SYDNEY (AP) — It’s a tiny Pacific island nation, one of the world’s smallest. But on Friday, elections in Tuvalu will be watched from Beijing and Taipei to Canberra, as voters choose a 16-seat parliament and, after negotiations, a prime minister.

A big part of the international attention is linked to the increasing importance of China in the region, and Tuvalu’s diplomatic ties to the government of Taiwan. A proposed security treaty with Australia could also hang in the balance

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower on Friday despite upbeat news on the U.S. economy, with Japan’s benchmark falling after the latest data showed inflation has been slowing faster than expected.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.1% to 35,847.71 in morning trading as a key measure of inflation showed it slowed faster than expected in January, to 1.6% from 2.4% in December. Weaker price increases relieve pressure

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A bipartisan delegation from the United States Congress reaffirmed support for Taiwan during a visit Thursday following its election of a new president. The delegation’s visit is the first by U.S. lawmakers to the island since the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party won a third-straight term in the .

China, America’s chief competitor for global influence, claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to use force to bring the self-governed island under its control. Beijing strongly

TOKYO (AP) — Weather officials in Japan predicted more heavy snow Thursday, a day after nearly 800 vehicles were trapped for hours on an expressway in central Japan.

The 6-kilometer (4-mile) traffic jam happened after two trailers got stuck in the snow Wednesday, forcing soldiers to come in and help free the vehicles.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency said as much as 60 centimeters (24 inches) of snow could fall in the Tohoku region through Friday, according to Japan’s

AL-MAZRA’A ASH-SHARQIYA, West Bank (AP) — The fatal shooting of an American-Palestinian teen driving a pickup truck in the occupied West Bank was unprovoked, the sole passenger told The Associated Press, describing apparent Israeli fire hitting the back of the vehicle before it overturned several times on a dirt road.

At least 10 bullets struck the truck, which was seen by The Associated Press after Israeli investigators examined it. Most hit the back windshield and truck bed, supporting 16-year

BANGKOK (AP) — China has rolled out new rules meant to expand access to commercial bank loans for property developers as Beijing doubles down on its effort to end a prolonged crisis in the real estate industry.

The policies will allow real estate companies to use bank loans pledged against commercial properties such as offices and shopping malls to repay their other loans and bonds and to cover operating expenses. They were announced late Wednesday by the People’s Bank of China, the National Financial Regulatory Administration and the Finance Ministry.

Beijing has

NEW YORK (AP) — He testified for under three minutes. But former President Donald Trump still broke a judge’s rules on what he could tell a jury about writer E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault and defamation allegations, and he left the courtroom Thursday bristling to the spectators: “This is not America.”

Testifying in his own defense , Trump didn’t look at the jury during his short, heavily negotiated stint on the witness stand. Because of the complex legal context of the case,

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump White House official , who was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into on the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced on Thursday to four months behind bars.

He was the second Trump aide convicted of . Former White House adviser Steve Bannon previously received but is free pending appeal.

Navarro was found guilty of defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House Jan. 6 committee. He served as a White House trade adviser under then-President

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two monuments symbolizing Australia’s colonial past were damaged by protesters on Thursday ahead of an increasingly polarizing national holiday that marks the anniversary of British settlement.

A statue in Melbourne of British naval officer James Cook, who in 1770 charted Sydney’s coast, was sawn off at the ankles, while a Queen Victoria monument in the city’s Queen Victoria Gardens was doused in red paint.

Images posted on social media showed the body of the Cook statue lying on the