Top Asian News 3:46 a.m. GMT

US-China talks start with warnings about misunderstandings and miscalculations

BEIJING (AP) — The United States and China butted heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and both men warned of the dangers of misunderstandings and miscalculations. The meeting, on the final day of Blinken’s second visit to China in the past year, came as talks between the countries have expanded in recent months even as differences have grown and become more serious, raising concerns about the potential for conflict between the world’s two largest economies. Blinken and Wang each underscored the importance of keeping lines of communication open but they also lamented persistent and deepening divisions that threaten global security.

India begins second phase of national elections with Modi’s BJP as front-runner

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indians began voting Friday in the second round of multi-phase national elections as polarization grows with Prime Minister Narendra Modi whipping up an assertive brand of Hindu nationalist politics in his campaign. People lined up outside polling stations as voting opened at 7 a.m. The turnout was expected to pick up as the day progresses. The outcome of Friday’s voting across 88 constituencies in 13 states with 160 million voters will be crucial for Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party as it includes some of its strongholds in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The TikTok law kicks off a new showdown between Beijing and Washington. What’s coming next?

WASHINGTON (AP) — TikTok is gearing up for a legal fight against a U.S. law that would force the social media platform to break ties with its China-based parent company, a move almost certainly backed by Chinese authorities as the bitter U.S.-China rivalry threatens the future of a wildly popular way for young people in America to connect online. Beijing has signaled TikTok should fight what it has called a “robbers” act by U.S. lawmakers “to snatch from others all the good things that they have.” Should a legal challenge fail, observers say Chinese authorities are unlikely to allow a sale, a move that could be seen as surrendering to Washington.

China launches 3-member crew to its space station as it seeks to put astronauts on the moon by 2030

JIUQUAN SATELLITE LAUNCH CENTER, China (AP) — China launched a three-member crew to its orbiting space station on Thursday as part of its ambitious program that aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030. The Shenzhou-18 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northwestern China atop a Long March 2-F rocket at 8:59 p.m. (1259 GMT). The spacecraft’s three-member crew will relieve the Shenzhou-17 team, which has been staffing China’s Tiangong space station since last October. The China Manned Space Agency, or CMSA, held a send-off ceremony — complete with flag-waving children and patriotic music — for the Shenzhou-18 crew earlier on Thursday, as the three astronauts prepared to enter the spacecraft.

A high-profile murder trial in Kazakhstan boosts awareness of domestic violence

The CCTV footage shown at the domestic abuse trial was disturbing: The defendant is seen dragging his wife by her hair, and then punching and kicking her. Hours after it was recorded, she died of brain trauma. The trial of businessman Kuandyk Bishimbayev, Kazakhstan’s former economy minister, in the death of his wife, Saltanat Nukenova, has touched a nerve in the Central Asian country. Tens of thousands of people have signed petitions calling for harsher penalties for domestic violence. On April 11, senators approved a bill toughening spousal abuse laws, and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed it four days later. It’s been dubbed “Saltanat’s Law” in her honor.

AP Week in Pictures: Asia

April 19-25, 2024 People cast votes in the first round of polling for India’s national election. A Long March rocket carrying a crew of Chinese astronauts in a Shenzhou-18 spaceship lifts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Military cadets attend an Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney. This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images in the Asia-Pacific region made or published by The Associated Press in the past week. The selection was curated by AP photo editor Shuji Kajiyama in Tokyo. ___ Follow AP visual journalism: AP Images blog: http://apimagesblog.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnews X: http://twitter.com/AP_Images

Over 100 pilot whales beached on western Australian coast have been rescued, officials say

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — More than 100 long-finned pilot whales that beached on the western Australian coast Thursday have returned to sea, while 29 died on the shore, officials said. Ships and a spotter plane were monitoring the rescued whales in case they returned to shore, the Parks and Wildlife Service of Western Australia state regional wildlife officer Pia Courtis said. “So far so good, they haven’t made it back to shore, but we will keep monitoring them,” Courtis told reporters. Local whale researcher Ian Wiese joined hundreds of volunteers who helped rescue the whales at Toby’s Inlet near the tourist town of Dunsborough.

Putin announces plans to visit China in May

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he plans to visit China in May, in what could become the first foreign trip for the Russian leader after he extended his rule by six more years in an election that offered voters little real choice. Putin announced the plans for the visit at a congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow. He didn’t say when exactly it would take place and didn’t offer any other details. Putin’s inauguration is scheduled for May 7, Russian lawmakers said earlier this week. Last month, the 71-year-old Russian leader secured his fifth term in office in a vote with no real opposition, extending his 24-year rule.

Ferrying voting machines to mountains and tropical areas in Indian elections is a Herculean task

NEW DELHI (AP) — From the Himalayan mountains to the tropical Andaman Islands, Indian officials are using helicopters, buses, trucks, boats, donkeys, and mules to carry electronic voting machines for India’s gigantic national elections. Election officials are traveling through jungles and snow-covered mountain tracks, even wading through rivers to set up polling stations in tents, shipping containers, and school buildings in remote areas. The massive seven-phase election in the world’s most populous country of over 1.4 billion people started last week and will conclude on June 1. Nearly 970 million voters — more than 10% of the world’s population — will elect 543 members to the lower house of Parliament for five years during the staggered elections.

Taiwan’s president-elect appoints new foreign, defense ministers as island faces continued threats

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s president-elect has appointed new foreign and defense ministers to join his incoming administration as the island faces continuing military threats and diplomatic isolation from China. Lai Ching-te, who assumes the presidency on May 20, announced Thursday that current Presidential Secretary General Lin Chia-lung will take over as foreign minister. He said Wellington Koo will head the Defense Ministry at a time when Taiwan is upgrading its defenses against China with new ships, submarines, warplanes, missile systems and other land-based defenses. Along with stepping up its threat to annex Taiwan by force, China has whittled down the number of Taiwan’s formal diplomatic allies to just 12, while excluding it from the United Nations and most other international organizations.