Jennifer Pak

Secretary Hegseth told a room full of military defense officials and diplomats that there is rightful alarm at what he called China's historic military buildup.

He was less clear on how to prevent an escalation and did not clarify the status of U.S.

arms sales to Taiwan and the Iran war, key issues affecting Asian allies.

Hegseth also touted better U.S.-China relations, coming off what he called a historic summit between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Jennifer Pak, NPR News, Singapore.

The Shenzhou-23 vessel took off with three astronauts on board.

One of them will stay at the Tiangong Space Station for a year, which is one of the longest space missions.

While there, the crew will conduct cutting-edge space science, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency, including studying the impact of microgravity on the astronauts on zebrafish and mouse embryos and rice seeds.

The U.S.

also aims to establish long-term presence on the moon with NASA's Artemis program.

and eventually human exploration of Mars.

Jennifer Pak, NPR News, Shanghai.

Preliminary investigations suggest serious violations at the coal mine in Shanxi province, according to local authorities over the weekend, though they did not elaborate.

The gas explosion took place Friday after dinnertime.

China's state broadcaster CCTV reported that the coal mine blueprints did not match the actual layout, hampering rescue efforts.

The State Council, China's cabinet, has called for a thorough inspection of the coal mining sector.

Just over half of China's energy needs are generated from coal, which is why it has been somewhat insulated from the impact of the Iran war.

Jennifer Pak, NPR News, Shanghai.

The gas explosion happened after 7 p.m.

on Friday at a coal mine in northern China's Shanxi province.