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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns look at a record during a visit to Li-Pi record store in Beijing, China, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

The US and China talk past each other on most issues, but at least they’re still talking

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his just-concluded latest visit to China with a stop at a Beijing record store where he bought albums by Taylor Swift and Chinese rocker Dou Wei in a symbolic nod to cross-cultural exchanges and understanding he had been promoting for three days.
 
FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Vietnamese Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue shake hands as they pose for a photo at the national assembly in Hanoi, Vietnam, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. Vietnamese state media outlet VN Express reports that the head of Vietnam’s Parliament, Vuong Dinh Hue, has resigned. He is the latest member of senior government to leave office amid an ongoing anti-corruption campaign. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang, Pool, File)

Head of Vietnam’s parliament resigns amid corruption probe

 
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Antony Blinken meets with China’s President Xi as US, China spar over bilateral and global issues

 
A voter puts his hand on a classroom desk covered in marks as a polling officer applies indelible ink mark on his index finger at a polling station situated inside a school during the second round of voting in the national election, near Palakkad, in Indian southern state of Kerala, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

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

 
FILE - The TikTok logo is displayed on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen, Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston. 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 or face a ban. A battle in the courts will almost certainly be backed by Chinese authorities as the bitter U.S.-China rivalry threatens the future of a wildly popular way for young Americans to connect online. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

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

 
FILE - A Mitsubishi Heavy Industries staff member stands next to the top of the first stage of a H3 rocket, inside the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works Tobishima Plant in Tobishima, Aichi prefecture Thursday, March 21, 2024. Japan’s space agency announced Friday, April 26, that it will launch its new flagship rocket H3 on June 30 carrying an observation satellite for disaster response and security purposes, a key mission that it had failed in its debut flight last year.(AP Photo/Mari Yamaguchi)

Japan announces plans to launch upgraded observation satellites on new flagship rocket’s 3rd flight

Japan’s space agency says it’s planning to launch a major upgrade to its satellite imaging system, as a new flagship rocket is put to the test for a third time.
 
FILE - Doctors stage a rally against the government's medical policy in Seoul, South Korea, on March 3, 2024. South Korean police said Friday, April 26, they searched the office of the hard-line incoming leader of an association of doctors and confiscated his mobile phone as he faces accusations that he incited the protracted walkouts by thousands of medical interns and residents. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

South Korean police raid office of incoming head of doctors’ group over protracted strikes

South Korean police have searched the office of the hard-line incoming leader of a doctors association and confiscated his mobile phone.
 
FILE - In this handout photo provided by the Philippine Army 6th Infantry Division, recovered firearms from suspected members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters are seen after a gunbattle with Philippine troops at Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in Maguindanao del Sur province, southern Philippines, on April 22, 2024. Philippine forces killed an Abu Sayyaf militant, who had been implicated in past beheadings, including of 10 Filipino marines and two kidnapped Vietnamese, in a clash in the south, police officials said Friday, April 26. (Philippine Army 6th Infantry Division via AP, File)

Philippine police kill an Abu Sayyaf militant implicated in 15 beheadings and other atrocities

Philippine forces have killed an Abu Sayyaf militant who had been implicated in past beheadings including of 10 Filipino marines and two kidnapped Vietnamese.
 
Former British parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court where he faces an Official Secrets Act charge related to allegedly gathering information for China, in London, Friday April 26, 2024. (Jeff Moore/PA via AP)

2 men charged in the UK with spying for China are granted bail after a court appearance in London

A former researcher working in the U.K. Parliament and another man charged with spying for China have been granted bail after a court appearance in London.
 
Ramia Abdo Sultan, lawyer and communications relations advisor of the Australian National Imams Council with Imams speaks during a press conference, in Sydney, Friday, April 26, 2024. Muslim groups in Australia on Friday criticized the disparity in the police response to two stabbing attacks in Sydney this month, saying it had created a perception of a double standard and further alienated the country's minority Muslim community. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image via AP)

Muslim groups claim double standards in police handling of two high-profile stabbings in Sydney

Muslim groups in Australia have criticized the disparity in the police response to two stabbing attacks in Sydney this month, saying it created a perception of a double standard and further alienated the country’s minority Muslim community.
 
An elderly woman shows the indelible ink mark on her finger after casting vote at women only booth during the first round of polling of India's national election in Doda district, Jammu and Kashmir, India, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

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.
 
U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General William Jurney, U.S. Exercise Director speaks during the opening ceremonies of the "Balikatan" or Shoulder-to-Shoulder at Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters in Quezon City, Philippines on Monday April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

France and the Philippines to start talks on a `visiting forces agreement,’ French envoy says

The French ambassador to Manila says her country and the Philippines will start talks next month on a proposed defense pact that would allow troops from each country to hold exercises in the other’s territory.
 
A Long March rocket carrying a crew of Chinese astronauts in a Shenzhou-18 spaceship lifts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

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

China launched a three-member crew to its orbiting space station as part of its ambitious program that aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030.
 
Firefighters douse a fire which broke out in a restaurant and hotel near the Patna Junction railway station, in Patna, Bihar, India, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Aftab Alam Siddiqui)

Fire burns a restaurant and hotel in eastern India, killing 6 and injuring 20

A major fire that engulfed a restaurant and hotel in eastern India killed at least six people and injured 20.
 
In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, U.S. Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee, left, meets with Taiwan President-elect and Vice President Lai Ching-te in Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Kildee and Lisa McClain, secretary-general of the Republican Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives jointly led a cross-party group of lawmakers to visit Taiwan from April 23 to 25 . Members also include Mark Alford, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)

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

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.
 
Polling officials and security personnel headed to a remote polling booth travel on a boat to cross the river Brahmaputra on the eve of parliament election at Baghmora Chapori (small island) of Majuli, northeastern Assam, India, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

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

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.
 
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Blinken raises Chinese trade practices in meetings with officials in the financial hub of Shanghai

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has raised what the U.S. describes as unfair Chinese trade practices in meetings with local government officials in the financial hub of Shanghai.
 
FILE - Flores sit on a fence outside the Christ the Good Shepherd church in suburban Wakely in western Sydney, Australia, on April 16, 2024. Detectives and secret service agents investigating the stabbing of a bishop in the Sydney church last week executed search warrants in the city on Wednesday, April 24, as part of a major operation, officials said. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File)

Bishop stabbed during Sydney church service backs X’s legal case to share video of the attack

A Sydney bishop who was stabbed repeatedly in an alleged extremist attack blamed on a teenager has backed X Corp. owner Elon Musk’s legal bid to overturn an Australian ban on sharing graphic video of the attack on social media.
 
Veterans march during a Anzac Day parade at Hobsonville near Auckland, New Zealand, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (Dean Purcell/NZ Herald via AP)

Australia and New Zealand honor their war dead with dawn services on Anzac Day

Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered across Australia and New Zealand for dawn services and street marches to commemorate their war dead on Anzac Day.
 

Chinese student given 9-month prison sentence for harassing person posting democracy leaflets

The U.S. Attorney’s office says a Chinese former student at Boston’s Berklee College of Music has been sentenced to nine months in prison for stalking and threatening a person who posted a flyer in support of democracy in the Asian country.
 
In this photo released by Press Information Department, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, left, shakes hand with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif prior to their meeting at prime minister house in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, April 22, 2024. Iranian and Pakistani leaders vowed to strengthen economic and security cooperation in a meeting on Monday, as the two countries seek to smooth over a diplomatic rift. (Press Information Department via AP)

Pakistan and Iran vow to enhance efforts at a ‘united front’ against Afghanistan-based militants

Neighbors Pakistan and Iran have pledged to enhance efforts at a “united front” against Afghanistan-based militants, saying their presence poses a serious threat to regional and global security.
 
FILE - The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Kashiwazaki, Niigata prefecture, northern Japan, on April 2021. The operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said on Monday that it has obtained permission from safety regulators to start loading atomic fuel into a reactor at its only operable plant in north-central Japan, which it is keen to restart for the first time since the 2011 disaster. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, or TEPCO, said that it obtained the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s approval to load nuclear fuel into the No. 7 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata and it was to start the process later Monday. (Kyodo News via AP, File)

IAEA team inspects treated radioactive water release from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant

A team of experts from the U.N. nuclear agency has inspected the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for a review of its discharge of treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific.
 

Oil sprays from an ANA flight carrying 213 people as it lands in northern Japan

Airline officials say oil sprayed from an All Nippon Airways plane as it landed in northern Japan, but none of the 213 people on board was injured.
 
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume speaks during a media event held by the Volkswagen Group a day before the auto show in Beijing, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The Volkswagen Group, which includes Audi and Porsche, plans to launch 40 new models in China over the next three years and to have a lineup of 30 EVs by 2030. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Volkswagen revamps its approach in China in bid to overtake upstart EV makers

Foreign automakers have been caught flat-footed in China by an electric vehicle boom that has shaken up the market over the last three years.
 
Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he boards a plane, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Blinken begins key China visit as tensions rise over new US foreign aid bill

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has begun a critical trip to China armed with a strengthened diplomatic hand following Senate approval of a foreign aid package that will provide billions of dollars in assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan as well as force TikTok’s China-based parent compan
 
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, left is received by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena as he arrives at the Mattala International airport in Mattala, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (Sri Lanka President's Office via AP)

Iran’s Raisi says Israel must be brought to justice for ‘usurpation’ of Palestinian territories

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi says Israel must be brought to justice for “usurpation and oppression” of the Palestinian territories, if not there won’t be a guarantee that others would not do the same in other lands.
 
Indonesian Defense Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto, left, waves at media members as his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of Indonesian President JokoWidodo, looks on during their formal declaration as president and vice president-elect at the General Election Commission building in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Indonesia's electoral commission formally Subianto as the elected president in a ceremony on Wednesday after the country's highest court rejected appeals lodged by two losing presidential candidates who are challenging his landslide victory. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Indonesia declares Prabowo Subianto president-elect after court rejects rivals’ appeal

Indonesia’s electoral commission has formally declared Prabowo Subianto president-elect in a ceremony on after the country’s highest court rejected challenges to his landslide victory lodged by two losing presidential candidates.
 
FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, meets Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress of China, in Pyongyang, North Korea on April 13, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

North Korea sends a delegation to Iran in a growing effort to break its diplomatic isolation

A high-level North Korean economic delegation was on its way to Iran for what would be the two countries’ first known talks since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
FILE - Flores sit on a fence outside the Christ the Good Shepherd church in suburban Wakely in western Sydney, Australia, on April 16, 2024. Detectives and secret service agents investigating the stabbing of a bishop in the Sydney church last week executed search warrants in the city on Wednesday, April 24, as part of a major operation, officials said. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File)

Australian police arrest 7 alleged teen extremists linked to stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church

Australian police say they have arrested seven teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology in raids around Sydney to protect the community from a potential attack.
 
Undated handout photo issued by Cambridge University of four Aboriginal spears that were brought to England by Captain James Cook more than 250 years ago and have now been repatriated to Australia in a ceremony at Trinity College in Cambridge, Tuesday April 23, 2024. (Cambridge University via AP)

Aboriginal spears taken by Captain Cook in 1770 are returned to Australia’s Indigenous people

Four Aboriginal spears that were taken to England by Captain James Cook more than 250 years ago have been returned to Australia’s Indigenous community at a ceremony in Cambridge University.
 

South Korean sentenced to 14 months in jail for killing 76 cats

A South Korean man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for killing 76 cats in one of the country’s the most gruesome cases of animal cruelty in recent years.
 
In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Lisa McClain, left, secretary-general of the Republican Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives meets with Taiwan President-elect and Vice President Lai Ching-te in Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. McClain and Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee jointly led a cross-party group of lawmakers to visit Taiwan from April 23 to 25 . Members also include Mark Alford, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)

$8 billion US military aid package to Taiwan will ‘boost confidence’ in region: president-elect

Taiwan’s President-elect Lai Ching-te says an $8 billion defense package approved by the U.S. House over the weekend will “strengthen the deterrence against authoritarianism in the West Pacific ally chain,” in a reference to key rival China.
 
In this image supplied by the Australian Prime Ministers office, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, centre right, walks with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape as they start their trek along the Kokoda Track at Kokoda Village, Papua New Guinea, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The prime ministers on Tuesday began trekking into the South Pacific island nation’s mountainous interior to commemorate a pivotal World War II campaign and to underscore their current security alliance that is challenged by China's growing regional influence. (Prime Ministers office via AP)

Australia and Papua New Guinea leaders trek toward WWII South Pacific battleground

Australia and Papua New Guinea’s prime ministers have begun trekking into the South Pacific island nation’s mountainous interior to commemorate a pivotal World War II campaign and to underscore their current security alliance, which faces challenges from China’s growing regional influence.
 
FILE - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on June 19, 2023. Blinken is starting three days of talks with senior Chinese officials in Shanghai and Beijing this week. It comes as U.S.-China ties are at a critical point over numerous global disputes. (Leah Millis/Pool Photo via AP, File)

As Blinken heads to China, these are the major divides he will try to bridge

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is starting three days of talks with senior Chinese officials in Shanghai and Beijing this week. The trip comes as U.S.
 
CORRECTS THE SOURCE - In this photo released by Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia, fire and rescue department inspect the crash site of two helicopter in Lumur, Perak state, Monday, April 23, 2024. Malaysia's navy says two military helicopters collided and crashed during a training session, killing all 10 people on board. (Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia via AP)

2 Malaysian military helicopters collide and crash while training, killing all 10 crew

Malaysia’s navy says two military helicopters collided midair and crashed during a training session, killing all 10 people on board.
 
FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition, March 9, 2020, in Washington. Tech billionaire Elon Musk accused Australia of censorship after an Australian judge ruled that his social media platform X must block users worldwide from accessing video of a bishop being stabbed in a Sydney church. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Elon Musk accuses Australia of censorship after court bans violent video

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has accused Australia of censorship after an Australian judge ruled that his social media platform X must block users worldwide from accessing video of a bishop being stabbed in a Sydney church.
 
In this handout photo provided by the Philippine Army 6th Infantry Division, recovered firearms from suspected members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters are seen after a gunbattle with Philippine troops at Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in Maguindanao del Sur province, southern Philippines on Monday April 22, 2024. Philippine troops killed the leader of a small Muslim rebel group and eleven of his men blamed for past bombings and extortion in a clash in the country's south, military officials said Tuesday. (Philippine Army 6th Infantry Division via AP)

Philippine troops kill 12 suspected Muslim rebels in clash that wounded 7 soldiers

Philippine troops have killed the leader of a small Muslim rebel group and eleven of his men blamed for past bombings and extortion in a clash in the country’s south.
 
In this image from a video, roads in Hualien, Taiwan are cordoned off after a cluster of earthquakes struck the island early Tuesday, April 23, 2024. There were no reports of casualties in the quakes, although there were further damages to two multi-story buildings that had been evacuated following a magnitude 7.4 quake that hit the island earlier this month, killing 13 people and injuring over 1,000. (TVBS via AP)

A cluster of earthquakes shakes Taiwan after a strong quake killed 13 earlier this month

A cluster of earthquakes has struck Taiwan, the strongest measuring 6.1 magnitude. That’s according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
 
FILE - In this photo from The Military True News Information Team on Jan.31, 2023, Vice President Henry Van Thio speaks during meeting with members the National Defense and Security Council in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Military True News Information Team via AP, File)

Myanmar’s figurehead vice president, a rare holdover from Suu Kyi’s civilian government, steps down

Myanmar’s Vice President Henry Van Thio is stepping down. He served in the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and then continued in the position after the military ousted her to seize power in 2021.
 

Security forces kill 11 militants in northwest region bordering Afghanistan, Pakistani military says

Pakistan’s military says security forces killed eleven militants in two raids targeting their hideouts in the volatile northwest region bordering Afghanistan.