Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, June 9 (Xinhua) -- China's natural gas consumption saw strong growth in the first four months of 2024, with the country intensifying its green development efforts, official data showed.

The apparent consumption of natural gas in this period totaled 143.73 billion cubic meters, up 11.9 percent year on year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

In April alone, consumption rose by 11.8 percent compared with the same period last year to total 35.46 billion cubic meters, said the commission.

BEIJING: China's Chang'e-6 probe on Tuesday lifted off from the far side of the Moon for its journey back to Earth carrying the first rock samples ever collected from the rarely explored terrain, in an ambitious mission that underscored the country’s rise as a major space power.

The ascender has entered a pre-set orbit around the Moon after taking off from the far side this morning, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced.

BEIJING: China on Friday said it will talk only with the representatives of the Dalai Lama and not the officials of the Tibetan government in exile based in India but ruled out dialogue on the highest Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader’s long-pending demand for autonomy for his remote Himalayan homeland.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin was reacting to reports of the back-channel talks between the Tibetan government-in-exile and the Chinese government when he said China regards the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamshala as a “separatist” bloc.

PUTRAJAYA, April 24 (Bernama) – Malaysia has urged countries that suspended their contributions to resume their support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The agency serves as a vital lifeline for the besieged Palestinians, according to the Foreign Ministry.

In a statement, the ministry widely known as Wisma Putra said Malaysia welcomed the decision by several countries to resume their contribution to UNRWA.

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese officials, stressing the importance of “responsibly managing” the differences between the United States and China as the two sides butted heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues.

UNITED NATIONS, April 25 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday urged the United Nations to take collective actions to promote multilateralism and create a shared future for mankind.

Speaking here at a special event commemorating the "International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace," Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, emphasized the critical need for genuine multilateralism in today's complex global landscape.

DHAKA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- A Bangladeshi foreign ministry spokesperson Thursday denounced the U.S. State Department's 2023 Human Rights Report released recently, saying the report mostly relied on assumptions and unsubstantiated allegations.

"Some of the inherent and evident biases in the reporting pattern are quite evident," spokesperson Seheli Sabrin said at a press briefing at the foreign ministry here.

CHONGQING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for building world-class military medical universities, stressing that they should serve the battlefield and troops, and embrace the future.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection at the Army Medical University on Tuesday.

BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday in Beijing, saying that China demands that the United States strictly abide by the one-China principle.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that the Taiwan question is the "first red line" that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations.

BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday urged China and the United States to shoulder responsibilities for world peace and create opportunities for the development of all countries.

Xi made the remarks when meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing.

As major countries, China and the United States should set a good example of how major countries are supposed to act, provide global public goods, and contribute to world solidarity, Xi added.