Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

BANGKOK (AP) - Asian countries are turning to coal as the Iran war disrupts oil and gas shipments. The continent is exposed because it relies on imported fuel, much of it passing through the Strait of Hormuz - a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and natural gas trade. LNG is a natural gas cooled to liquid form for easy storage and transport. It has been promoted as a bridge fuel in the shift from oil and coal to cleaner energy sources. The U.S. has sought to expand exports of LNG across Asia. It burns cleaner than coal, but still emits climate change -causing gases, especially methane.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghanistan's Taliban authorities on Tuesday released American academic Dennis Coyle after holding him for over a year, with the Foreign Ministry saying the release came on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. A statement from the ministry said the academic researcher had been released in Kabul, the country's capital, following an appeal from his family and after Afghanistan's Supreme Court "considered his previous imprisonment sufficient." Coyle was detained in January 2025. Afghan authorities accused him of violating laws, but never specified which ones. U.S.

BANGKOK (AP) - A Thai court on Tuesday ruled that the operator of a major gold mine in northern Thailand is responsible for environmental damage and health impacts on nearby villagers, in a long-awaited verdict that could set a precedent for climate litigation in the country. The case stems from a 2016 class action lawsuit filed by hundreds of villagers in Phichit province, who accused the Australian-owned Chatree Gold Mine of causing toxic contamination through its operations. The Bangkok Civil Court found the company liable and ordered compensation for affected residents. The ruling could shape whether communities view the courts as "a pathway or a dead end," said Emilie Palamy Pradichit of the Bangkok-based human rights group Manushya Foundation that has been supporting the villagers in the lawsuit.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - The European Union and Australia on Tuesday agreed on the final text of a free trade agreement, some two years after negotiations broke down over Australian demands for more red meat market access and complaints about Australian products labeled with traditionally European names such as prosecco. The breakthrough comes as both the EU and Australia seek to diversify their trading networks and reduce their economic reliance on China and exposure to uncertain U.S. tariffs. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed the agreement at the Australian Parliament House after protracted negotiations that began in 2018.

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia (AP) - It's been three months since a ceasefire ended bitter border fighting between Cambodia and Thailand, but signs of combat are cut deep in this 11th-century Hindu temple atop a 525-meter (1,722-foot) cliff in the Dangrek Mountains. The neighboring Southeast Asian countries have been fighting over Preah Vihear temple on and off for decades, and that's putting the ancient holy site in danger. Built by the same Khmer Empire that constructed Angkor Wat 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest, the temple, which is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008 and is held as an important cultural relic by Cambodians.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday declared a state of national energy emergency to respond to the impact of the Middle East war, which his administration said posed "an imminent danger of a critically low energy supply." Under the declaration, which will initially last for a year, Marcos will lead a contingency committee that will ensure the availability and orderly distribution of fuel, food, medicines, agricultural products and other basic goods. Authorities were ordered to take action against the hoarding, profiteering and manipulation of the supply of petroleum products. The Department of Migrant Workers, meanwhile, was asked to brace for the possible rescue and evacuation of Filipinos in the Middle East.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - A strong preliminary magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, prompting coastal evacuations but no wider tsunami warnings. The United States Geological Survey said the quake struck early Tuesday evening local time at a depth of about 237 km (148 miles). Earthquakes at shallower depths are felt more strongly at the surface. The jolt was centered at sea, 153 km (95 miles) west of Neiafu, the second largest town in the island nation. There were no immediate reports of damage. Tonga's National Disaster Risk Management Office warned all in the low-lying island nation to move immediately to higher ground or inland.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Vietnam and Russia signed a deal to build a nuclear power plant in Vietnam as the Southeast Asian country revives its nuclear plans with hopes of boosting energy security while curbing greenhouse gas emissions. The deal for the Ninh Thuan 1 plant, reported by Vietnamese state media, comes after two similar projects were shelved in 2016 over rising costs and safety issues. The agreement was signed Monday during Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính's visit to Moscow, where he met his Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin. The two countries described the plant as a "symbolic project" of their friendship, according to Vietnam's official government newspaper.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to irreversibly cement his country's status as a nuclear power while maintaining a hard-line stance toward South Korea, which he called the "most hostile" state, state media said Tuesday. In a speech Monday to Pyongyang's rubber-stamp parliament, Kim accused the United States of global "state terrorism and aggression," in an apparent reference to the war in the Middle East, and said the North will play a more forceful role in a united front against Washington amid rising anti-American sentiment. But Kim didn't call out U.S. President Donald Trump by name and said whether his adversaries "choose confrontation or peaceful coexistence is up to them, and we are prepared to respond to any choice."

TOKYO (AP) - China says it has protested to Japan over an alleged break-in at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo. An individual who claimed to be a Japan Self-Defense Forces officer scaled the wall and forced his way into the embassy compound on Tuesday morning, Lin Jian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in a news conference in Beijing. Tensions between the two Asian nations have escalated in recent months after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in November a Chinese miltray action against Taiwan could constitute "a survival-threatening situation" for Japan requiring the use of force. Beijing, which regards the self-governing island as part of its territory, has since stepped up diplomatic and trade reprisals against Japan.