Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Morning Edition

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - Violent clashes between protesters and security forces in Pakistan's port city of Karachi and in the country's north on Sunday left at least 22 people dead and more than 120 others injured as pro-Iran demonstrators attempted to storm the U.S. Consulate, authorities said. In the north of the country, demonstrators also attacked U.N. and government offices. The violence came after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Police and officials at a hospital in Karachi said that at least 50 people were also wounded in the clashes and some of them were in critical condition.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghanistan thwarted attempted airstrikes on Bagram Air Base, the former U.S. military base north of Kabul, authorities said Sunday, while cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan stretched into a fourth day. The fighting has been the most severe between the neighbors for years, with Pakistan declaring that it's in "open war" with Afghanistan. The conflict has alarmed the international community, particularly as the area is one where other militant organizations, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, still have a presence and have been trying to resurface. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan's Taliban government of harboring militant groups that stage attacks against it and also of allying with its archrival India.

BANGKOK (AP) - Airstrikes by Myanmar's military on a trading junction in the central Magway region killed more than two dozen people and wounded 20 others, a resistance group and independent online media said Sunday. The attack is the latest in a series of frequent and deadly aerial strikes targeting armed pro-democracy forces and ethnic armed groups in the country. The strikes often cause civilian casualties. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, triggering widespread popular opposition. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict.

Pakistan's defense minister says there is a state of "open war" with Afghanistan. Both countries have a long and complicated history harking back to Pakistan's creation in 1947. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistan is in an "open war" with Afghanistan, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said Friday, with fighting escalating into the most serious armed confrontation between the two uneasy neighbors since a Qatari-mediated ceasefire in October. The two countries share a long, complicated history harking back to Pakistan's creation in 1947. Bound by traditional social, ethnic and economic ties, relations have nonetheless been volatile and have often descended into armed conflict. Over the last few months, the two have occasionally skirmished along their winding, porous frontier as tension has escalated. The latest confrontation is by far the most serious.

BEIJING (AP) - China's legislature has dismissed 19 members, including nine who are military officers, one week ahead of the start of its annual meeting. The late Thursday announcement did not say why the deputies had been removed, but such removals are generally tied to corruption investigations. An anti-corruption campaign launched by Chinese leader Xi Jinping shows no sign of letting up after more than a decade. The military has been targeted in recent years, including the removal of its top general last month, as Xi seeks to reform and modernize the armed forces. Analysts say the campaign is also a way for Xi, who is in his 14th year in power, to remove potential rivals and ensure loyalty among his subordinates.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gifted new sniper rifles to top government and military officials following a weeklong ruling party congress celebrating his leadership, with state media highlighting an image of his teenage daughter taking aim at a shooting range as her increasingly prominent appearances fuel speculation Kim is grooming her as a future leader. Kim presented the rifles to senior party and military officials on Friday, calling them a sign of his "absolute trust" and gratitude for their commitment over the past five years since the last Workers' Party congress in 2021, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - A new penal code issued by decree in Afghanistan sets harsher punishments for the mistreatment of animals than for domestic violence against women and solidifies into law inequality based on gender and social status. The decree, which was signed by Afghanistan's Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada in January, "defines several crimes and punishments that contravene Afghanistan's international legal obligations," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said Thursday in remarks to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. He urged Afghan authorities to rescind the decree. Comprised of 119 articles, the 60-page Decree No. 12 lays out penalties for women who visit their relatives without their husband's permission, and allows husbands and the heads of households to determine and mete out punishment in their own homes.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - A former rapper who ran Kathmandu as a mayor. The young leader of Nepal's oldest political party. And a communist veteran politician hoping to return to power after being ousted in youth-led protests in which dozens were killed last year. They are the three leading contenders as Nepal heads into a crucial nationwide election, the first since the protests led to the fall of former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli's government in September. Whoever prevails will become Nepal's 16th prime minister in less than two decades, underscoring the recurring political instability that has marked the Himalayan nation since the monarchy was abolished in 2008.

NEW DELHI (AP) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Mumbai on Friday for his first official visit to India, seeking to reset relations and deepen trade cooperation with New Delhi after ties deteriorated in recent years under his predecessor. During his four-day trip, Carney is set to hold talks with business leaders and will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday. India's foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday that the meeting between the two leaders would offer an opportunity to reaffirm "the positive momentum and shared vision" for a forward-looking partnership. Talks between Modi and Carney are expected to cover cooperation in trade and investment, energy, critical minerals and technology, the ministry said.