Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Morning Edition

BEIJING (AP) - They're at it again. China and Japan - frenemies, trading partners and uneasy neighbors with a tortured, bloody history they still struggle to navigate - are freshly at each other's rhetorical throats as 2026 begins. And it's over the same sticking points that have kept them resentful and suspicious for many decades: Japan's occupation of parts of China in the 20th century, the use of military power in East Asia, economics and politics - and, of course, pride. From insinuations that Chinese citizens face dangers in Japan to outright accusations of resurgent Japanese imperialism, this first week of the year in China has been marked by the communist government scorning Tokyo on multiple fronts and noticeably embracing the visiting leader of another crucial strategic neighbor: South Korea.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a wide-ranging royal commission into antisemitism, weeks after two gunmen opened fire on a Jewish holiday event at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people. The commission will investigate the nature, prevalence and drivers of antisemitism generally as well as the circumstances of the Bondi mass shooting, Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Thursday. It will also make recommendations for law enforcement, strengthening social cohesion and countering the spread of extremism. A royal commission, which is the most powerful form of government-commissioned inquiry that can be held in Australia, has the power to summon witnesses and request documents as evidence.

BANGKOK (AP) - Chen Zhi boasted of pulling in $30 million a day, prosecutors in the United States said - a suspected criminal mastermind and onetime internet cafe manager who authorities say presented himself as a legitimate businessman. But in reality, they say, he ran online gambling sites, scams and other illegal businesses from a sprawling headquarters along the Cambodian coast. On Thursday, Chen was in custody in China, at the center of what authorities at the Chinese Ministry of Public Security said was a "major achievement" in law enforcement cooperation between them and the Cambodian government. The ministry said that Chen was in its custody and that it soon would issue arrest warrants for key players in his network.

TORONTO (AP) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday that he will visit China next week to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping as Canada looks to reduce its reliance on the United States, which has threatened its economy and sovereignty. It is the first visit to China by a Canadian prime minister in more than eight years. Xi invited Carney to China when they met during an Asia-Pacific summit in October. The visit comes as the two countries move to restore stronger ties after years of tensions. "We're forging new partnerships around the world to transform our economy from one that has been reliant on a single trade partner, to one that is stronger and more resilient to global shock," Carney said in a statement on Wednesday.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday he asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to serve as a mediator to help resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis and ease animosities between the two Koreas. Speaking with reporters traveling with him on the Shanghai leg of his China trip, Lee said he made the request when he met Xi for a summit in Beijing on Monday. Lee cited the Chinese president as replying that patience was needed on North Korean issues. "We're making efforts but all our channels (with North Korea) are completely blocked so we can't communicate at all.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A series of mild eruptions at the most active volcano in the Philippines has prompted the evacuation of nearly 3,000 villagers from a danger zone on its foothills, officials said Wednesday. Authorities raised the 5-step alert around Mayon Volcano in the northeastern province of Albay to level 3 on Tuesday after detecting intermittent rockfalls, some as big as cars, from its peak crater in recent days along with deadly pyroclastic flows - a fast-moving avalanche of super-hot rock fragments, ash and gas. Alert level 5 would indicate that a major explosive eruption, often with violent ejections of ash and debris and widespread ashfall, is underway.

NEW YORK (AP) - NASA canceled its first spacewalk of the year and may bring its crew back early from the International Space Station due to an onboard medical issue. The spacewalk was supposed to happen on Thursday, but was postponed because of an unspecified medical concern with an astronaut, who was not identified, the space agency said. NASA said the crew member is now stable, but it's "actively evaluating all options" including an early end to the mission. "Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority," said NASA spokesperson Cheryl Warner in a statement. The U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew of four have been at the orbiting lab since August after launching from Florida.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Mukesh Awasti was all set to leave for Australia to pursue a degree in civil engineering on a sunny day in September, but instead he joined a youth revolt against corruption in Nepal and lost his leg after being shot by security forces. Lying on a hospital bed at the National Trauma Center in the capital Kathmandu where his leg was amputated, 22-year-old Awasti said he regrets giving up so much for the little that has been achieved after the sacrifices of so many people. Violent protests in Kathmandu that began Sept. 8 left 76 people dead and more than 2,300 injured before the demonstrations fueled by "Gen Z" activists forced the appointment on Sept.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Clashes between residents and operators of a gold mining company in northern Afghanistan left four people dead and five others injured, officials said Wednesday. Three residents and one company employee were killed in the violence that occurred Tuesday in the Chah Ab district of Takhar province, Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qane said. He did not specify what triggered the clashes or who owns the company. In a statement, Qane said a company security employee and a resident were arrested in connection with the violence. He said security forces quickly restored order, and the deputy governor of Takhar had also visited the district to assess the situation.

BANGKOK (AP) - Cambodia's government said Wednesday it had arrested and extradited to China a tycoon who has been accused of running a huge online scam operation. Cambodia's Interior Ministry said Prince Holding Group chairman Chen Zhi and two other Chinese citizens were arrested and extradited Tuesday at the request of Chinese authorities. Chen formerly had dual nationality but his Cambodian citizenship was revoked in December, it said. U.S. prosecutors charged Chen in October with conspiracy charges alleging he masterminded a multinational cyberfraud network, used his other businesses to launder its profits and sanctioned violence against workers. Prince had boasted of getting $30 million a day from the scams, according to the indictment.