Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Morning Edition

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday that it believes the teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is close to being designated as the country's future leader as he moves to extend the family dynasty to a fourth generation. The assessment by the National Intelligence Service comes as North Korea is preparing to hold its biggest political conference later this month, where Kim is expected to outline his major policy goals for the next five years and take steps to tighten his authoritarian grip. In a closed-door briefing, NIS officials said they are closely monitoring whether Kim's daughter - believed to be named Kim Ju Ae and around 13 years old - appears with him before thousands of delegates at the upcoming Workers' Party Congress, said lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the meeting.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Bangladesh on Thursday held its first election since the 2024 mass protests toppled Sheikh Hasina's government. The balloting was mostly peaceful in a vote seen as a critical test of the country's democracy after years of political turmoil. A projection showed that an alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, took the lead with 85 seats, while its main challenger, an 11-party alliance led by the Jamaat-e-Islami party, garnered 26 seats, according to Dhaka-based Jamuna TV. Official results were expected on Friday. Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy in which 300 lawmakers are elected through direct voting.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Bangladesh is holding a parliamentary election that could reshape the country after years of political instability. It's the first election since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by deadly protests in 2024, and a clear outcome is vital for stable governance. Here are some facts and figures about Thursday's election: More than 127 million people are eligible to vote in the nation of some 170 million people. There are 2,028 candidates contesting parliamentary seats nationwide. The electorate includes about 64.8 million male voters, 62.9 million female voters, and 1,234 transgender voters, according to official data. Young people were key participants in the 2024 uprising and are expected to be influential in the election: Some 5 million first-time voters are eligible.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Bangladesh has held its first election since the 2024 Gen Z uprising that ousted Sheikh Hasina's government. The balloting on Thursday was mostly peaceful in a vote seen as a critical test of the country's democracy after years of political turmoil. The results are expected on Friday. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

HONG KONG (AP) - Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings warned of legal action on Thursday against a Danish logistics and ports group, after the latter was tapped by Panamanian authorities to temporarily take over the operation of two critical ports at both ends of the Panama Canal from the Hong Kong conglomerate. Panama's Supreme Court ruled in late January that the concession held by a subsidiary of CK Hutchison to operate the two ports on the Panama Canal was unconstitutional. A subsidiary of Denmark-based A.P. Moller-Maersk would be operating the ports in a transitional phase, Panamanian authorities said earlier, until a new concession can be bid and awarded.

NEW DELHI (AP) - A coalition of major trade unions and farmers' groups in India mounted a nationwide strike Thursday to protest an interim trade deal with the United States, saying the agreement undermines the interests of farmers, small businesses and workers. In parliament, lawmakers from opposition political parties demanded that the government scrap the trade deal and criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the slogan "Narendra Modi, surrender Modi." The one-day strike partially disrupted public services and manufacturing activities, highlighting resistance to the reform agenda set by Modi, leader of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, and underscoring the political risks of pushing market-oriented policies before key state elections later this year.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Israeli President Isaac Herzog ended a contentious four-day visit to Australia on Thursday that brought comfort to Sydney's Jewish community traumatized by a recent antisemitic mass shooting, but also attracted large-scale demonstrations protesting the civilian toll of the Gaza war. Herzog has been dogged by protesters who label him a war criminal as he visited Sydney, the national capital Canberra and Melbourne in the first Australian visit by an Israeli head of state in six years. Authorities estimated 10,000 protesters shut down several downtown Melbourne streets with a rally Thursday evening as Herzog left the country. The largest protest of his visit was mostly peaceful, with only a single demonstrator facing a charge of assaulting a police officer, a police statement said.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - When the white supremacist who committed New Zealand's deadliest mass shooting pleaded guilty six years ago, it was a relief for his victims and a justice system bracing for a high-profile trial that many feared could provide a platform for his racist views. Many New Zealanders were determined to forget the face and name of Brenton Tarrant, who murdered 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch in 2019. But he returned to national headlines this week with a bid in New Zealand's Court of Appeal to recant his guilty pleas. In the aftermath of Tarrant's hate-fueled massacre, New Zealand sought to curb his influence by banning his racist manifesto and a video of the slaughter that he livestreamed on Facebook in an apparent attempt to perform the hateful crime for an online audience.

NEW DELHI (AP) - An Indian government panel Thursday gave its preliminary approval for the purchase of additional Rafale fighter jets and maritime patrol aircraft in deals valued at billions of dollars, India's defense ministry said. The purchases are part of a deal approved for a basket of defense products worth 3.6 trillion rupees ($39.74 billion). Maintaining air power is a strategic priority for India, which faces persistent security challenges along its borders with nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and China. The ministry didn't provide a breakdown of the number of Rafales or P-8I aircraft to be purchased, nor the cost. However, an Indian official with direct knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press that the Defence Acquisition Council headed by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh cleared what is called in India "an acceptance of necessity" for acquisition of 114 Rafale multi-role fighter jets from France and six P-8I maritime surveillance aircrafts from the U.S.

BANGKOK (AP) - One recent night, Youga was grateful when he finally slept in a bed, even though it had neither pillow nor blanket. For two days, the African man said, he slept on the street after he reached Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, following his escape from a scam compound in O'Smach, which borders Thailand in the north. He had only $100 left to his name and wanted to save the money. So the Caritas shelter took him in. The shelter, the only one of its kind that helps victims escaping from scam compounds, was funded previously by the United States.