Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Morning Edition

NEW DELHI (AP) - Indian lawmakers from the ruling coalition praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday for striking a deal with the U.S. that seeks to reduce tariffs on Indian goods, while the opposition raised questions on the impact on sensitive sectors such as agriculture. President Donald Trump on Monday announced he plans to reduce import tariff on India, six months after imposing steep taxes to punish New Delhi for its unabated purchase of Russian oil that he claimed helped fuel Moscow's war machine against Ukraine. In a social media post, Trump said Modi has agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil, though the Indian government remained tight-lipped if this was the case.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - A year after Vietnam elevated its relations with Washington to the highest diplomatic level, an internal document shows its military was taking steps to prepare for a possible American "war of aggression" and considered the United States a "belligerent" power, according to a report released Tuesday. More than just exposing Hanoi's duality in approach toward the U.S., the document confirms a deep-seated fear of external forces fomenting an uprising against the Communist leadership in a so-called "color revolution," like the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, or the 1986 Yellow Revolution in the Philippines. Other internal documents that The 88 Project, a human rights organization focused on human rights abuses in Vietnam, cited in its analysis point to similar concerns over U.S.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - A 13-year-old boy is credited with saving the lives of his mother and two younger siblings with an hourslong swim after the family was swept out to sea off the Australian coast. Austin Appelbee swam 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to shore to raise the alarm after he got into difficulties on Friday with his mother Joanne Appelbee, 47, brother Beau, 12, and sister Grace, 8, police said. Austin said he initially set off for help on an inflatable kayak that was taking water. He abandoned the kayak then took off his life jacket because it impeded his swimming.

HAKONE, Japan (AP) - Scores gathered at a shrine in Japan's Hakone to try and catch "lucky beans," hoping to ward off evil spirits as they celebrate the last day of winter in the Japanese lunar calendar. Setsubun is also known as "mame-maki," or bean-throwing. It falls around Feb. 3, on the eve of Risshun, marking the beginning of spring in Japan. Long before modern calendars, the change of seasons was viewed as a vulnerable moment when illness and misfortune could enter lives. Setsubun was meant to contain that instability; people throw the same lucky beans at representations of demons to bring the loathed creatures misfortune.

BEIJING (AP) - Even as China's expansion of solar and wind power raced ahead in 2025, the Asian giant opened many more coal power plants than it had in recent years - raising concern about whether the world's largest emitter will reduce carbon emissions enough to limit climate change. More than 50 large coal units - individual boiler and turbine sets with generating capacity of 1 gigawatt or more - were commissioned in 2025, up from fewer than 20 a year over the previous decade, a research report released Tuesday said. Depending on energy use, 1 gigawatt can power from several hundred thousand to more than 2 million homes.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Australia's central bank lifted its benchmark interest rate Tuesday by a quarter percentage point to 3.85%, after three rate cuts last year and as inflation surges. The Reserve Bank of Australia has boosted its cash rate for the first time since November 2023, when the rate rose from 4.10% to 4.35%. The rate hike was widely expected after government data last week showed that inflation had run away to 3.8% for the 12 months through December. The annual rate had been 3.4% through November. The bank adjusts interest rates to steer inflation toward a target band of between 2% and 3%.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump said Monday that he plans to lower tariffs on goods from India to 18%, from 25%, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil. The move comes after months of Trump pressing India to cut its reliance on cheap Russian crude. India has taken advantage of reduced Russian oil prices as much of the world has sought to isolate Moscow for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Trump said that India would also start to reduce its import taxes on U.S. goods to zero and buy $500 billion worth of American products.

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistani security forces killed about two dozen militants overnight in multiple raids in the insurgency-hit southwest bordering Afghanistan, raising the militant death toll to 177 in the past 48 hours, officials said Monday. The announcement follows a wave of coordinated insurgent attacks that killed 50 people, mostly civilians, including women and children. Police backed by the military have been conducting raids in several areas against members of the outlawed separatist Baloch Liberation Army since early Saturday, after nearly 200 militants in small groups carried out simultaneous suicide bombings and gun attacks on police stations, civilian homes and security facilities across Balochistan province.

HONG KONG (AP) - China has been flooding Latin American markets with low-priced exports, especially autos and e-commerce goods, as its exporters adjust to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and geopolitical moves. The world's second-largest economy has become a major trading partner for many Latin American nations, seeking access to their abundant natural resources and growing markets while expanding its influence in a region Trump views as America's Backyard. Chinese businesses face slow demand at home. They need new markets for their products as the country ramps up production in many industries. Exports to Latin America, a market of more than 600 million people, and other regions have climbed while exports to the U.S.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Authorities in Nepal have arrested six travel and mountain rescue executives accused of conducting fake rescues on the Himalayan nation's high mountains to scam millions of dollars from international insurance companies, officials said Monday. Nepal's Central Investigation Bureau arrested six people from three different travel and mountain rescue operators last week, accusing them of submitting fake claims for close to $20 million between 2022 and 2025 and receiving the money in their accounts. All six are Nepali nationals. Bureau spokesperson Shiva Kumar Shrestha said Monday that authorities are still investigating. Fake documents including passenger and cargo manifests for helicopter rescue flights, medical invoices and hospital reports were sent to insurance companies, the bureau said.