Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

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.

CHONGQING, China (AP) - Rescue crews on Saturday raced to find survivors from a landslide in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing that killed at least eight people and left 34 missing. The landslide occurred in Pengshui County on Friday morning on the outskirts of Chongqing municipality, when massive amounts of rocks and soil washed down a slope, burying more than 10 residential buildings, state broadcaster CCTV said. Ten people were rescued and sent to the hospital, while more than 1,100 people have been relocated. Associated Press photos and videos showed that one of the fallen rocks appeared larger than a multistory building, with ruins scattered across the steep terrain.

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.

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.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The Philippine government strongly protested to China what it said was the depiction of Filipinos as monkeys in an editorial video publicized by a Chinese state-owned media outlet, and demanded it be taken down. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said Friday that the series of opinion and editorial videos and cartoons, particularly an animated video posted by the China Daily on its Facebook page on July 10, centered on Beijing's rejection of a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated China's expansive claims in the disputed South China Sea. The Philippines initiated the arbitration in 2013, after China seized a shoal west of the Philippines following a tense standoff.

HONG KONG (AP) - An independent committee investigating the cause of Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades heard arguments on how improper practices that evaded regulatory oversight turned a small fire into a tragedy as the investigation neared its conclusion Friday. The November blaze spread through seven buildings of an apartment complex, killing 168 people and displacing thousands of residents at Wang Fuk Court in the suburban Tai Po district. Many of the residents now live in temporary housing. Committee lead lawyer Victor Dawes said the use of non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting was very likely a key reason for the fire's rapid spread at the complex, which was undergoing a major renovation project when the blaze started.

HONG KONG (AP) - The United States said Saturday it did not renew a national emergency declaration over Hong Kong, leading to the lifting of partial sanctions, but it said an executive order that revoked Hong Kong's special trading status remains in place. Hours ago, China said the U.S. recently confirmed to China that the President's Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization would end, the ministry said in a statement responding to media questions. That announcement had appeared to be a sign that the city's preferential privileges might be restored. But a statement from a State Department spokesperson sent to the AP said that U.S.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - For Ruma Aktar, a sewing machine operator at a garment factory in Bangladesh, one single item has transformed her work and improved her life: A pair of reading glasses. Aktar's work is demanding, with each worker expected to produce thousands of garments a day. Precision is essential, and even small mistakes can slow production or result in rejected items. Aktar said her new glasses have helped her thread needles faster - and they've also relieved her headaches and eye strain. "Before I got the glasses, it took me a long time to thread the needle. Now I can thread it in just a short time.

BANGKOK (AP) - A court in Laos has brought charges against a distillery owner in connection with the deaths of foreign tourists in Laos in 2024. The charges will make the accused liable to a prison sentence of between three months and four years and a fine if found guilty, Denmark's foreign ministry announced Friday. Two Danish women, Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, were among six foreigners killed by drinking tainted alcohol at a tourist hostel in Vang Vieng in November 2024. The ministry's statement, issued in Copenhagen and citing Lao authorities, said the charges were selling food that is harmful to health and operating an illegal business.