senate this week passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act in reaction to anti-government protests that have convulsed the semi-autonomous Chinese city for more than five months. The bill authorizes sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials involved in human rights abuses and would mandate the State Department to annually review special autonomous status that the U.S. grants Hong Kong on trade.

Hong Kong election a referendum on anti-government protests

HONG KONG (AP) — Cathy Yau remembers the first time she was called a “dirty cop” by Hong Kong’s anti-government protesters, days after police deployed tear gas to repel tens of thousands of black-clad demonstrators blocking the legislature. The former officer, exasperated at the increasing use of force to quell the unrest, quit in July after 11 years. Now she is among scores of new faces vying for office Sunday in citywide elections that have become a referendum on public support for the protests, which have disrupted life for more than five months. “Some residents still call me a rogue cop but there are others who tell me to keep it up as they want a change this year,” said the 36-year-old Yau, who faces a tough battle against an incumbent who has served the constituency for years.