Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

CHONGQING, China (AP) - Rescue crews used excavators on Sunday to comb through the rubble in search of survivors from a landslide in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing that killed at least eight people and left another 34 missing. Massive amounts of rocks and soil roared down a slope and buried more than 10 residential buildings early Friday in Pengshui County on the outskirts of Chongqing. On Sunday morning, about nine rescuers were seen carrying a sealed orange bag from the scene. It was not immediately clear if a victim had been pulled out. State broadcaster CCTV reported that all the residents staying in 21 buildings in the potential impact zone had been evacuated.

BEIJING (AP) - The Chinese company that formerly owned British Steel demanded Sunday compensation from the U.K. government for investment losses following the nationalization of the manufacturer last week. The British government took operational control of the company last year after Jingye Group said that it was considering closing the blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant in northern England, the last in the United Kingdom to make "virgin steel" from raw materials. Jingye Group said in a WeChat statement that the nationalization move tarnished the credibility of the British government, spooked international investors and caused great losses to the company's operation and British taxpayers' funds.

PALU, Indonesia (AP) - Rescuers in eastern Indonesia found two more survivors, a mother and son, on Sunday from a passenger boat that sank earlier in the week and were searching for 18 others still missing. The 46-year-old woman and her 24-year-old son were found stranded on Balaloho Island, one of the small inhabited islands in Selayar, , by fishermen, officials said. More than 200 rescuers aboard vessels were joined by Indonesian troops, police, fishermen and residents, said Andi Sultan, head of emergency response in Makassar. "Rescue teams also faced extremely harsh weather conditions, including waves as high as 2-3 meters and strong winds," Sultan said.

BEIJING (AP) - A former president of the China Development Bank was put under investigation on suspicion of serious violations of party discipline and the law, the country's top anti-graft watchdog announced on Sunday. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a one-line statement that Ouyang Weimin was being investigated by it and the National Commission of Supervision, without offering more details. According to state media China Daily, Ouyang began his career and joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1986. He spent much of his earlier career at the People's Bank of China, it said. Ouyang served as the vice-governor of Guangdong, an economic powerhouse near Hong Kong, and was appointed as the president and deputy party secretary of the China Development Bank in 2019, China Daily reported.

KYOTO, Japan (AP) - There's a special moment when Katsushi Horikawa feels closer to the gods. It comes as he rides atop one of the towering floats pulled through the streets in a centuries-old procession in Japan. This is the Gion Matsuri festival, born more than 1,000 years ago as a ritual to ward off epidemics and celebrated in the former imperial city of Kyoto throughout July. "I am conscious of them when I'm riding on top," Horikawa said. "When we're assembling it as well, but I think the main time is when I'm riding on it." The parades - accompanied by dances, music and song - draw large crowds and tourists every year.

BRIDGEWATER, New Jersey (AP) - The U.S. military said on Saturday that two additional service members were killed as part of the war with Iran, bringing the total number of deaths to 16. The deaths reflect the complicated reality that American boots don't need to be on the ground for there to be lethal risks in a conflict that involves drones, missiles and airplanes. American forces are arrayed across the Middle East, making other nations targets of Iran as the fighting has escalated after a breakdown in peace talks. President Donald Trump has said the war is necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

NEW DELHI (AP) - Police forcibly transferred a prominent activist to a hospital in New Delhi on Saturday after his health deteriorated during a 20-day hunger strike tied to India's viral Cockroach Janta Party movement for education reform. Authorities tightened security around New Delhi's Jantar Mantar, a designated public protest ground enclosed by police barricades, where activist Sonam Wangchuk has been camped along with students and Cockroach Party activists who demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, after allegations that exam papers were leaked in advance. The movement also seeks sweeping reforms to the examination system and compensation for families of students who died by suicide over the leaks or exam results.

BEIJING (AP) - China on Friday said it has never interfered in U.S. elections and has no interest in doing so, urging Washington to stop making what it described as "groundless accusations" after President Donald Trump accused Beijing of meddling in the 2020 election. In an address to the nation Thursday, Trump again raised doubts about the U.S. elections results in 2020 and accused China of interfering in them. "The relevant allegations by the U.S. are entirely fabricated and aimed at vilifying China," said China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian. "We have no interest in interfering in US elections and have never done so." In a daily briefing in Beijing, Lin called on the U.S.

TOKYO (AP) - Japan's parliament enacted a historic revision to the 19th-century Imperial House Law on Friday by insisting only paternal-lineage men can become emperor, sparking concern that the measure could doom the already shrinking imperial family. The revisions include adoption of distant male relatives to father future heirs and allowing princesses to keep their royal status after marrying commoners. Royal watchers and experts fear the new measures could doom the 1,500-year-old hereditary institution by insisting that only males can be emperor. Emperor Naruhito 's 24-year-old daughter is hugely popular, and many Japanese want her to be his successor, but Princess Aiko is ineligible because she is a woman.

TOKYO (AP) - Japan on Friday enacted a controversial new law prohibiting desecration of its national flag, a key right-wing agenda pushed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Opponents say it's an attempt to intimidate the public and silence criticism of her government. The law punishes publicly damaging or defacing the national flag, known as "hinomaru," including livestreaming of the scene in ways that would offend the feelings of others. Opponents say the ambiguous law only intimidates people from using the flag in art, protests or other forms of expression, and could violate constitutional freedom of speech. Japan has a law to punish vandalizing foreign national flags, mainly those displayed at diplomatic facilities, to avoid international disputes.