Top Asian News 6:16 p.m. GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) - A 15-second video put Pakistan's powerful army chief back in the global spotlight. Posted by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the video shows Field Marshal Asim Munir descending from a plane in military uniform and receiving a fraternal hug from him. The Pakistani official traveled to the epicenter of the conflict to try to ease tensions and arrange a second round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington. Pakistan has been acting as the main mediator between Iran and the United States, and much of the attention has been on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, in part because they have been tweeting and issuing press releases about their efforts.

NEW DELHI (AP) - India's Parliament opened debate Thursday on a landmark bill to reserve one-third of legislative seats for women, which could set off a sweeping redrawing of voting boundaries that could sharpen political tensions nationwide. If passed, the bill would fast-track a 2023 law mandating 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures. It would be one of the most consequential shifts in political representation since India's independence and potentially widen female participation in a system where women remain underrepresented. The quota, however, is linked to a controversial separate bill to change voting boundaries, a process that could increase the number of seats in the lower house from 543 to about 850.

BEIJING (AP) - A court in Kazakhstan convicted 19 activists after a protest against Beijing's crackdown in China's far-western Xinjiang region last year, in what experts and advocates said was the largest move yet by the Kazakh government to silence criticism at Beijing's behest. The activists, all of whom were Kazakh nationals, protested near the border with China in November, burning Chinese flags and portraits of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and calling for the release of a Kazakh citizen detained in Xinjiang last year. Eleven activists were sentenced to five years in prison for "inciting discord," while the other eight were given restrictions on their movement.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday night that a key suspect in a corruption scandal that has sparked public outrage in the Philippines has been arrested in the Czech Republic and that efforts were underway to repatriate the former lawmaker. Zaldy Co, who resigned from the House of Representatives in September after being implicated in financial anomalies involving flood control projects, was detained by authorities in Prague after crossing into the Central European country without proper documentation, Marcos said without elaborating. "We are in close coordination with the Czech government to ensure that all legal processes are followed and to arrange for his return to the Philippines at the soonest possible time," Marcos said in a statement.

HONG KONG (AP) - China's economy accelerated in the first quarter of this year, expanding 5% from a year earlier as it largely shrugged off impacts from the Iran war so far, according to data released Thursday. The January-March data released by the government, covering a period during which the Iran war began, was better than what economists expected and was up from the 4.5% growth seen in the October-December quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, China's economy grew 1.3% in the first three months from the final quarter of last year, the fastest pace in a year. Economists expect China, the world's second largest economy, to be able to weather short-term impacts from the Iran war, now in its seventh week.

TOKYO (AP) - The Chinese Embassy in Japan said Thursday it has received multiple threats and accused Japanese authorities of failing to take effective measures despite its repeated reporting to police, as tensions between the two sides rise. Shi Yong, acting Chinese ambassador to Japan, said the embassy on March 5 received a letter from a group claiming to comprise former police and military members and threatening attacks on China's diplomatic missions in Japan and "wiping out all Chinese" in the country. The embassy said on X that it immediately reported to Japanese police and criticized they did not take the matter seriously, implement effective steps or establish the facts.

BANGKOK (AP) - Have you "become Chinese"? In recent months, 20-somethings around the world have taken over social media with posts enthusing about how they're embracing Chinese ways of life. Videos proclaiming users are "Chinamaxxing," or "in a very Chinese time of their lives" - namely by drinking hot water with boiled goji berries, eating dumplings or wearing slippers in the house, or flying to China and gushing about its modern infrastructure - are racking up millions of views. Along with its economic and geopolitical rise, China's government has tried for years to push its soft power on the global stage.

NEW YORK (AP) - Chinese authorities are increasing pressure on underground Catholic communities to join the state-controlled official church while tightening surveillance and travel restrictions on all of China's estimated 12 million Catholics, a rights group said Wednesday. The detailed report from Human Rights Watch said the heightened pressure was part of a decade-old campaign to ensure that religious denominations and independent churches are loyal to the officially atheist Communist Party, a claim the Chinese government rejected, saying the group is "consistently biased against China." China's Catholics have been divided between an official, state-controlled church that didn't recognize papal authority and an underground church that remained loyal to Rome through decades of persecution.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesia is reviewing a U.S. proposal on overflight access to its airspace, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. The proposal surfaced in local media after Indonesia and the U.S established the Major Defense Cooperation Partnership, which was announced by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday at the Pentagon. "It is still under internal consideration by the government and the regulatory mechanism continues to be examined carefully. And of course taking into account ... Indonesia's national interests, airspace sovereignty and our independent and active foreign policy," Yvonne Mewengkang, spokesperson for Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters. The Indonesian Defense Ministry this week confirmed the U.S.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - The Iran war had greatly complicated the global strategic landscape, Defense Minister Richard Marles said Thursday as he announced a major increase in Australian military spending. Marles released the latest two-year update of Australia's defense strategy and said an additional 53 billion Australian dollars ($38 billion) in spending on defense was planned over the next decade. Australia's defense budget would grow from 2.8% of GDP this year to 3% by 2033 as "Australia faces its most complex and threatening strategic circumstances since the end of World War II," Marles said. Asked how much more complex and threatening Australia's circumstances were since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February, Marles told reporters: "I don't think anyone could honestly answer that question." "It greatly complicates the global strategic landscape," Marles said.