Top Asia Pacific Breaking News – Latest Updates

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a test of an upgraded solid-fuel engine for weapons capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, and called it a significant development boosting his country's strategic military arsenal, state media reported Sunday. While the test was in line with Kim's stated goal of acquiring more agile, hard-to-detect missiles targeting the U.S. and its allies, some experts speculate North Korea's claim may be an exaggeration. Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and conceal their launches than liquid-fuel weapons, which in general must be fueled before liftoffs and cannot last long.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Severe flooding, a landslide and thunderstorms in parts of Afghanistan left 17 people dead and 26 injured over the last 24 hours, with more heavy rainfall predicted, authorities said Sunday, the latest casualties from extreme weather in the country this season. The number of casualties could increase as crews from the country's National Disaster Management Authority survey the affected areas, the authority's spokesman, Yousuf Hammad, said in a statement. Thirteen of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, mostly in the western, central and northwestern parts of the country, were affected. The severe weather also left 147 homes either completely or partially destroyed, wiped out 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) of roads and destroyed agricultural land and irrigation canals and businesses, Hammad said.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Police in Nepal arrested former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli early Saturday over the deaths of dozens of people during violent protests in September that toppled the government and resulted in new elections. Authorities arrested the powerful Communist Party leader at his residence on the outskirts of the capital Kathmandu. They also arrested Ramesh Lekhak, the former home minister who has been accused of ordering authorities to fire on protesters. The arrests come a day after a new government headed by rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah took office following a landslide win in a parliamentary election by his Rastriya Swatantra Party.

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) - Mongolia's ruling party selected a new candidate for prime minister on Sunday after the last head of government, Zandanshatar Gombojav, resigned after only nine months on the job. Uchral Nyam-Osor, the current party chairman who is serving as speaker of the Parliament, was nominated at a meeting of the Mongolian People's Party, according to state news agency Montsame. Uchral first joined the MPP in 2009, and is seen as a compromise candidate amid different party factions. Zandanshatar's resignation came after one of his senior ministers faced allegations of corruption. He also faced a political boycott from the opposition Democratic Party, which has refused to attend parliament sessions since earlier this month, citing concerns over a concentration of power within the ruling party.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A bipartisan group of four senators has plans to visit Taiwan, Japan and South Korea in the coming days on a trip meant to bolster U.S. alliances seen as important to countering China's dominance in Asia. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced the trip Saturday. She will be joined by Sens. John Curtis, R-Utah, Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev. Their visits to Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul are coming before President Donald Trump's trip to Beijing in May for a rescheduled summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

ISLAMABAD (AP) - As fears of a wider regional conflict escalate following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that began in late February, Pakistan has emerged as an unexpected mediator, offering to help bring Washington and Tehran to the negotiating table. Islamabad isn't often called on to act as an intermediary in high-stakes diplomacy, but it's stepped into the role this time for a number of reasons, both because it has relatively good ties with both Washington and Tehran and because it has a lot at stake in seeing the war resolved. Pakistani government officials have said that their public peace effort follows weeks of quiet diplomacy, though they have provided few details.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesia on Saturday began implementing a new government regulation approved earlier this month that bans children younger than 16 from access to digital platforms that could expose them to pornography, cyberbullying, online scams and addiction. With the move, Indonesia became the first country in Southeast Asia to ban children from having accounts on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox. It follows measures that Australia took last year in a world-first social media ban for children as part of a push for families to take back power from tech giants and protect their teens.

BEIJING (AP) - China launched two investigations into U.S. trade practices on Friday, signaling its resolve to push back against President Donald Trump's tariffs ahead of his visit in May. The Commerce Ministry said the new probes are a response to two investigations announced by Trump earlier this month against multiple countries, including China. A ministry statement said the two Chinese investigations were launched to safeguard the interests of relevant Chinese industries and expressed "firm opposition" to the American probes. One will examine U.S. policies that restrict Chinese goods from entering the United States and that limit U.S. export of advanced technology products to China.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Farmers around the world are feeling the squeeze of the Iran war. Gas prices have shot up and fertilizer supplies are waning due to Tehran's near shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli bombing. The fertilizer shortage is putting the livelihood of farmers in developing countries - already troubled by rising temperatures and erratic weather systems - further at risk, and could lead to people everywhere paying more for food. The poorest farmers in the Northern Hemisphere rely on fertilizer imports from the Gulf, and the shortage comes just as planting season begins, said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program.

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) - Mongolia 's Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav resigned Friday after rising tensions within the ruling Mongolian People's Party and a parliamentary boycott by the opposition. The parliament accepted Zandanshatar's resignation. The opposition Democratic Party earlier this month launched a boycott of parliamentary activity, citing concerns over the concentration of power within the ruling party. There have been months of corruption allegations against Justice Minister Enkhbayar Battumur, a close ally of Zandanshatar, who has not been accused. In a statement on social media, Zandanshatar, who had been prime minister since June, said the political infighting would end up harming the economy and lead to rising prices.