Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

ITTEFAQ, Afghanistan (AP) - For several minutes after the earthquake struck, he could hear their screams. Then there was silence. Mohibullah Niazi, a neighbor who helped in the rescue efforts, said Saturday that the eight people killed on the outskirts of Kabul after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan the previous night were a refugee family recently returned from neighboring Iran. There was only one survivor: a boy of around 3 years old, who was injured and has been hospitalized in Kabul. Afghanistan's deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat on Saturday increased the overall death toll from the quake to 12, with another four people injured.

KABUL, Afghanisan (AP) - Widespread flooding, landslides and lightning strikes triggered by heavy rain and storms across Afghanistan have left 77 people dead and 137 injured over the past 10 days, the country's Disaster Management Authority said Saturday. More rain has been forecast for the coming days throughout Afghanistan, and the authority warned the public to stay away from river banks and areas prone to flooding. So far this year, dozens of people have died due to extreme weather in Afghanistan, an impoverished country that is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events. Earlier this year, heavy snowfall and flash floods left dozens of people dead across the country.

TOKYO (AP) - Many of Tokyo's popular and iconic Somei Yoshino cherry blossom trees were planted during Japan's postwar advancement in the 1960s, and are now getting old and frail. Some have fallen and many others require support, triggering safety concern as the Japanese celebrate the season of their favorite flower. Two cherry blossom trees collapsed on Thursday, one at Kinuta Park in downtown Tokyo and the other at the Chidorigafuchi greenway. The one in Kinuta Park damaged a fence while the other tree almost fell into the Imperial Palace moat, though nobody was injured. The tree in Kinuta Park was 18 meters (59 feet) tall and 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) in diameter.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - A fire broke out at a factory manufacturing gas lighters near Bangladesh 's capital on Saturday afternoon, leaving at least five people dead, authorities said. The blaze broke out in the Kadamtali area of Keraniganj near Dhaka, according to the fire service and civil defense. Seven firefighting units were deployed to extinguish the blaze, which started in the afternoon, the fire department said. It took several hours to bring it under control. Firefighters recovered five bodies by the evening and they couldn't immediately be identified. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

BANGKOK (AP) - Myanmar's parliament on Friday elected Min Aung Hlaing, a general who ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government in 2021 and kept an iron grip on power for the past five years, as the country's new president. The move marks a nominal return to an elected government but is widely considered as an effort to keep the army in power after an election organized by the military that opponents and independent observers deemed neither free nor fair, and as civil war rages. Transitioning to an elected government is also seen as a way to improve frosty relations with some Southeast Asian neighbors following the military takeover.

BEIJING (AP) - Peace talks between Afghanistan's Taliban government and Pakistan are advancing, China's government said Friday, two days after those countries resumed conversations following weeks of fighting that have killed hundreds. "The consultation process is being steadily implemented and advanced," said China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. Xi Jinping's government is mediating between Islamabad and Kabul, whose representatives resumed the talks on Wednesday in the western Chinese city of Urumqi. "The three parties have also reached consensus and arrangements on a specific operational mode, including media coverage," she added, without giving more details. "Since the recent escalation of the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict, China has been mediating and promoting talks in its own way, maintaining close communication with both sides through multiple channels and at various levels, and creating conditions and providing platforms for dialogue", Mao said.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed Friday to work together to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease global economic uncertainties caused by the war in the Middle East. Their summit in Seoul came as U.S. President Donald Trump slammed allies for not supporting the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. Macron was making his first visit to South Korea since taking office in 2017, as part of an Asian tour that already has taken him to Japan. Macron told Lee at the start of the meeting that the two countries can play a role in helping to stabilize the situation in the Middle East, including Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has unleashed shock on global energy markets.

BANGKOK (AP) - The disciplinary body for China 's Communist Party said Friday it has placed the former Xinjiang party chief under investigation over suspected violations of discipline and law. Ma Xingrui is a member of the party's Central Committee and served as party secretary of the Xinjiang region in China's northwest from 2021-2025. He also previously served as director of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission and deputy party chief in Guangdong province. It was unclear what violations Ma allegedly committed. Ma is the latest senior official to be removed from power this year. China's Xi Jinping removed the top general in charge of the country's military in January.

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday accused China of "bullying" by detaining or holding up dozens of Panama-flagged ships - though for a short period of time - after the Central American country seized control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal earlier this year from a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company. China denies the allegations. Panama has been caught in a broader rivalry between the United States and China after U.S. President Donald Trump accused Beijing last year of running the Panama Canal. The Trump administration sees the critical maritime trade route as strategically important, both commercially and militarily, and Trump has talked about retaking the Panama Canal since his campaign.

ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistanis faced record fuel price increases Friday, as petrol and diesel prices rose by up to 54% driven by the war in the Middle East that has caused global oil prices to surge. The increase adds pressure to a cash-strapped nation already grappling with high inflation, as economists warned the hike would push up food prices and living costs. Pakistan's Petroleum Minister Pervez Malik said late Thursday that the increase was "unavoidable." He said the government was compelled to raise petrol prices by 137 rupees (49 cents) per liter, following a 20% increase last month. Diesel prices were increased overnight by 184.49 rupees (67 cents) per liter, a rise of about 54.9%.