• Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates
  • Artemis II Blasts off to the Moon
  • India Begins Long-Delayed Population Census
  • Trump Claims on Iran Are 'False and Baseless'
  • Macron Calls for Ceasefire in Mideast
Russia claims full control of Ukraine's Luhansk region but Kyiv denies it

Russia’s armed forces have taken control of the entire Luhansk region of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed Wednesday, but a Kyiv military official denied the claim as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared for talks with U.S. envoys trying to mediate an end to Moscow’s invasion.

South Korea and Indonesia expand cooperation on defense and energy

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea and Indonesia agreed Wednesday to expand cooperation in defense industries, technology and supply chains as their leaders pledged to upgrade their strategic partnership in face of uncertainties stemming from the war in the Middle East, Seoul’s presidential office said.

Passengers stranded in moving traffic after robotaxi outage in China

BEIJING (AP) – Some robotaxi passengers were left stranded in the middle of fast-moving traffic in a major Chinese city after their driverless vehicles stopped running, according to police and media reports on Wednesday.

SpaceX files initial paperwork to sell shares to the public and likely make Musk a trillionaire

NEW YORK (AP) – Elon Musk’s space exploration company has filed preliminary paperwork to sell shares to the public, according to two sources familiar with the filing, a blockbuster offering that would likely rank as the biggest ever and could make its founder the world’s first trillionaire.

Europe scrambles to contain price shock from Iran war

BERLIN (AP) – German growth forecasts for 2026 and 2027 were cut by experts on Wednesday as governments across Europe implement measures aimed at reducing the price impact of the Iran war.

Advocacy groups urge YouTube to protect kids from 'AI slop' videos

Advocacy groups and experts condemned YouTube for serving up low-quality artificial intelligence-generated videos to its most vulnerable audience: children. In a letter to YouTube, children’s advocacy group Fairplay expresses “serious concern” about the spread of AI-generated videos on both YouTube and YouTube Kids.

Trump says Iran will be hit hard for next 2 or 3 weeks

President Donald Trump said U.S. forces will keep hitting Iran “very hard” in the next two or three weeks and bring the country “back to the Stone Ages,” even as he touted the success of U.S. operations and argued that all of Washington’s objectives have so far been met or exceeded.

Russia claims full control of Ukraine's Luhansk region but Kyiv denies it

Russia’s armed forces have taken control of the entire Luhansk region of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed Wednesday, but a Kyiv military official denied the claim as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared for talks with U.S. envoys trying to mediate an end to Moscow’s invasion.

Trump claims Iran wants a ceasefire, Iran says remarks are 'false and baseless'

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed Iran’s president wanted a ceasefire ahead of his speech to the American people. Trump made the claim on his Truth Social website. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Trump’s remarks were “false and baseless.” The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is slated to go to the Middle East along with three destroyers.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is not immune from civil claims that he incited a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol on Jan, 6, 2021, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Tuesday that Trump’s remarks “plausibly” were inciting words that are not protected by the First Amendment right to free speech.