Top Asian News 4:44 a.m. GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea denied Thursday that its agents masterminded the assassination of the half brother of leader Kim Jong Un, saying a Malaysian investigation into the death of one of its nationals is full of "holes and contradictions." The North's response came a day after Malaysian police said they were seeking two more North Koreans, including the second secretary of North Korea's embassy in Kuala Lumpur, in connection with the Feb. 13 killing of Kim Jong Nam at a Malaysian airport. Malaysia police have not directly pinpointed North Korea as being behind the death of Kim Jong Nam, but have already arrested a North Korean man working at a Malaysian company along with three other Southeast Asian people.

North Korea says Malaysia's investigation into the death of one of its nationals is full of "holes and contradictions" amid speculation that its agents masterminded the assassination of leader Kim Jong Un's half brother. Malaysia police have not directly pinpointed North Korea as being behind the death of Kim Jong Nam, but they are searching for several North Korean suspects over his killing at a Malaysian airport this month. The Korean Jurists Committee said in a statement Thursday that the Malaysian investigation lacks fairness and has been influenced by the South Korean government, which blames Pyongyang for the death. The North has not acknowledged that the dead man is Kim Jong Nam.

HONG KONG (AP) — A former leader of Hong Kong was sentenced Wednesday to 20 months in prison for misconduct after failing to disclose plans to rent a luxury apartment for his retirement from a businessman applying for a broadcasting license. It was a stunning downfall for Donald Tsang, 72, who served as Hong Kong's leader, or chief executive, from 2005 to 2012. He becomes the highest-ranking current or former official sent to prison for wrongdoing in the Asian financial hub, which prides itself on a reputation for clean governance. "Never in my judicial career have I seen a man fallen from such a height," Justice Andrew Chan said as he handed down the sentence in Hong Kong's High Court.

NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga (AP) — The South Pacific island kingdom of Tonga is mourning the death of its queen mother, who dedicated her time to helping the elderly and those with disabilities. Halaevalu Mata'aho died Sunday at the age of 90 in Auckland, New Zealand, after traveling there for health reasons. The cause of her death has not been released by her family. She was the mother of two kings: George Tupou V, who died in 2012, and the current monarch, King Tupou VI. Her funeral procession will be held in Tonga on Feb. 28, when most people in the country of just over 100,000 are expected to turn out wearing black.

PARIS (AP) — Amnesty International says "toxic" fear-mongering by anti-establishment politicians, among them President Donald Trump and the leaders of Turkey, Hungary and the Philippines, is contributing to a global pushback against human rights. Releasing its 408-page annual report on rights abuses around the world Wednesday, the watchdog group described 2016 as "the year when the cynical use of 'us vs. them' narratives of blame, hate and fear took on a global prominence to a level not seen since the 1930s," when Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany. Amnesty named Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte among leaders it said are "wielding a toxic agenda that hounds, scapegoats and dehumanizes entire groups of people." "Poisonous" rhetoric employed by Trump in his election campaign exemplified "the global trend of angrier and more divisive politics," Amnesty said.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — If basketball and soccer had a baby and put it on skates, it might look like roll ball, a little-known sport whose top performers worldwide vied for the championship in Bangladesh over the past week. Played on a basketball court, with a small soccer-type goal in lieu of a basket, roll ball requires players on roller skates to dribble and pass a basketball-sized ball as they try to score. Some 750 competitors from 40 countries, including hosts Bangladesh, participated in the meet at three venues in Dhaka, the capital. Most were from Asia or Africa, but Europe, South America and the South Pacific island nation of Fiji were also represented.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's highest-paid public servant announced his resignation on Thursday, two weeks after a revelation that he made 5.6 million Australian ($4.3 million) last year sparked a public furor. Australia Post managing director Ahmed Fahour said he was quitting the national mail service on the same day the government-owned corporation posted a profit of AU$131 million for the six months through December. The figure was a big jump from the AU$16 million profit the corporation made in the same half a year earlier. The Lebanese-born former banker, 50, said he was leaving because Australia Post had transformed from a traditional mail service to a parcel and e-commerce business during his seven years at the helm.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A report on inequality in Indonesia says its four richest men now have more wealth than 100 million of the country's poorest people. The report released Thursday by Oxfam said Indonesia, with a population of more than 250 million, has the sixth-worst inequality in the world. Within Asia, only Thailand is more unequal. It blames "market fundamentalism" that has allowed the richest to capture most of the benefits of nearly two decades of strong economic growth, concentration of land ownership and pervasive gender inequality. The investment returns on the wealth of just one of the four richest, which according to the Forbes rich list include cigarette tycoons Budi Hartono, Michael Hartono and Susilo Wonowidjojo, would eliminate extreme poverty in a year.

BEIJING (AP) — An American-born panda started settling into her new home Thursday in southwest China where she will eventually join a breeding program. Bao Bao was born at the National Zoo in Washington to panda parents on loan from China. Under an agreement between China and the U.S., such panda cubs must be returned to China before they are 4 years old, the earliest age at which they might begin breeding. The 3-year-old landed in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province on Wednesday after a 16-hour flight in a Boeing 777 emblazoned with a picture of a giant bamboo-eating panda.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan said Wednesday it will send paramilitary forces to crack down on Islamic militants in the Punjab province, a move that the ruling party of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had long rejected because of opposition among its Islamist supporters. The decision to deploy the paramilitary forces, which have had some success against extremists in other hot spots, came after a wave of attacks killed more than 125 people last week, including an Islamic State suicide bombing at a famed shrine that killed 90. Sharif's younger brother is the chief minister of Punjab, the country's most populous province. The Sharifs rely on support from Islamist parties that espouse extremist views but have not been linked to the latest attacks.