Top Asian News 4:35 a.m. GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A Tokyo court has rejected former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn's latest request for bail, more than two months after his arrest, prolonging a detention that has drawn international scrutiny of Japan's justice system. The decision by the Tokyo District Court came a day after Ghosn promised to wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet, give up his passport and pay for security guards approved by prosecutors to gain release from a Tokyo detention center. The court announced its decision in a statement. His family said they will appeal. Ghosn, 64, has been in custody since Nov. 19. He had a bail hearing Monday.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's prime minister said on Tuesday he would be disappointed if radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir were released from prison early and urged Indonesia to show respect for the victims of the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that the firebrand preacher inspired. Indonesia's top security minister, Wiranto, said on Monday that Indonesian President Joko Widodo had asked him to coordinate a review of all aspects of the planned release of the 80-year-old cleric following domestic and international criticism. Australia has been in top-level discussions with the Indonesia since last week when the decision was announced to release Bashir, the spiritual leader of bombers who attacked nightclubs on Bali island and that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — More South Korean female skaters are accusing their coaches of sexually abusing them, a group representing the athletes disclosed Monday following claims by two-time Olympic champion Shim Suk-hee that her former coach had repeatedly raped her. The announcement came amid a growing #MeToo movement in South Korea's elite sports scene, which has been notorious for a brutal training culture and highly hierarchical relationships between coaches and athletes. In addition to Shim, female athletes in judo, taekwondo and wrestling have also accused their male coaches of sexually abusing them. Members of the country's silver medal-winning Olympic curling team, cheered as the Garlic Girls for their hometown's famed produce, have accused their former coaches of verbal abuse and holding back prize money.

Chinese authorities appear to have confirmed a scientist's unpublished claim that he helped make the world's first gene-edited babies and that a second pregnancy is underway, and say he could face consequences for his work. China's official Xinhua News Agency said Monday that investigators in Guangdong province determined that the scientist, He Jiankui (HUH JEEN-qway), evaded supervision of his work and violated research norms because he wanted to be famous. The report said He acted alone and will be punished for any violations of the law, although it didn't say which regulations he may have broken. The scientist stunned the world in November by claiming that he had altered the DNA of twin girls at conception to try to help them resist infection with the AIDS virus.

MARAWI, Philippines (AP) — Muslims in the southern Philippines voted Monday in a referendum on a new autonomous region that seeks to end nearly half a century of unrest, in what their leaders are touting as the best alternative to a new wave of Islamic State group-inspired militants. The vote caps a tumultuous peace effort by the government in Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the main rebel group, to seal a deal that was signed in 2014 but languished in the Philippine Congress until it was finally approved last year. Bloodshed including the siege of Marawi city by IS-linked militants and other bombings and attacks in the south threatened to derail it.

BEIJING (AP) — China's 2018 economic growth fell to a three-decade low, adding to pressure on Beijing to settle a tariff war with Washington. The world's second-largest economy expanded by 6.6 percent over a year earlier, down from 2017's 6.9 percent, official data showed Monday. Growth in the three months ending in December dipped to 6.4 percent — the lowest quarterly level since the 2008 global crisis — from the previous quarter's 6.5 percent. Communist leaders are trying to steer China to slower, more self-sustaining growth based on consumer spending instead of trade and investment. But the deceleration has been sharper than expected, prompting Beijing to step up government spending and order banks to lend more to shore up growth and avoid politically dangerous job losses.

TORONTO (AP) — More than 100 academics and former diplomats are calling on China to release two Canadians who have been detained in apparent retaliation for the arrest of a top Chinese tech executive in Canada. The letter by a wide array of China experts from around the world is addressed to Chinese President Xi Jinping. It says the arrests of the two Canadians sends a worrisome signal to those who work in policy and research in China. China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor on Dec. 10 in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Chinese executive Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested Dec.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban assault on a military base and police training center in a province just outside the Afghan capital on Monday killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 30, officials said. Salem Asgherkhail, head of the area's public health department, said most of those killed in the attack in Maidan Wardak province were military personnel. Some of the wounded were taken to local hospitals for treatment while the more serious cases were sent to the capital, Kabul. Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for the interior minister, said a suicide car bomber struck the base before insurgents opened fire.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Police in southern India are investigating a suspected attempt to illegally transport scores of Indians on an overcrowded boat to New Zealand. The additional superintendent of police in Kerala state said police were questioning people who failed to board the fishing boat, who said it left nine days ago for New Zealand. Sojan, who uses one name, said police began investigating when they found dozens of abandoned bags containing dried fruit and "everything needed for a sea journey" near the harbor in Kochi in Kerala state. "The boat is gone, that's for sure," he said by telephone Monday.

SHANGHAI (AP) — The Chinese government has granted Ivanka Trump's company preliminary approval for another five trademarks this month, as her father's administration pushes ahead on trade negotiations with China. Four trademarks, including child care centers, sunglasses and wedding dresses, were approved on Sunday. A fifth, covering brokerage, charitable fundraising and art valuation services, was approved on Jan.6, according to online trademark office records. The applications were filed in 2016 and 2017. If no one objects, they will be finalized after 90 days. Ivanka Trump's expanding intellectual property holdings have long raised ethical concerns, particularly in China, where the courts and bureaucracy tend to reflect the will of the ruling Communist Party.