Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

NEW DELHI (AP) - For about eight weeks, Indian Capt. Rahul Dhar and his crew have been stranded on their tanker in the Persian Gulf, sometimes watching drones and missiles explode as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shut while the Iran war dragged on. The crew's morale, he said, is holding as they carry on with their routines, but the strain is beginning to show. A shaky ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has brought "a careful sense of hope" for the crew, but there is still no clear end to the war. "Day to day, we try to keep things normal with open conversations and small team activities that help lift everyone's spirits." The crew sighted drones and missile interceptions several times, both near the ship and along the horizon during their watches.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea has opened a memorial museum for its soldiers killed while fighting for Russia against Ukraine, with top leaders of North Korea and Russia pledging a push for greater cooperation. In April 2025, North Korea and Russia announced that their soldiers fought together to repel a Ukraine incursion into Russia's Kursk border region. The two countries haven't disclosed exactly how many North Koreans soldiers were deployed, but South Korea's intelligence service estimated last year that North Korea sent about 15,000 troops and 2,000 of them were killed. The North's Korean Central News Agency reported Monday the museum's inaugural ceremony was held in Pyongyang on Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of the end of an operation to liberate the Kursk region.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - One train slammed into another at a station outside Indonesia's capital on Monday, killing at least three people, officials said. "There are 29 victims who have been evacuated to three nearby hospitals," Jakarta Police Chief Asep Edi Suheri told reporters at the scene in the suburb of Bekasi. An investigation is underway, he said. The Argo Bromo Anggrek long-distance train crashed into the rear car of a commuter train that was stopped at Bekasi Timur Station, causing severe damage. The car had been designated for women only, a common accommodation to help avoid harassment. Local television footage and videos on social media showed passengers at the station panicking.

NEW DELHI (AP) - India and New Zealand on Monday signed a free trade agreement to deepen economic ties and expand market access, as both countries navigate mounting global trade disruptions. The deal comes as New Delhi moves to diversify export markets to offset the impact of steep tariffs imposed by the United States and instability in shipping and energy routes due to the Iran war. For New Zealand, the agreement is part of a broader push to reduce reliance on China, its largest trading partner. The agreement was signed in New Delhi by India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and visiting New Zealand Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - A Sumatran orangutan has been filmed for the first time using a human-made canopy bridge to cross a public road on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, conservationists said Monday. Rapid development has been shrinking the jungle habitat of the critically endangered species, and fatal conflicts with people have been increasing. The fleeting scene, captured by a motion‑sensitive camera, showed a young Sumatran orangutan pause at the forest's edge, grip a rope with deliberate care and step out into open air. Halfway across, it stopped, casting a glance down at the road below. Moments later, it crossed. Conservationists said that it marks the first documented case of an Sumatra orangutan using an artificial canopy bridge to cross a public road that had divided its habitat.

TOKYO (AP) - Japan 's prime minister inaugurated a panel on Monday tasked with reviewing her country's security and defense policies as tensions escalate with China, North Korea and Russia ramping up their military footprint in the region. It's part of a push by Sanae Takaichi, who took office in October, to accelerate Japan's military buildup as a deterrence against reginal threats. She argues that Japan needs to prioritize its defense strategy to further strengthen its military capability to better protect itself and survive prolonged, new forms of warfare. Last week, Takaichi's Cabinet scrapped restrictions on Japanese lethal weapons exports, a move welcomed by the United States and other defense partners as a step to deepen their military and industry cooperation.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Mortars and missiles fired from Pakistan on Monday struck a university and civilian homes in northeastern Afghanistan, killing seven people and wounding at least 85, Afghan officials said. Pakistan dismissed the accusation of targeting a university. The strikes were the first violent incident since Chinese-mediated peace talks between the two sides earlier this month. Pakistan and Afghanistan had been embroiled in months of deadly fighting that has killed hundreds of people since late February, when Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. Islamabad had declared it was in open war with Afghanistan, in an escalation of violence that alarmed the international community.

TOKYO (AP) - A magnitude 6.2 earthquake shook part of northern Japan early Monday, but there was no damage or casualties. No tsunami advisory was issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The inland quake struck 18 kilometers (11 miles) west of the small town of Sarabetsu on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido at a depth of 81 kilometers (50 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It measured the quake's strength at 6.1 magnitude. A week ago, a 7.7 magnitude offshore earthquake prompted Japan to issue an advisory of a slightly higher risk of a possible megaquake for the nation's northeastern coastal areas.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Two Americans were among 19 suspected communist guerrillas who were killed in clashes with Philippine troops in a central province earlier this week, a government anti-insurgency task force said Saturday night. The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict said the Americans were killed with 17 other suspected New People's Army guerrillas in a series of clashes with army forces on April 19 in the coastal town of Toboso in Negros Occidental province. The deadly fighting was first reported on Monday. The task force warned Americans of Filipino descent in the United States to be wary of being lured by left-wing activist groups into joining or supporting Filipino insurgents in the Philippines in a recruitment process it described as "terror-grooming." The U.S.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghanistan's foreign ministry says Afghans who helped America's war effort and have been stuck in Qatar in the hope of reaching the United States, can safely return to Afghanistan. The statement Saturday by foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi comes after reports emerged that the Trump administration is in discussions to potentially send 1,100 Afghans who assisted the U.S. during its war in Afghanistan and relatives of U.S. service members to Congo. An organization called #AfghanEvac that supports Afghan resettlement efforts said Wednesday that U.S. officials had informed the group of discussions between the United States and Congo about taking the Afghan refugees who have been in limbo at Camp As-Sayliyah, a U.S.