Top Asian News 12:37 p.m. GMT

Rival Australian party leaders each claim underdog status ahead of general elections

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton are each claiming to be the underdog ahead of general elections on Saturday. Albanese, who leads the center-left Labor Party, visited the eastern states of Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania on Friday. Dutton, who leads an alliance of conservatives parties called the Liberal-National Coalition, campaigned in the states of South Australia and Western Australia. Albanese noted an Australian prime minister had not led a party to consecutive election victories since John Howard, a conservative, in 2004. Howard’s 11-year reign ended in 2007, when he lost his own seat.

China says it’s evaluating US overtures for trade talks, but tariffs remain an obstacle

China’s Commerce Ministry said Friday that Beijing is evaluating multiple approaches by the Trump administration for trade talks, but steep tariffs imposed by Washington must go. A ministry statement reiterated China’s stance that is open to talks, but also that Beijing is determined to fight if it must. It said one-sided tariffs of up to 145% remain an obstacle, undermining trust. “The tariff and trade wars were unilaterally initiated by the U.S., if the U.S. side wants to talk, it should show its sincerity, and be ready to take action on issues such as correcting wrong practices and canceling the unilateral imposition of tariffs,” it said.

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has survived a volatile political era

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Anthony Albanese hopes to become the first Australian prime minister in 21 years to lead a political party to two consecutive election victories when the country votes on Saturday. The last was John Howard, who won a fourth consecutive term in 2004, making him the second-longest serving leader in Australia’s history. But when he was voted out three years later, it marked the beginning of a turbulent period in Australian politics with six prime ministers. “There’s a lot of undecided voters. We have a mountain to climb. No one’s been reelected since 2004,” Albanese told reporters Friday.

Peter Dutton, a former police detective who’s hawkish on China, is leading Australia’s conservatives

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s conservative opposition leader Peter Dutton is a former police detective who gained a reputation during his years in government for his tough stance on border security and as a vocal critic of China. If he becomes prime minister at general elections on Saturday, it will be the first time since 1931 — amid the economic turmoil of the Great Depression — that an Australian government has been ousted after a single three-year term. A major factor in his success or failure is likely to be his pledge to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 with nuclear power instead of the government’s reliance on renewable energy sources.

Singapore’s long-ruling party seeks stronger election victory in test for new prime minister

SINGAPORE (AP) — Singaporeans will vote Saturday in a general election that is set to return to power the city-state’s long ruling party, and it will be closely watched as a gauge of public confidence in Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s leadership. The People’s Action Party has won every election since the Asian financial hub gained independence in 1965. Wong, who took office last year, hopes to clinch a stronger mandate after the PAP suffered a setback in 2020 polls over voters’ rising discontent with the government. Here’s what to know about the Singapore election. Singapore holds a general election every five years and voting is compulsory.

The body of a truck driver whose vehicle fell into a sinkhole in Japan is recovered after 3 months

TOKYO (AP) — The body of a truck driver was recovered Friday three months after his vehicle fell into a sinkhole that suddenly appeared while he was driving on a road near Tokyo. The 3-ton truck fell into the hole in Yashio City, just northeast of the Japanese capital, in January. During an earlier search and rescue operation, workers tried to lift the truck but only its flat-bed came out. The 74-year-old driver, trapped in the cabin of the truck, was believed to have been swept to a location about 30 meters (yards) downstream. On Friday, after three months of preparation to build a safe underground pathway for workers to reach the targeted area, rescuers wearing helmets and hazmat suits went inside of it and recovered the body, officials said.

South Korea’s ex-Prime Minister Han says he will seek the presidency in June election

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday he will run in next month’s presidential election and would seek to lessen the powers of the office and ease strife-ridden domestic politics if he wins. Han’s entry heats up the scramble among conservatives to unify behind a candidate to compete with liberal front-runner Lee Jae-myung, whose campaign recently was set back by a court decision to open a new trial on election law violation charges. “I’ve determined to find what I can do for the future of the Republic of Korea that I love and for all of us.

3 Uyghurs who were detained in Thailand for over a decade have been resettled in Canada

BANGKOK (AP) — Three Uyghur men who spent over a decade in Thai detention were resettled in Canada in April, Thai lawmakers and activists confirmed, months after Thailand drew international condemnation for sending 40 other Uyghurs back to China, where they feared further detention, torture and even death. The three made their way to Canada during Thailand’s Songkran festival weekend in April, said Kannavee Suebsang, a lawmaker who has advocated on behalf of the Uyghurs, and Chalida Tajaroensuk, president of the People’s Empowerment Foundation, a Thai human rights group that works closely with migrants and refugees. The Uyghurs are a Turkic, majority Muslim ethnicity from China’s northwestern Xinjiang region.

AP PHOTOS: Gold is swiftly transformed from ore to bars in Australia after weeks of record prices

SYDNEY (AP) — The lustrous, metallic allure of gold has long fueled intrigue and in recent months its market fortunes have also reflected global geopolitical and economic tumult. As markets have reeled over uncertainty about U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, gold prices have registered record high after record high. Prices eased to a two-week low on Thursday after hitting a fresh peak in April, but gold’s price per troy ounce — the standard for measuring precious metals — was still close to $1,000 higher than a year earlier. The price of spot gold is up more than 30% since the start of 2025, according to the data firm FactSet while stock prices have fallen.

The threat of a war with India empties a scenic Pakistani valley of summer tourists

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Neelum Valley in northern Pakistan attracts some 300,000 tourists each summer who marvel at its natural beauty. But the threat of war with nearby India has emptied its hotels. Gunmen last week killed 26 people in the Indian resort town of Pahalgam, fueling tensions between the nuclear-armed nations after India blamed Pakistan for the attack, a charge Pakistan denies. Neelum Valley is less than 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir, making it vulnerable to any military activity. Hotel owner Rafaqat Hussain said Thursday the crisis has hit the tourism industry hard.