Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The landing site of China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe has been named "Statio Tianhe" after the spacecraft made the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon last month.

Together with three nearby impact craters and one hill, the name was approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Liu Jizhong, director of the China Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said at a joint press conference held in Beijing Friday.

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of a suicide attack targeting paramilitary troopers belonging to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir on Thursday has risen to 40, officials said.

Many others are reported to be wounded in the attack.

The car bomb attack was carried out at 3:15 p.m. local time on a national highway near Lethpora village in Pulwama district, about 27 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who were here for a new round of China-U.S. high-level economic and trade consultations, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

NAMPO, North Korea (AP) — Power-strapped North Korea is exploring two ambitious alternative energy sources — tidal power and coal-based synthetic fuels — that could greatly improve living standards and reduce its reliance on oil imports and vulnerability to sanctions.

BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States started a new round of high-level economic and trade consultations in Beijing on Thursday morning.

The opening ceremony of the talks was jointly chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

This round of high-level consultations will conclude on Friday.

13 Feb 2019; AFP: Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to meet with top US officials in Beijing this week, a report said Wednesday, as the world's two biggest economies rush to patch up their trade differences before a looming deadline.

Xi will meet on Friday with officials including US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who are in the capital for crunch talks towards a trade deal, the South China Morning Post reported.

13 Feb 2019; DW: The opening ceremony for the annual Cobra Gold maneuvers launched the biggest exercise of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region, with 29 nations taking part as participants or observers over ten days until next Thursday.

In addition to Thailand and the US, seven other nations are actively participating: Singapore, Japan, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea. About 4,500 US personnel, on land and sea, are taking part.

BEIJING, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- China has established the world's largest clean coal power generation system, setting a new milestone in cutting emissions and saving energy, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said Tuesday.

The country has beaten its target of ultra-low emission and energy conservation and transformation outlined in the country's 13th Five-Year Plan two years in advance, NEA said.

BEIJING, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- China Tuesday urged relevant countries to stop using the excuse of so-called cyber spying and internet hacking to tarnish its image, and to stop actions and words that harm China's interests and bilateral ties.

Reports alleged that hackers working for China's state security department breached the network of a Norwegian software firm, as part of a global hacking operation aimed at stealing intellectual property and corporate secrets.

11 Feb 2019; AA: South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday expressed hope that an upcoming summit meeting between the U.S. and North Korea leaders would bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.

"[The summit] will become a critical turning point for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peacemaking process," Korean news agency Yonhap quoted Moon as telling a meeting with presidential secretaries and aides.