Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Morning Edition

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Bangladesh's election Thursday is the country's most consequential. It follows youth-led protests 18 months ago that overthrew the government of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and ushered Bangladesh into an interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. The vote, alongside a constitutional referendum on political reforms, will end the transition period and test the South Asian nation's democracy. Many voters hope the return to elections will restore law and order, protect civil liberties and bring accountable leadership. But there is also unease. Some fear political instability, the marginalization of women and minorities, and the rise of Islamists in a secular country.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Manila's top envoy to Washington expressed confidence Tuesday that the United States will not abandon the Philippines as it fights Beijing's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea - even as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping seek more direct talks to resolve differences. Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez welcomed renewed talks between the U.S. and Chinese leaders, and said Manila should also try to "fine-tune" its relations with Beijing to allow for more trade engagement. He said, however, that the Philippines will remain steadfast in defending its territorial interests in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety.

HONG KONG (AP) - When Hong Kong was hit by its deadliest fire in decades last November, it left thousands of residents without some of their friends, family or the place they called home. Months later, the former occupants of the Wang Fuk Court - now a largely burnt-out apartment complex in the suburban district of Tai Po - are waiting not just for answers about what happened, but also a new place to live. They are in temporary housing and authorities have yet to unveil plans for long-term resettlement after carrying out a survey of their preferences. Also, the government has offered rental grants to help homeowners pay for the short-term homes.

BEIJING (AP) - Liu Zhiquan was waiting for a 30-plus hour train journey to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, some 1,242 miles (2,000 kilometers) from Beijing, where he works in construction. He's one of the hundreds of millions expected to travel to their hometowns as part of the world's largest movement of humanity, or "chunyun" as it's called in China, ahead of the Lunar New Year on Feb. 17. "Things feel worse this year than last. The economy is bad and it's getting harder to make money," he said. Liu chose a slower train to save money: a high-speed train would take just nine hours but costs more than twice as much.

HONG KONG (AP) - In China, consumerism appears to outweigh nationalism regardless of how testy relations have become in recent diplomatic spats with countries like Japan and the United States. It has been common practice for the ruling Communist Party to whip up nationalist sentiment and deploy propaganda condemning countries deemed to be violating China's stance on territorial issues as Taiwan and Tibet. At times, Beijing targets companies that make ideological missteps in their maps or advertising. In the past, friction with Japan and the United States has led to calls for mass boycotts, protests in the streets or even vandalism on embassies or restaurants.

HONG KONG (AP) - Nearly five years after Hong Kong's pro-democracy Apple Daily shut down, its founder, Jimmy Lai, jailed, the newspaper's former staff and readers are lamenting the loss of the city's press freedoms. Lai, 78, was sentenced Monday under a Beijing-imposed national security law to 20 years in prison, the longest such sentence so far. His co-defendants, six other former Apple Daily journalists, received jail terms ranging between six years and nine months and 10 years. Officials in both Hong Kong and Beijing defended the case against Lai, with the city's leader John Lee accusing the newspaper of inciting violence and poisoning young minds.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea plans to increase medical school admissions by more than 3,340 students from 2027 to 2031 to address concerns about physician shortages in one of the fastest-aging countries in the world, the government said Tuesday. The decision was announced months after officials defused a prolonged doctors' strike by backing away from a more ambitious increase pursued by Seoul's former conservative government. Even the scaled-down plan drew criticism from the country's doctors' lobby, which said the move was "devoid of rational judgment." Kwak Soon-hun, a senior Health Ministry official, said that the president of the Korean Medical Association attended the health care policy meeting but left early to boycott the vote confirming the size of the admission increases.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - The self-professed white supremacist who murdered 51 Muslims in New Zealand's deadliest mass shooting was pleased to be charged with terrorism and wanted to be described as a terrorist, his former lawyer told a court deciding if the man was in a fit state to admit to his crimes. Brenton Tarrant, 35, was sentenced to life in prison without a chance of parole after pleading guilty to terrorism, murder and attempted murder for his hate-fueled massacre of worshippers including children at two Christchurch mosques during Friday prayers in 2019. The Australian man is now seeking to recant the admissions he made in 2020, saying solitary confinement and other prison conditions made him irrational and mentally unwell.

TOKYO (AP) - Honda reported Tuesday a 42% drop in profit for the nine months through December, compared to a year earlier, as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs hurt the Japanese automaker's earnings. Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co.'s profit over the three quarters totaled 465.4 billion yen ($3 billion), down from 805.2 billion yen. That marked the second straight year that profit declined during the period at Honda, the maker of the Accord sedan, Civic compact and Odyssey minivan. Sales for the three quarters dipped 2.2% to 15.98 trillion yen ($102.6 billion) from the previous year. Honda stuck to its full fiscal year profit forecast at 300 billion yen ($1.9 billion).

TOKYO (AP) - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's big election win paves the way for her ruling party to dominate the crucial lower house of parliament. It also gives her the political power to make a strong rightward shift in Japan's security, immigration and social policies. Here's what to know about that divisive conservative agenda, which she calls necessary to make Japan "strong and prosperous." Takaichi has pledged to revise security and defense policies by December to bolster Japan's military capabilities, lifting a ban on weapons exports and moving further away from postwar pacifist principles. Takaichi wants to build up intelligence-gathering to work more closely with ally Washington and defense partners such as Australia and Britain.