Top Asian News 3:37 a.m. GMT

Yellen says US-China relationship on ‘more stable footing’ but more can be done to improve ties

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met Sunday in Beijing with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and sent a message of mutual cooperation despite the nations’ differences. Yellen came to China top of mind with trade practices that put American companies and workers at an unfair competitive disadvantage. In the ornate Fujian room of Great Hall of People building just west of Tiananmen Square, she told Li: “While we have more to do, I believe that, over the past year, we have put our bilateral relationship on more stable footing.” “This has not meant ignoring our differences or avoiding tough conversations,” she said.

Beneath the calm, Hong Kong’s new security law drives deeper, quieter changes

HONG KONG (AP) — On the surface, life in Hong Kong after a broad new national security law recently took effect appears unchanged. A 2020 security law drew thousands of protesters to the streets when it was enacted. Now, that’s seen as too risky. This time, no arrests made headlines. There were no newsroom raids. Instead, there’s a deeper, quieter wave of adaptation underway among Hong Kong residents who are living under the threat of more extensive restrictions after the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance took effect on March 23. At an immigration expo during the law’s first two days, immigration consultant Ben Li’s booth was constantly busy, its small white tables all occupied.

US, Japan, Australia and the Philippines to stage military drills in disputed South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines will hold their first joint naval exercises, including anti-submarine warfare training, in a show of force Sunday in the South China Sea where Beijing’s aggressive actions to assert its territorial claims have caused alarm. The four treaty allies and security partners are holding the exercises to safeguard “the rule of law that is the foundation for a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region” and uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, they said in a joint statement issued by their defense chiefs Saturday. China was not mentioned by name in the statement, but the four countries reaffirmed their stance that a 2016 international arbitration ruling, which invalidated China’s expansive claims on historical grounds, was final and legally binding.

A search is underway in Pakistan for attackers who ambushed a police car, killing 2 and injuring 2

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A search was underway in Pakistan’s northwest after gunmen ambushed and opened fire on a police vehicle, killing two people and injuring another two, an official said Saturday. The assault took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and has borne the brunt of militant violence since the Pakistani Taliban unilaterally ended a cease-fire with the central government in November 2022. The province is a former stronghold of the militant group, which is also known as the TTP and allied with the Afghan Taliban. Police officer Tariq Khan said the attackers shot and killed a deputy superintendent and a constable in Lakki Marwat district.

Farmers in India are hit hard by extreme weather. Some say expanding natural farming is the answer

GUNTUR, India (AP) — There’s a pungent odor on Ratna Raju’s farm that he says is protecting his crops from the unpredictable and extreme weather that’s become more frequent with human-caused climate change. The smell comes from a concoction of cow urine, an unrefined sugar known as jaggery, and other organic materials that act as fertilizers, pesticides and bad weather barriers for his corn, rice, leafy greens and other vegetables on his farm in Guntur in India’s southern Andhra Pradesh state. The region is frequently hit by cyclones and extreme heat, and farmers say that so-called natural farming protects their crops because the soil can hold more water, and their more robust roots help the plants withstand strong winds.

US-Chinese military talks resume on safety in the air and at sea after a nearly 2-year break

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time in nearly two years, U.S. and Chinese defense officials met this week to discuss unsafe and aggressive ship and aircraft incidents between the two militaries in the Pacific region, restarting a dialogue that Beijing abruptly ended in a dispute involving Taiwan. The meeting, which was Wednesday and Thursday in Hawaii, came as Washington and Beijing work to expand communications between the two world powers and ease escalating tensions. Military-to-military contact had stalled in August 2022, when Beijing suspended all such communication after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the self-governing island China claims as its own.

Earthquake aftershocks halt the demolition of a leaning building in Taiwan. Death toll rises to 13

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The demolition of a building that is leaning precariously after an earthquake in Taiwan was halted on Saturday because of aftershocks that made it lean even more, media reports said. The red building, about 10 stories tall and inclined over a street in the city of Hualien, has become an iconic image from the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that also buried people under boulders at nearby Taroko National Park, a popular hiking destination about 25 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of Hualien. The death toll rose to 13 after a third victim was found on the park’s Shakadang Trail.

Reclusive Taliban leader releases Eid message urging officials to set aside their differences

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada urged his officials to set aside their differences and serve Afghanistan properly, according to a written statement released Saturday ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan. Public dissent within the Taliban is rare, but some senior figures have expressed their disagreement with the leadership’s decision making, especially the bans on female education. Akhundzada, an Islamic scholar who almost never appears in public, rarely leaves the Taliban heartland in southern Kandahar province. He and his circle have been instrumental in imposing restrictions on women and girls that have sparked an international outcry and isolated the Taliban on the global stage.

What is Eid al-Fitr and how do Muslims celebrate the Islamic holiday?

CAIRO (AP) — Muslims around the world will soon bid farewell to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and start celebrating the holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Eid is marked with congregational prayers and festivities that typically include family visits, gatherings and new clothes. This year, Eid will come just after the Israel-Hamas war crosses the somber milestone of having stretched on for half a year. During Ramadan, as Muslims around the world savored the traditions of their diverse communities, advocacy, prayers and charity for Palestinians in Gaza were high on the minds of many. It’s an Islamic holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the month when devout Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset.

South Korea election issues: Green onions, striking doctors, an alleged sexist jab at a candidate

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Soaring prices for green onions and apples. Striking doctors. A politician’s allegedly sexist jab at a female candidate. These are among the issues animating voters in South Korea this year. As South Koreans prepare to vote for a new 300-member parliament next week, many are choosing their livelihoods and other domestic topics as their most important election issues, staying away from traditionally popular agendas like North Korean nuclear threats and the U.S. security commitment. “I feel drawn to someone who talks about things that can be truly helpful to our neighborhoods,” said Kim Yun-ah, a 45-year-old Seoul officer worker.