Top Asian News 9:59 p.m. GMT

US stands apart as G-20 summit stumbles on trade, climate

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The United States has been blocking progress at the Group of 20 summit on fixing world trade rules, fighting climate change and tackling migration, according to European officials involved in the discussions. The divisions among the world's leading economies were evident from the moment the Argentine president opened the summit Friday with a call for international cooperation to solve the planet's problems. President Donald Trump sought to use the summit to make his own trade deals. Meanwhile, two men under heavy criticism from the West lately — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — appeared to seek refuge in each other, bonding with a tough-guy hand grab as the leaders sat down around a huge round table for talks.

The Latest: Argentine hopeful for final joint G-20 statement

A top Argentine Treasury official is hopeful a final joint statement will be possible at the Group of 20 summit that began Friday in Buenos Aires. Laura Jaitman says world leaders have made progress in talks about the challenges of the global economy regarding finance and trade. She adds that U.S. President Donald Trump is "very active and committed" in the dialogue with all members. European officials said earlier that the U.S. is blocking progress on agreeing how to fix world trading rules, fight climate change and deal with migration. Jaitman says that "there's a very positive message of how trade has been an engine of growth for the next decades and how it will continue in the future providing benefits for all citizens."

China's coal project in Serbia raises climate change worries

KOSTOLAC, Serbia (AP) — A foul smell permeates the air in this gray mining town. People rarely open their windows as thick smoke billows from the huge chimneys of Serbia's main coal-fired power station. Things are only getting worse for residents living close to the Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia, which is being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. When U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew from the Paris agreement on tackling global climate change in 2017, China was seen as the champion in the battle to cut carbon emissions and prevent a global environmental catastrophe.

Koreas survey North's railways in hopes of joining networks

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean train rolled into North Korea for the first time in a decade on Friday as the countries began joint surveys on northern railway sections they hope someday to connect with the South. The weekslong inspections represent one of the most significant goodwill gestures between the Koreas in past months as they push ahead with engagement amid a stalemate in larger negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang to resolve the nuclear standoff. Also on Friday, an official from Seoul's Defense Ministry said the North and South Korean militaries completed removing 20 front-line guard posts and land mines from a border area where they plan to start their first-ever joint search for remains of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.

French Senate worker faces treason charges over North Korea

PARIS (AP) — A judicial official says that a French Senate employee has been handed preliminary charges for treason for allegedly collecting and delivering information to North Korea. The official said Friday that an investigating judge placed Benoit Quennedey under investigation for treason a day earlier. Quennedey was detained Sunday by agents of France's domestic intelligence agency in the probe, which began in March. The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly and asked to remain anonymous. Quennedey was suspended Tuesday from his job as chief administrator for Architecture, Patrimony and Gardens at the Senate while the investigation continues. He headed the French-Korean Friendship Association, and traveled numerous times to the Koreas.

China's Uighurs told to share beds, meals with party members

ISTANBUL (AP) — The two women in the photograph were smiling, but Halmurat Idris knew something was terribly wrong. One was his 39-year-old sister; standing at her side was an elderly woman Idris did not know. Their grins were tight-lipped, mirthless. Her sister had posted the picture on a social media account along with a caption punctuated by a smiley-face. "Look, I have a Han Chinese mother now!" his sister wrote. Idris knew instantly: The old woman was a spy, sent by the Chinese government to infiltrate his family. There are many like her. According to the ruling Communist Party's official newspaper, as of the end of September, 1.1 million local government workers have been deployed to ethnic minorities' living rooms, dining areas and Muslim prayer spaces, not to mention at weddings, funerals and other occasions once considered intimate and private.

Fear that uproar over gene-edited babies could block science

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists working on the frontiers of medicine fear the uproar over the reported births of gene-edited babies in China could jeopardize promising research into how to alter heredity to fend off a variety of disorders. Researchers are rapidly learning how to edit DNA to fight such conditions as Huntington's, Tay-Sachs and hereditary heart disease, conducting legally permissible experiments in lab animals and petri dishes without taking the ultimate step of actually creating babies. Now they worry about a backlash against their work, too. "The alarmists who claimed that scientists won't behave responsibly in the development of the next generation of gene editing now have ammunition," said a dismayed Kyle Orwig, a reproductive specialist at the University of Pittsburgh who hopes to eventually alter sperm production to treat infertility.

Japanese prince wants royals to fund Shinto rite, not public

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Prince Akishino said a highly religious ritual that is part of next year's succession ceremonies should be paid for privately by the Imperial family, and questioned the government's decision to use public money. Emperor Akihito's younger son spoke about the contentious issue in a news conference that was recorded for his 53rd birthday on Friday. Akihito plans to abdicate next year and will be succeeded by Crown Prince Naruhito. Akishino would then become first in line of succession. Akishino said that using public funds for the Daijosai, the first communion that the new emperor performs with Shinto gods, is questionable since Japan's Constitution separates religion and state.

Thousands of Australian students protest climate change

SYDNEY (AP) — Thousands of schoolchildren across Australia skipped classes Friday to attend rallies demanding the government act on climate change. But Resources Minister Matt Canavan said the students should be in school learning about science and mining, rather than discovering how to get on welfare. The coordinated rallies Friday were held in close to 30 cities and towns and were inspired by a 15-year-old Swedish girl's activism. In Sydney, more than 1,000 children, most in school uniforms, chanted slogans, while similar numbers blocked streets outside the Victoria state parliament in Melbourne. The rallies were inspired by Greta Thunberg, who protests every Friday outside Sweden's parliament, demanding leaders do more about climate change.

Argentina takes issue with the US on China comments at G20

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine officials are distancing themselves from the U.S. version of how they view China trade after a meeting during the Group of 20 summit. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Presidents Donald Trump and Mauricio Macri met Friday and "reiterated their shared commitment" to face challenges including "predatory Chinese economic activity." But a senior Argentine official told The Associated Press later that the "adjective used by Sanders is too strong and doesn't reflect" Argentina's relationship with Beijing. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.