Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

BEIJING (AP) - As President Donald Trump wraps up his whirlwind visit to China on Friday, he's insistent that relations between the world's two biggest powers are good and getting better despite deep differences on Iran, Taiwan and more. Trump started his last day in Beijing by boasting on social media that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had "congratulated me on so many tremendous successes" and had been referring only to his predecessor, former U.S. President Joe Biden, when he "very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation." Xi then welcomed Trump at his official residence, Zhongnanhai, on Friday for the final talks of the summit.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - At a monastery in the Himalayan foothills, a teenage Buddhist lama blesses thousands. One by one, he taps bowed heads with a ritual vase and a peacock feather, sprinkling holy water for protection, purification, wisdom. He stops to smile at children who eye him with curiosity, reverence and awe. He tries to keep pace with others who, like him, are among the few chosen to give the final blessing. Just six months earlier, thousands of miles away, this same young man was pulling all-nighters to play Madden NFL on his Xbox at his home near Minneapolis. Sometimes he'd pause to snack on pizza rolls and Diet Coke, or check his texts for the next hangout at TopGolf or Buffalo Wild Wings.

A teenage Buddhist lama recently blessed thousands at a monastery in the Himalayan foothills. Just six months earlier and half a world away, he was pulling all-nighters to play Madden NFL on his Xbox at his home in a Minneapolis suburb. Both are home to Jalue Dorje. Dorje grew up a typical American teen, loving rap music, video games and football. He's also an aspiring spiritual leader - recognized from an early age by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnated lama. The Associated Press began following his story several years ago when he was 14. Now he's 19. He graduated from high school last year and moved to northern India to join the Mindrolling Monastery, about 7,200 miles (11,500 kilometers) from his home in Columbia Heights.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A Philippine senator wanted by the International Criminal Court for an alleged crime against humanity has fled from the Senate, where he sought refuge to evade arrest, officials said Thursday. Sen. Ronald dela Rosa 's exit from the heavily guarded Senate came after volleys of gunshots were fired Wednesday night by the building's security personnel during an argument with government agents positioned in an adjacent building, sparking chaos that apparently helped the senator to slip out. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made a late-night TV statement to ask the public to remain calm. A police investigation was underway, including into suspicions that the incident was instigated to provide dela Rosa a cover to escape.

BENGALURU, India (AP) - Taxi driver Ravi Ranjan, who lives with his wife and child in New Delhi said shipping disruptions caused by the Iran war have forced him to pay higher prices for cooking fuel at a time when India's prime minister is also urging residents to reduce driving and travel. It's all hitting Ranjan's bottom line, he said, as he's paying three times as much for liquid petroleum gas after facing delays on delivery of the cooking fuel. "I used to get a cylinder of LPG for 1,000 rupees ($11), now I pay 3,000 rupees ($31) in the black market," he said.

NEW DELHI (AP) - Foreign ministers from the BRICS nations began a two-day meeting in New Delhi on Thursday as the expanding bloc faces divisions over the war in Iran, rising energy prices and growing global economic uncertainty. The meeting brings together diplomats from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa along with newer member countries. It comes as the war in Iran has disrupted global energy supplies and driven up oil prices and coincides with U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov are attending.

The United Nations and rights groups say Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have detained at least three journalists on undisclosed charges in recent days. The U.N. mission in Afghanistan expressed "serious concern" Thursday over the detentions, as well as over "reports of assaults against journalists and confiscation of property during search operations by the de facto authorities." Since the Taliban seized power in 2021, Afghanistan ranks among the worst countries in the world in terms of press freedom, with the 2026 index from Reporters without Borders ranking it 175 out of 180. "A free, independent, and safe press is essential for transparency, accountability, and the well-being of Afghan society," the U.N.

LUCKNOW, India (AP) - Dust storms, heavy rain, and lightning damaged homes and other structures and killed at least 96 people in northern India, officials said Thursday. The storms also injured more than 50 people as they swept across several districts late Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. Officials said some deaths were caused by falling trees, collapsing structures and lightning. Police and disaster response teams used chainsaws and cranes to clear fallen trees from roads and railway tracks in several districts. Storms are common in northern India during the hot season from March to June, before the annual monsoon rains arrive.

HONG KONG (AP) - China on Thursday stepped up its tough stance on Taiwan, an island democracy it deems its territory, warning the United States that Beijing and Washington will "have clashes and even conflicts" if the issue is not handled properly. China's President Xi Jinping stressed during his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump that the " Taiwan question " is the most important issue in ties between Beijing and Washington, according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry. "'Taiwan independence' and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water," Xi told Trump, according to the statement. Xi's stern tone reflected China's growing pressure on the U.S., Taiwan's largest unofficial ally.