Top Asian News 4:57 a.m. GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — President Rodrigo Duterte and his top security officials planned on Monday to visit a Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines where suspected Islamic militants set off bombs that killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 100. The first blast sent people, some of them wounded, fleeing out the church's main door. Army troops and police were rushing inside when the second bomb exploded a minute later. The explosions scattered wooden pews inside the main hall, blasted out window glass panels and hurled human remains and debris across a town square fronting the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, witnesses said.

BEIJING (AP) — Prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was sentenced to 4 ½ years in prison on the charge of subversion of state power Monday, more than three years after he was detained in a wide-ranging crackdown on the legal profession. The No. 2 Intermediate Court in the northeastern city of Tianjin announced the sentence in an online statement, adding that Wang's political rights were also being withheld for five years. Rights groups immediately condemned the verdict, with Amnesty International China Researcher Doriane Lau calling it a "gross injustice." "It's outrageous that Wang Quanzhang is being punished for peacefully standing up for human rights in China.

BANGKOK (AP) — A popular Thai music act has apologized after one of its members wore a shirt showing the swastika flag of Nazi Germany during a performance. The incident involving the girl group BNK48 occurred just two days ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marked Sunday with somber ceremonies in other parts of the world to remember the 6 million Jews and others killed in Adolf Hitler's death camps. Israel's embassy in Thailand posted a statement on Twitter expressing "shock and dismay over the Nazi outfit worn by the singer." "Presenting Nazi symbols by the band's singer, hurt the feelings of millions around the world, whose relatives were murdered by the Nazis," it said.

SINGAPORE (AP) — A memorial service was held Sunday for a Singaporean actor and soldier who died from injuries at a military exercise, a case that has renewed scrutiny of the tiny Southeast Asian nation's system of mandatory conscription. Reservist Aloysius Pang, 28, was taking part in military training in New Zealand last weekend when he was crushed while repairing an artillery vehicle. He died Thursday after several surgeries. With a population of just 5.6 million people, Singapore sees conscription as a key element of its national security strategy. It requires most men from after the age 18 to serve full-time in its armed forces, police force or civil defense force for two years and after that take part in training obligations for another 10 years.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Australian defense minister Christopher Pyne urged China on Tuesday to resolve tensions in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, in a swipe after Beijing's sudden detention of a writer who holds dual citizenship. Pyne said the artificial islands Beijing has been building in the disputed waters has "increased anxiety" and "not increased regional confidence in China's strategic intentions." "On the other hand, resolving disputes in the South China Sea in accordance with international law would build confidence in China's willingness to support and champion a strategic culture that respects the rights of all states," he added.

TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fired Canada's ambassador to China after the envoy said it would be "great" if the U.S. dropped its extradition request for a Chinese tech executive arrested in Canada. Trudeau said Saturday that he had asked for and accepted John McCallum's resignation Friday night. McCallum made the remark to the Toronto Star on Friday. That came a day after he issued a statement saying he misspoke about the case earlier in the week and regretted saying Meng Wanzhou has a strong case against extradition. The arrest of the daughter of the founder of Huawei Technologies Ltd.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine authorities say they've found the remains of two missing sisters and have arrested the son of one of them. Autopsy results released Sunday showed that at least one of the two had been shot. The bodies of 63-year-old Pirhya Sarussi of Israel and 54-year-old Israel-born Australian scientist Lily Pereg were found Saturday on a lot beside the home of Gilad Pereg near the city of Mendoza, according to prosecutor Claudia Rios, who confirmed the 36-year-old son of Sarussi was arrested on homicide charges. The local newspaper Jornada said authorities hadn't yet determined which of the bodies belonged to which of the victims, but it said one had received three gunshots and the other showed signs of being dragged.

The International Olympic Committee has backed FIFA's calls for a Bahraini soccer player to be allowed to return to Australia from Thailand where he is detention while being pursued for extradition by Bahrain. But Asian soccer's leadership is declining to publicly back the campaign to secure the release of Hakeem al-Araibi, who has refugee status in Australia. The IOC said its president, Thomas Bach, "has personally discussed this worrying situation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees." FIFA asked the Thai government earlier this week to ensure al-Araibi was released at the "earliest possible moment." The IOC said its "full support for the FIFA actions in order to find a solution based on 'basic human and humanitarian values'" has been conveyed to the Thai government by IOC member Khunying Patama Leeswadtraku.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. peace envoy to Afghanistan said Saturday that "significant progress" was made during lengthy talks with the Taliban in Qatar and that he was traveling to Afghanistan for more discussions aimed at ending the country's destructive 17-year war. Zalmay Khalilzad said on his official Twitter account that he wants to build on six days of meetings in Doha, the capital of Qatar. "Meetings here were more productive than they have been in the past," he said without providing details. "We made significant progress on vital issues." Taliban officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media said they have reached an understanding on the withdrawal of U.S.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic was so good, so relentless, so flawless, that Rafael Nadal never stood a chance. Djokovic reduced one of the greats of the game to merely another outclassed opponent — just a guy, really — and one so out of sorts that Nadal even whiffed on one of his famous forehands entirely. In a breathtakingly mistake-free performance that yielded a remarkably lopsided result, the No. 1-ranked Djokovic overwhelmed Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday night to win a record seventh Australian Open championship and a third consecutive Grand Slam title, raising his count to 15 overall.