Top Asian News 3:58 a.m. GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — After an acrimonious campaign, polls opened in Pakistan on Wednesday to elect the country's third straight civilian election __ a first for this majority Muslim nation that has been directly or indirectly ruled by its military for most of its 71-year history. Rights groups have warned that the rancorous campaign and widespread allegations of manipulation imperil the wobbly transition to democratic rule and raise the specter of bitter post-election challenges of fraud. The unprecedented participation of radical religious groups, including those banned for terrorist links but resurrected and renamed, has also raised fears the space for moderate thought may shrink further in Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan is set to elect its third consecutive civilian government in Wednesday's parliamentary elections. A look at the main candidates and their parties: ___ SHAHBAZ SHARIF, PAKISTAN MUSLIM LEAGUE Shahbaz Sharif took over as chief of the beleaguered center-right former ruling Pakistan Muslim League party after the Supreme Court last July ousted his elder brother and then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from office on charges of corruption stemming from the leaked Panama papers. Shahbaz was twice chief minister in Punjab province, where 60 percent of Pakistan's 200 million people live. Nawaz Sharif, who is now in jail appealing a 10-year prison term for corruption, has had a tumultuous relationship with Pakistan's powerful military despite entering politics at the military's behest.

BANGKOK (AP) — Rescuers are searching for hundreds missing in villages flooded when part of a newly built hydroelectric dam was breached in southeastern Laos. SK Engineering & Construction, one of two South Korean partners in the project, said in a statement late Tuesday that the top of one of five auxiliary earth-fill dams at the project had collapsed Sunday night after heavy rains. The cascade from the collapse swept away houses, flooded villages and left more than 6,600 people homeless. The official Lao news agency KPL said the disaster "left hundreds of people missing," without providing details. The website of the state-run Vientiane Times newspaper said Wednesday that two people were confirmed dead as of Tuesday afternoon.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ivanka Trump is shutting down her fashion line of dresses, shoes and handbags that became a target of political boycotts and spurred concerns about conflicts of interest after her father was elected. The president's daughter said in a statement she made the decision so she could focus more on work as a White House adviser. She had stepped away from the day-to-day management of her company when she joined President Donald Trump's administration. "After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington," she said.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Killings of land and environmental activists rose in 2017 as Mexico and the Philippines registered worrying increases in such murders and Brazil saw the most ever registered in a single country, a watchdog group said Tuesday. At least 207 people who were protecting land and resources from business interests were slain last year, up from 201 the year before, according to Global Witness. That makes 2017 the deadliest year since the group began formally recording such deaths in 2015. The group said that its figures were almost certainly vast underestimates because of the difficulties of identifying and confirming such killings.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah says Malaysia's new government will adopt a firmer stand in tackling a decades-old territorial row in the South China Sea amid China's aggressive expansion in the disputed area. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who won a stunning electoral victory in May, has said warships should be removed from the South China Sea. Saifuddin says Mahathir "is sending a signal that we want to be more firm, more serious" in handling the issue. He says China's continued militarization of the waters has raised concern and uneasiness and could potentially escalate regional tensions. He says Southeast Asian foreign ministers meeting in Singapore next week will seek ways to accelerate a code of conduct to ensure peace in the busy waterway, controlled by China and claimed by five other countries.

PERTH, Australia (AP) — An alleged serial killer on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to murdering three women who vanished from an Australian city nightclub strip more than 20 years ago and to sexually assaulting another two teenagers up to 40 years ago. Bradley Robert Edwards, 49, has been in custody since he was arrested at his Perth home in December 2016 after what police described as the biggest and most complex investigation in Western Australia state history. But he did not enter pleas to the charges until he appeared in Perth's Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court via a video link from prison.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea appears to have started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by leader Kim Jong Un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June. While Pyongyang could be trying to build trust with Washington as they engage in talks to resolve the nuclear standoff, analysts say dismantling a few facilities at the site alone wouldn't realistically reduce North Korea's military capability or represent a material step toward denuclearization. And they expressed concern that the work is being done without verification. The North Korea-focused 38 North website said commercial satellite images from July 20 to 22 indicate the North began dismantling key facilities at the Sohae launch site.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — Delaney Tarr says Valentine's Day was supposed to be a time to celebrate beauty and love but instead turned into a day of fear when a gunman attacked her Florida school. But now she's finding inspiration among others who overcame heartbreak half a world away. The 18-year-old senior is one of 28 students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, who are visiting New Zealand this week. The goal of the trip is for the students to learn how to keep a youth movement going long after a tragedy has faded from the headlines.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced Tuesday it will provide $12 billion in emergency relief to ease the pain of American farmers slammed by President Donald Trump's escalating trade disputes with China and other countries. However, some farm-state Republicans quickly dismissed the plan, declaring that farmers want markets for their crops, not payoffs for lost sales and lower prices. The Agriculture Department said it would tap an existing program to provide billions in direct payments to farmers and ranchers hurt by foreign retaliation to Trump's tariffs. With congressional elections coming soon, the government action underscored administration concern about damage to U.S.