Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

SEOSAN, South Korea (AP) - A Malta-flagged tanker carrying 1 million barrels of crude oil arrived off South Korea's west coast Friday after passing through the Strait of Hormuz in mid-April, a South Korean refinery said. Like many other Asian nations, South Korea imports much of its crude oil from the Middle East. The latest shipment of 1 million barrels reportedly equals 35-50% of South Korea's daily crude oil consumption. With Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz jolting the world economy and causing a spike in fuel prices, the prolonged Iran war has also raised concerns about a looming energy crisis in South Korea's trade-dependent economy.

CEBU, Philippines (AP) - Southeast Asian leaders adopted a contingency plan Friday to mitigate the impact of the Iran war on their people and economies but acknowledged it will be difficult to enforce complex steps like establishing a regional fuel reserve to ensure a steady supply. The Philippines, among the worst affected by fuel price spikes caused by the Iran war, hosted the group's annual summit on the central island province of Cebu. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the summit stripped of the traditional pomp and pageantry in keeping with the economic headwinds worldwide. ASEAN's contingency plan calls for actions including the ratification possibly this year of an agreement that will pave the way for coordinated emergency fuel sharing, planning a regional power grid and fuel stockpile and diversifying the region's sources of crude oil.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - An explosive eruption Friday of Mount Dukono on the remote Indonesian island Halmahera killed three hikers and injured five who were climbing in a restricted area around the active volcano, authorities said. About 20 climbers had set out Thursday to ascend the nearly 1,355-meter (4,445-foot) volcano in defiance of safety restrictions, said North Halmahera police chief Erlichson Pasaribu. They became stranded when Dukono erupted at 7:41 a.m. local time, spewing a thick ash column that rose about 10 kilometers (6 miles) above the summit. The eruption was recorded on seismographs for more than 16 minutes, Indonesia's Geological Agency said.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea said Friday it will deploy new long-range artillery systems this year that are capable of striking South Korea's capital region and will commission its first naval destroyer in coming weeks. The announcement comes days after South Korea said North Korea's newly revised constitution drops all references to Korean unification, in line with leader Kim Jong Un's vows to terminate ties with South Korea and establish a two-state system on the Korean Peninsula. Kim visited a munitions factory Wednesday to inspect the production of 155-mm self-propelled gun-howitzers to be deployed at an artillery unit in the southern border area within this year, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Paraguay's President Santiago Peña said Friday that his country deeply values its ties with Taiwan, in a show of solidarity with the island democracy a day after Beijing asked the South American nation to sever diplomatic relations with Taipei. Paraguay is the only country in South America to recognize Taiwan and one of just 12 worldwide. Beijing considers Taiwan its own territory and has ramped up a campaign over the past few years to lure Taiwan's diplomatic allies, in addition to increasing military pressure around the island. At a military honors event, Peña said the ceremony symbolizes the unwavering determination between both sides to continuously deepen their ties and partnership, according to an interpreter.

BANGKOK (AP) - Family members and activists have called for the release of imprisoned Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu due to health concerns. Dong, an editor at a major state-owned newspaper, the Guangming Daily, was taken away while meeting a Japanese diplomat for lunch in 2022. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for espionage in 2024. "Yuyu is now effectively facing a death sentence," the family said in a statement Thursday. Dong was hospitalized at a prison-affiliated hospital in the city of Tianjin on April 27, according to his family. Doctors there found heart arrhythmia and a lung tumor his family feared was malignant.

BANGKOK (AP) - Miners in Myanmar have discovered a rare ruby of enormous size, considered to be the second-largest by weight ever found in the conflict-battered Southeast Asian nation, state media reported Friday. The ruby, measuring 11,000 carats (2.2 kilograms, or 4.8 pounds), was unearthed near the town of Mogok, in the upper Mandalay region, the heartland of the lucrative gem-mining industry that has recently experienced intense fighting in the country's wide-ranging civil war. According to a report from the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, the newly found rough ruby was discovered in mid-April, just after the traditional New Year festival.

BEIJING (AP) - The death toll from an explosion at a fireworks plant this week in central China has risen to 37, state media reported Friday. Local authorities said one person remains missing, according to China's official news agency Xinhua. The blast occurred Monday at a fireworks plant in the city of Changsha in Hunan province. Authorities have said they are still investigating the cause and have ordered the halt of all fireworks manufacturing in the surrounding area. Initial reports also said that more than 60 people were injured. State media China Daily said that the plant was operated by the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Co.

Both engines were shut off and there was a cockpit struggle before a China Eastern Airlines jet slammed into a mountain in 2022 and killed all 132 people aboard, newly released data released by American investigators suggests. In response to a public records request, the National Transportation Safety Board released a report recently on what the Boeing 737-800's flight data recorder revealed. The NTSB became involved in the Chinese investigation because the plane and engines were made by American companies and the U.S. investigators are regarded as the world's leading experts on analyzing black boxes after a crash. The report offers the best explanation yet about what caused the crash and confirms news stories at the time suggesting the crew may have played a role after Chinese investigators said they did not immediately find a problem with the plane.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - An unstable ice block dangerously hanging over the key trail on Mount Everest, high travel costs and increased permit fees haven't deterred hundreds of climbers from attempting to scale the world's highest mountain. Around 464 climbers and an equal number of their Nepali climbing guides are at the base camp gearing up for the ascent to the nearly 8,850-meter (around 29,000-foot) high peak this month during the much anticipated window of good weather on the mountain. Climbers began gathering last month at the base camp, which is at an altitude of 5,300 meters (17,340 feet.) But for more than two weeks, a massive and unstable block of ice, or serac, stalled them from moving further up the peak.