Top Asian News 3:58 a.m. GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Prime Minister Scott Morrison looks set to form a majority government as counting of votes from Australia's election allays fears his conservative coalition may have to rule in the minority. With 76 seats needed for majority rule, figures from the Australian Electoral Commission on Monday showed 84 % of votes had been counted and the coalition was on target to win 77 seats, a rise of four after going into Saturday's election as a minority government with 73 seats. The opposition Labor Party — which was widely expected to win the election — is set to claim 68 seats, with independents and minor parties taking six.

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A prominent rights group in Indian-controlled Kashmir is advocating for the United Nations to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate what it calls the endemic use of torture by government forces who have faced a decades-long anti-India uprising in the disputed region. The Jammu-Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society on Monday released a detailed report saying India is using torture as a "matter of policy" and "instrument of control" in Kashmir, where rebels have fought Indian rule since 1989. "Torture is the most under-reported human rights violation perpetrated by the state," the report noted. "Due to legal, political and moral impunity extended to the armed forces, not a single prosecution has taken place in any case of human rights violations" in the region, the report said.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Apa Sherpa has stood on top of the world more times than all but one other person. Now he wants to make sure no one feels compelled to follow in his footsteps. As a boy growing up in Nepal, Sherpa dreamed of becoming a doctor, but poverty and lack of education steered him to a far more dangerous path: Working as a guide on Mount Everest, carrying climbing equipment and helping foreign mountaineers scale the world's tallest peak. Now retired in the U.S., Sherpa returns every year to his roots in the foothills of the Himalayas to provide financial assistance to village schools and try to show children from the Sherpa minority group that they have options in life.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's economy grew at an annual pace of 2.1% in the first quarter, marking the second straight quarter of expansion, according to government data released Monday. The Cabinet Office said seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product, the total value of a nation's goods and services, grew 0.5% in the January-March period from the previous quarter. Healthy public investment and private residential investment helped boost growth during the quarter, according to the data, which is likely to be revised. Japan's economy has recorded moderate growth under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" anti-deflation programs but contracted in some recent periods because of natural disasters and other factors.

KOLKATA, India (AP) — Voting in India's mammoth national election ended Sunday with the seventh and final phase of a grueling poll that lasted more than five weeks, as exit polls predicted a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party and its allies. Vote counting begins on Thursday, and the election result will likely be known the same day. The election is seen as a referendum on Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP's main opposition is the Congress party, led by Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has produced three prime ministers. Exit polls by four leading television news channels - Republic, TimesNow, New Delhi Television and India today- projected a victory for the BJP and its allies with 287 to 339 seats out of 543 - far ahead of the 272 seats needed to form the next government.

BEIJING (AP) — For four decades, Beijing has cajoled or pressured foreign companies to hand over technology. And its trading partners say if that didn't work, China stole what it wanted. Communist leaders deflected demands for change until foreign frustration erupted into a showdown with President Donald Trump. He sent shockwaves through their export industries by slapping punitive tariffs of up to 25% on Chinese goods. Europe, Japan and other trading partners object to Trump's tactics but echo American complaints. They say Beijing's tactics violate its market-opening commitments under the World Trade Organization. American prosecutors go further. They say the Communist Party is the ringleader of a global industrial spying operation.

BEIJING (AP) — The number of foreign companies that feel compelled to hand over technology in exchange for Chinese market access — an issue that sparked President Donald Trump's tariff fight with Beijing — has doubled since two years ago despite official promises to end such pressure, a business group reported Monday. The European Chamber of Commerce in China's report highlighted enduring complaints about "forced technology transfer" that China's trading partners say violate its market-opening commitments despite denials and promises of change. European leaders have criticized Trump's tactics in confronting Beijing over its technology ambitions but echo U.S. criticisms. One in five companies that responded to a survey in January, before the latest round of U.S.

NEW DELHI (AP) — India's marathon general election, the world's largest democratic exercise, is nearing the finish line. The first of the election's seven staggered phases was held on April 11. On Sunday, the final phase takes place, with voting for the remaining 60 seats in the 543-member lower house of Parliament. Vote counting is scheduled to start on Thursday. India has 900 million eligible voters. The election has taken place in a charged atmosphere as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party seeks a second term by pushing policies that some say have increased religious tensions and undermined multiculturalism.

BEIJING (AP) — A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves: ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at developments in the South China Sea, the location of several territorial conflicts in the region. ___ WARNING OF FISHERIES COLLAPSE An expert with the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies has warned of a looming collapse of crucial South China Sea fisheries due to overfishing and development projects.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan official says a gun battle between illegal armed groups has killed at least nine people in the northeastern Takhar province. Jawad Hajri, a spokesman for the provincial governor, says seven others from the armed groups were also wounded in Saturday afternoon's gun battle in Rustaq district. Hajri added that one of the group leaders, who is on the police wanted list, was killed. Separately, officials say a roadside bombing killed two police officers Saturday in the southern Helmand province. Omar Zwak, the provincial governor's spokesman, added that two other policemen were wounded in the attack in the Washer district.