Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea launched a close-range ballistic missile and other weapons toward the sea on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, days after the leaders of Russia and China voiced their opposition to Western pressures on North Korea. The missile fired from Jongju, a city near the North's west coast, flew about 80 kilometers (50 miles), South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. North Korea launched other kinds of projectiles, it said, but didn't elaborate. South Korean media, citing the military, reported the other weapons systems mobilized included multiple rocket launch systems. The reports said that the simultaneous launches of different kinds of weapons were likely meant to test an ability to evade South Korean and U.S.

NEW DELHI (AP) - Foreign ministers from Australia, India, Japan and the United States announced new initiatives on Tuesday on maritime security, port infrastructure and energy to boost cooperation in the Indo-Pacific to counter concerns about China's growing influence. The announcements by the group of nations known as the Quad came after talks in New Delhi between India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong. Speaking after the meeting, Rubio announced a new Indo-Pacific maritime surveillance initiative to integrate the four countries' surveillance capabilities and strengthen real-time information sharing across the region.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - The head of an inquiry into antisemitism in Australia on Tuesday said Jewish witnesses who appeared before it are facing online harassment and bigotry and issued a condemnation. The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion was created in response to two gunmen allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group slaying 15 people at a Sydney Hanukkah celebration in December. Royal commissions are Australia's highest form of public inquiry. The commission's head, former High Court judge Virginia Bell, said Jewish witnesses who testified about their experiences of antisemitism since public hearings began on May 4 have been subjected to online "harassment and intimidation." "We have received reports from a number of witnesses concerning a dramatic increase in online hate messages after they have given evidence," Bell said.

BANGKOK (AP) - Rescuers tried to reach seven villagers trapped inside a flooded cave in Laos for the seventh day on Tuesday, with difficult terrain and weather impeding their efforts. There has been no contact with them since they became trapped. The villagers entered the cave in Xaisomboun province on May 19, but heavy rain triggered flash flooding that blocked their exit, according to Lao and Thai rescue teams involved in the operation. The Lao organization Rescue Volunteer for People, which is working closely with the local authorities, posted on its Facebook page that Tuesday's operation plan included exploring air shafts above the cave in hopes of identifying possible access points and locating the trapped people.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Two planes carrying 19 Australian women and children linked to the Islamic State group in Syria landed in Melbourne and Sydney on Tuesday, despite Australia's government warning that the returnees could face charges. The government earlier confirmed seven women and 12 children were heading home on Qatar Airways flights, less than three weeks after a group of 13 people in similar situations returned to Australia's two largest cities. Two women with seven children flew to Melbourne. Four women with six children landed about an hour later in Sydney, a joint police and intelligence agency statement said. No one had been charged on arrival, but investigations into their activities in Syria were continuing, the statement said.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Three people were killed and three others were injured Tuesday when a decades-old overpass undergoing demolition partially collapsed in the South Korean capital, Seoul, fire officials said. The accident occurred during a safety inspection after workers halted demolition work upon noticing that a part of the structure had slightly sunk while concrete slabs were being cut, said Lee Jong-woon, an official at Seoul's Seodaemun District Fire Station. The victims were crushed by debris and other wreckage after a section of a bridge deck suddenly collapsed, officials said. Police and emergency officials sealed off traffic around the site, where twisted steel beams and shattered slabs of concrete hung precariously from the edge of the overpass.

TOKYO (AP) - Shinnosuke Abe has resigned as manager of Japan's storied baseball team Yomiuri Giants after being arrested for the alleged assault of his teenage daughter. The 47-year-old Abe, who was later released, apologized "for causing trouble because of my family matters" at a news conference on Tuesday where he announced he was stepping down as manager. The Yomiuri newspaper, which owns the team, said Abe allegedly grabbed his 18-year-old daughter by the collar and threw her down to the floor as he tried to stop her fighting with her younger sister at home in Tokyo on Monday. The daughter, whose name has not been released, then contacted a child guidance center after asking artificial intelligence app ChatGPT what to do, she said in a statement released Tuesday.

VICTORIA, British Columbia (AP) - The flagship of South Korea's submarine fleet is docked in Canada's Pacific-coast province of British Columbia where it's serving as a floating floor model in the Asian nation's pitch for Canada to buy 12 like it. The crew of the ROKS Dosan Ahn Changho, a KSS-III-class diesel-electric submarine, received an official welcome at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt on Monday, having arrived on Saturday ahead of exercises with the Canadian and other navies. Hanwha Ocean, which built the submarine, is one of two bidders for the multibillion-dollar contract to supply Canada's new sub fleet. Glenn Copeland, managing director and president of Hanwha Defense Canada, said it was good timing, with Canada expected to announce the winning bid by the end of next month.

HONG KONG (AP) - The Hong Kong government on Tuesday proposed issuing 10,000 new vehicle permits for drivers to work for online ride-hailing services like Uber, less than half the amount that industry representatives were hoping for. Hong Kong has about 18,000 licensed taxis and caps private service car-hire permits at 1,500, and these drivers can be summoned through ride-hailing apps. But the additional drivers who operate through those apps technically are outside the law and in the past have faced arrest, though they are prevalent in the city. The Hong Kong government unveiled details of a regulatory framework last summer to bring the industry under formal regulation, following years of pressure from taxi companies.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's recent visit to India has helped pave the way for a complete reset of Canada-India relations, India's trade minister said Monday. The ties were strained under Carney's predecessor in the wake of the 2023 killing of a Sikh activist in Canada. The remarks by India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who is visiting Canada, came as he met with Canada's International Trade Minister and just before he met with Carney. "We're negotiating a free trade deal with India. This will be a game changer for Canadian workers and businesses - unlocking a massive new market," Carney said in a social media post.