BEIJING (AP) – The United States and China sparred Wednesday on how to deal with North Korea’s latest nuclear weapons test and ease rising tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. After meeting for more than four hours in Beijing in what they both termed “constructive” and “candid” …

TOKYO (AP) – An American university student’s arrest in North Korea has rekindled questions about whether a small but steady trickle of U.S. tourists who go to the country are unwittingly offering themselves up as valuable pawns in a political game with Pyongyang that can have serious repercussions for officials …

MANILA, Philippines (AP) – Philippine President Benigno Aquino III gave a red-carpet welcome to Japan’s emperor Wednesday in a sign of blossoming ties between the two nations, both mired in territorial disputes with China, while further moving past painful memories of Japan’s World War II aggression. Aquino and Emperor Akihito …

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Apple is bracing for its first sales decline in 13 years, despite selling a record 74.8 million iPhones in the final three months of 2015, in what may prove to be a turning point for the world’s most valuable company. The tech giant says revenue could …

VATICAN CITY (AP) – The Latest on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Europe (all times local): 1:10 p.m. Iran’s president has asked Pope Francis to pray for him after private talks at the Vatican. President Hassan Rouhani’s four-day European swing aims to help position Tehran as a player in …

MOSCOW (AP) – Russia on Tuesday argued strongly against Turkey’s demand to keep a leading Kurdish group out of Syria’s peace talks, and said it expects the U.N. envoy to resist “blackmail” by Turkey and others, reflecting sharp differences that remain ahead of the scheduled talks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey …

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – Malaysia’s attorney general said Tuesday that nearly $700 million channeled into Prime Minister Najib Razak’s private accounts was a personal donation from Saudi Arabia’s royal family, and cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing. The announcement capped months of uncertainty for Najib, who has been fighting …

BEIJING (AP) – China’s government has released and deported a Swedish man it accused of training and funding unlicensed lawyers in the country, after he made an extraordinary confession broadcast on state television. Swedish Embassy spokesman Sebastian Magnusson confirmed Tuesday that Peter Dahlin had left China, but was unable to …

JERUSALEM (AP) – Throughout the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam, and while incarcerated in two prison camps, Mirjam Bolle wrote letters to her fiance that she never sent but hoped to share with him after the war. Yet when the two ultimately reunited she decided to leave the past behind and …

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Apple could soon face one of its biggest challenges to date: Peak iPhone. Most analysts believe Apple surpassed its own record by selling more than 74.5 million units of its flagship product in the final three months of 2015. But there are signs that iPhone sales …