Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Morning Edition

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the situation in Iran in a wide-ranging call as the U.S. administration pushes Beijing and others to further isolate Tehran. Trump said the two leaders also discussed a broad range of other critical issues in the U.S.-China relationship, including trade and Taiwan and his plans to visit Beijing in April. "The relationship with China, and my personal relationship with President Xi, is an extremely good one, and we both realize how important it is to keep it that way," Trump said in a social media posting about the call.

MOSCOW (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a video call Wednesday to discuss the burgeoning economic cooperation between Moscow and Beijing and their relations with the United States. The Kremlin leader accepted an invitation to visit China twice this year. The call came amid a series of meetings between Xi and Western leaders who have sought to boost ties with China despite differences over the conflict in Ukraine. European leaders have pressed China for years to end its support for Russia even as Beijing has become the No. 1 trading partner for Moscow, which seeks relief from Western economic sanctions.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Taiwan's ties with the United States are "rock solid," the island's president said Thursday, hours after President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on the phone about topics that included the self-ruled island's future. "The Taiwan-U.S. relationship is rock solid, and all cooperation projects will continue uninterrupted," Taiwan President Lai Ching-te told reporters during a visit to textile merchants in western Taiwan. The comments came after Xi, in his first call with Trump since November, warned the U.S. president to be "prudent" about supplying arms to the self-ruled island, according to a readout of their call provided by China's Foreign Ministry.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia has announced an immediate and full ban on the importation of electronic waste, as the government vowed the country would not be a "dumping ground" for the world's waste. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said in a statement late Wednesday that all electronic waste, commonly known as e-waste, would be reclassified under the "absolute prohibition" category effective immediately. This removes the discretionary power previously given to the Department of Environment to grant exemptions for importation of certain e-waste. "E-waste is no longer permitted," MACC chief Azam Baki said in the statement, vowing "firm and integrated enforcement action" to prevent illegal imports.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it wants to create a critical minerals trading bloc with its allies and partners, using tariffs to maintain minimum prices and defend against China's stranglehold on the key elements needed for everything from fighter jets to smartphones. Vice President JD Vance said the U.S.-China trade war over the past year exposed how dependent most countries are on the critical minerals that Beijing largely dominates, so collective action is needed now to give the West self-reliance. "We want members to form a trading bloc among allies and partners, one that guarantees American access to American industrial might while also expanding production across the entire zone," Vance said at the opening of a meeting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted with officials from several dozen European, Asian and African nations.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker, was accused in December by several Muslim colleagues of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. The accusations drew a violent mob to his workplace. He was beaten to death, his body hung from a tree and set on fire. Across Bangladesh, Hindus watched the recorded images on their phones with dread. Protests erupted in Dhaka and other cities, with demonstrators demanding justice and greater protections. The interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, ordered an investigation, and police said that about a dozen people were arrested. But human rights groups and Hindu leaders say the killing wasn't an isolated act, but part of a wider surge in attacks on the minority community, fueled by rising polarization, the reemergence of Islamists and what they describe as a growing culture of impunity.

HONG KONG (AP) - Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings said Wednesday its subsidiary has started arbitration proceedings against Panama, after that country's Supreme Court ruled a concession for the subsidiary to operate Panama Canal ports was unconstitutional. The company said it strongly disagreed with last week's ruling, and China warned Panama would pay "a heavy price" if it persisted. Panama has said the two ports at each end of the canal - a critical passage for global trade that links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans - would operate without interruption after the ruling, which was seen by some as a win for the U.S.

BANGKOK (AP) - Myanmar's military-backed party emerged the winner of an election, final official figures showed Wednesday, as the country's army chief signed a law authorizing a new consultative body that could allow him to retain influence without formally leading the new government. The victory of the Union Solidarity and Development Party, or USDP, led by former generals, was widely expected after the vote excluded major opposition parties and sharply restricted dissent. The constitution guarantees 25% of parliamentary seats for the military, effectively ensuring control by the armed forces and allied parties. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military government, was widely expected to assume the presidency when the new Parliament convenes.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A truck veered off a downhill mountain road and plunged into a ravine in the central Philippines, killing nine workers on board, police said. The workers were traveling back to their office after delivering crude oil and other supplies in a farming village in Bayawan city in Negros Oriental province when their truck overshot the road and fell into a 30-meter- (98-foot-) deep ravine, police said. It was loaded with five drums of crude oil. The cause of the accident, which happened shortly before noon in good weather, was not immediately clear. The workers died while being brought to a hospital, provincial police chief Col.

ISLAMABAD (AP) - The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned the latest surge in militant attacks in southwestern Pakistan that has killed dozens of people, mostly civilians, as security forces on Wednesday pressed their operations in the insurgency-hit region. The authorities said scores of militants have been killed in recent days as Pakistani forces crack down on the insurgents in the volatile Balochistan province, where about a dozen coordinated attacks began on Saturday, targeting civilians and buildings housing police and security personnel. Federal and provincial officials said at least 36 civilians and 17 members of the security forces have been killed. Security forces so far killed 197 militants from the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, which has claimed responsibility for recent suicide bombings and gun attacks.