Top Asian News 1:57 a.m. GMT

What are the major issues in Australia’s election Saturday?

MEBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australians vote Saturday in general elections being dominated by the soaring cost of living, the economy, energy and China. Affordable housing is in short supply, interest rates remain high and the major political parties are starkly divided on how to wean the nation off fossil fuel-generated electricity. The major parties also differ on how to deal with China, which is both Australia’s largest trading partner and its greatest strategic threat. Here’s what to know about the main issues: Australians have endured one of the sharpest rises in the cost of living in recent history and the current government has been at the helm through the worst of it.

In this Indian city, smartwatches are part of the solution to dealing with searing heat

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — It’s a little past 10 a.m. and the heat is already blazing on the outskirts of the Western Indian city of Ahmedabad. Sapnaben Chunara, a 30-year-old mother of three, has just finished her morning chores. She seeks respite from the heat in the shade of a neem tree, a species that can withstand high temperatures and drought. Chunara spends most of the day outdoors in Vanzara Vas, a low-income neighborhood of about 800 families, because her tin-roofed house is even hotter. Indoor temperatures can be even higher, especially when outside they climb above 40 degrees Celsius (104 F).

Pakistan and India hint at imminent military action over Kashmir. A look at the nuclear rivals

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A deadly attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region last week has spiked tensions between India and Pakistan. India accuses Pakistan of backing the massacre, a charge Pakistan denies. The nuclear-armed neighbors have downgraded diplomatic ties, threatened to suspend key treaties and expelled each other’s nationals. It’s the biggest breakdown in relations since 2019, when a suicide car bombing killed 40 Indian soldiers in Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan, and Pakistan rejected the accusation. India has hinted at the possibility of an imminent but limited military strike. Pakistan says it would respond militarily. A look at the countries’ nuclear capabilities, and what might lie ahead: India and Pakistan have built up nuclear arsenals over the years.

Indian survivors of Kashmir attack say gunmen asked if they were Hindus and opened fire

KARNAL, India (AP) — When Aishanya and Shubham Dwivedi married in February, they began planning a vacation to Indian-controlled Kashmir to celebrate. As the couple paused for a snack in its lush Pahalgam meadow surrounded by snow-capped Himalayan peaks, a man approached them from behind. He didn’t look threatening at first, Aishanya told The Associated Press. She thought he might be a local guide. She said the man looked at the couple with piercing eyes and asked one question: “Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?” If they were Muslim, he said, they should recite the Islamic declaration of faith. The couple froze.

Pakistan says it has ‘credible intelligence’ India will attack within days

ATTARI, India (AP) — Pakistan said Wednesday it had “credible intelligence” that India is planning to attack it within days, and vowed to respond “very strongly,” as soldiers exchanged gunfire along borders and Pakistanis heeded New Delhi’s orders to leave the country following last week’s deadly attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India has moved to punish Pakistan after accusing it of backing the attack in Pahalgam, which Islamabad denies, driving tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to their highest point since 2019, when they came close to war after a suicide car bombing in Kashmir. The region is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety.

Vietnam celebrates 50 years since war’s end with focus on peace and unity

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam on Wednesday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the war with the United States and the formation of its modern nation with a military parade and a focus on a peaceful future. The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 marked the end of a Vietnam divided into the communist North and U.S.-allied South, and the country’s top official told crowds the past decades had led to ever increasing unity. “All the Vietnamese are the descendants of Vietnam. They have the rights to live and work, to have freedom to pursue happiness and love in this country,” said To Lam, the Vietnam Communist Party’s general secretary.

North Korea’s Kim watches missile test-firings from country’s first destroyer

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday leader Kim Jong Un observed the test-firings of missiles from a recently launched destroyer — the first such warship for the North — and called for accelerating efforts to boost his navy’s nuclear attack capabilities. North Korea last week unveiled the 5,000-ton destroyer equipped with what it called the most powerful weapons systems built for a navy vessel. During Friday’s launching ceremony at the western port of Nampo, Kim called the ship’s construction “a breakthrough” in modernizing North Korea’s naval forces. Outside experts say it’s North Korea’s first destroyer and that it was likely built with Russian assistance.

3 astronauts return to Earth after 6 months on China’s space station

BEIJING (AP) — Three Chinese astronauts landed back on Earth on Wednesday after six months on China’s space station. The crew’s landing module came down slowly after separating from the return vehicle, descending on a red-and-white parachute, in Dongfeng, in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region on the edge of the Gobi Desert. Their return had been delayed by a day due to strong winds and low visibility. The area is prone to sandstorms this time of year. The astronauts, Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, were launched to the Tiangong space station in October, and they turned over control of the station Tuesday to the new crew that recently arrived to replace them.

Philippines signs military pact with New Zealand to widen alliances while facing an assertive China

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines signed a military pact with New Zealand Wednesday, allowing their forces to hold joint exercises as Manila continues to build security alliances as it faces an increasingly aggressive China in the disputed South China Sea. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. witnessed the ceremony in Manila, where Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr and and his New Zealand counterpart, Judith Collins, inked the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement. The treaty sets the legal framework to allow military engagements of both countries, including joint drills in each other’s territory and other cooperative activities. It has been approved by New Zealand officials, but still needs to be ratified by the Philippine Senate for it to take effect.

Fire tears through hotel in eastern Indian city of Kolkata, killing at least 14 people

NEW DELHI (AP) — A fire tore through a hotel in the city of Kolkata in eastern India, killing at least 14 people, police said Wednesday. Senior police officer Manoj Kumar Verma told reporters that the fire broke out Tuesday evening at the Rituraj Hotel in central Kolkata and was doused after an effort that took six fire engines. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. Photos and videos carried in Indian media showed people trying to escape through the windows and narrow ledges of the building. Kolkata’s The Telegraph newspaper reported that at least one person died when he jumped off the terrace trying to escape.