AP National News

By DAVID RISING and SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders have done little to ramp up pressure on Myanmar to comply with their plan for peace, agreeing to a course of action that largely kicks the matter down the road. With violence in Myanmar spiraling out of control since

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Four of Japan’s biggest rock stars formed a new band, The Last Rockstars, in a race against time to preserve the spirit of rock music. “We’ve come together to start this challenge for the world out of Japan,” Yoshiki of X Japan told reporters Friday. Dressed in

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s lead negotiator in ongoing peace talks is asserting that 70% of the country’s northern Tigray region is now under military control and aid deliveries have resumed to the area. National Security Adviser Redwan Hussein tweeted the information on Friday as the talks continued in neighboring Kenya. But there is no

BEIJING (AP) — Travelers arriving in China will spend less time in quarantine under changes to sweeping anti-virus controls announced Friday to reduce disruption to the economy and society. The announcement came even as an upsurge in COVID-19 cases prompted Beijing to close parks and impose other restrictions. The country reported 10,729 new cases, and

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets rose Friday after U.S. inflation eased more than had been expected, spurring hopes the Federal Reserve might scale down plans for more interest rate hikes. Hong Kong’s benchmark surged 7.7% while Tokyo and Shanghai also gained. London and Frankfurt rose in early trading.

BEIJING (AP) — China has confirmed leader Xi Jinping will attend both the meeting of the Group of 20 industrialized countries and the gathering of Asian Pacific nations this month in his first major overseas trip since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Friday that Xi would meet with

ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish court has resumed the trial of Istanbul’s mayor on charges of insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council. Critics allege the case is an attempt to remove a key opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the political scene. Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu is a member of the opposition Republican People’s

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch World Cup squad will meet a group of migrant workers in Qatar after a training session ahead of the team’s first match as part of the Dutch soccer federation’s push to promote human rights at the tournament. The Royal Dutch Soccer Association announced

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has delayed his departure to Southeast Asia’s three upcoming summits. He’s staying back in order to sack and replace Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi over a remark he made about capital punishment that was criticized as inappropriate. Hanashi made a comment Wednesday at

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press DEMYDIV, Ukraine (AP) — Olga Lehan’s home near the Irpin River was flooded when Ukraine destroyed a dam to prevent Russian forces from storming the capital of Kyiv just days into the wa r. Weeks later, the water from her tap turned brown from pollution. “It was not safe to

By WANJOHI KABUKRU Associated Press SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Battling droughts, sandstorms, floods, wildfires, coastal erosion, cyclones and other weather events exacerbated by climate change, the African continent needs to adapt, but it needs funds to do so, leaders and negotiators from the continent said at the U.N. climate summit. It’s one of the

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian officials say Moscow must he held to account for Russian cybercriminals accused of hacking Australia’s largest health insurer and dumping customers’ personal medical records on the dark web. Almost 10 million current and former Medibank customers’ personal data was stolen. Australian Federal Police took the

By DAVID RISING and SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders are struggling to come to a consensus on how to pressure Myanmar to comply with a plan for peace, with violence in the member state spiraling out of control since the military seized power in 2021.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Big emitters of the heat-trapping gas methane can expect a call from the United Nations starting next year, when the global body launches a new platform to combine existing systems for tracking the potent greenhouse gas from space. The U.N. Environment Programme said Friday that the new Methane Alert and

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has decided to delay his departure to Southeast Asia to attend three upcoming summits, apparently to sack his justice minister over a remark he made about capital punishment that was criticized as inappropriate. Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi was reportedly to submit his

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Qatar may hope soccer fans ignore politics at the first World Cup in the Middle East. But Israel and Iran, foes locked in conflicts across the region, are bringing sensitive flashpoints to the tournament’s doorstep. Israel is not competing, but it sees the massive spectacle as a

BEIJING (AP) — China’s capital Beijing has closed city parks and imposed other restrictions as the country faces a new wave of COVID-19 cases. Elsewhere, more than 5 million people were under lockdown Friday in the southern manufacturing hub Guangzhou and the western megacity Chongqing. The country reported 10,729 new cases on Friday, almost all

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court has approved the extradition of a 42-year-old woman facing murder charges in New Zealand over her possible connection to the bodies of two long-dead children found abandoned in suitcases in August. The Seoul High Court said Friday its decision came after

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Supply chains, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the impact of COVID-19 are top of mind for U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen as she prepared to meet with Indian leaders in New Delhi. She was speaking Friday to tech leaders at the Microsoft India Development Center to

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine troops have forged a ceasefire with Muslim guerrillas after 10 combatants were killed in clashes in a southern village and frantic efforts were made to prevent an escalation that could threaten a major peace accord. The sporadic clashes erupted Tuesday and Wednesday in Ulitan village