Southeast Asian diplomats meet with China as friction mounts over Beijing's sweeping maritime claims

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Top diplomats from Southeast Asia met Friday in Laos with China’s foreign minister for talks that come as friction escalates over Beijing’s growing effort to press its sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea. Several members of the Association of...

Myanmar violence, South China Sea tensions are top issues as Southeast Asian diplomats meet in Laos

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Southeast Asian foreign ministers and top diplomats from key partners including the United States and China are gathering in the Laotian capital on Thursday for the start of three days of talks expected to focus on the increasingly violent civil war in Myanmar, tensions in...

UN cultural agency calls for Laos, Cambodia to invite monitoring teams to contentious UNESCO sites

BANGKOK (AP) — The United Nations' cultural agency recommended Thursday that Laos invite a monitoring mission to the historic city of Luang Prabang, a World Heritage Site where a nearby dam project on the Mekong River has raised concerns it could lose the coveted status. While the...

Heading to Asia, Blinken aims to shore up Indo-Pacific ties and stress US commitment to the region

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ignoring the political chaos surrounding President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection campaign, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head to Asia this week on a long-planned eight-day trip aimed at shoring up ties with Indo-Pacific allies and partners but with the...

Fierce fighting breaks out as militias launch new attacks against regime in Myanmar's civil war

BANGKOK (AP) — New fighting has broken out in northeastern Myanmar, bringing an end to a Chinese-brokered cease-fire and putting pressure on the military regime as it faces attacks from resistance forces on multiple fronts in the country's civil war. The Ta'ang National Liberation...

Rights group urges Thailand to stop forcing dissidents to return to countries they fled for safety

BANGKOK (AP) — Human Rights Watch urged the Thai government to stop forcing political dissidents who fled to Thailand for safety to return to their home countries, where they may face torture, persecution or death. The international rights group analyzed 25 cases that took place...

A massive Powerball win draws attention to a little-known immigrant culture in the US

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Cheng “Charlie” Saephan wore a broad smile and a bright blue sash emblazoned with the words “Iu-Mien USA” as he hoisted an oversized check for $1.3 billion above his head. The 46-year-old immigrant's luck in winning an enormous Powerball jackpot in...

Winner of $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — One of the winners of a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot this month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week. Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, 46, of Portland, told a news conference held by the...

An immigrant from Laos battling cancer holds the winning ticket for the $1.3 billion jackpot in Oregon