Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING (AP) — China announced the expulsion of a Canadian diplomat on Tuesday in retaliation for Ottawa ordering a Chinese consular official to leave the country over alleged threats he made against a Canadian lawmaker and his family.

The Foreign Ministry said China was deploying a “reciprocal countermeasure to Canada’s unscrupulous move,” which it said it “firmly opposes.”

It said Jennnifer Lynn Lalonde, the top Canadian diplomat in the business hub of Shanghai, has been asked to leave by May 13 and that China “reserves the right to take further actions in response.”

09 May 2023; AA: In a tit-for-tat move, Beijing on Tuesday expelled a Canadian diplomat after Ottawa declared a Chinese diplomat persona non grata.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said the Canadian consul in Shanghai, Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, was “asked to leave China no later than May 13.”

“China reserves the right to further react,” the statement said.

BEIJING, May 8 (APP): “The Afghan officials are seeking to use the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative to advance the much-needed infrastructure and economic development in their country,” said Qian Feng, Director of the Research Department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University.

“One of the direct benefits brought by the CPEC to Afghanistan is cooperation linked to infrastructure construction and transport connectivity,” he told Global Times.

BEIJING, May 8 (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Monday it is imperative to stabilise Sino-U.S. relations after a series of "erroneous words and deeds" threw ties back into a deep freeze.

Qin, in a meeting in Beijing with U.S. ambassador Nicholas Burns, stressed in particular that Washington must correct its handling of the Taiwan issue and stop the hollowing out of the "one China" principle, according to China's foreign ministry.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The continued partnership and close collaboration between Malaysian national carmaker Proton and China's Geely are of strategic importance, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Sunday.

The collaboration accelerates the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) as well as the supporting ecosystem for these new vehicles, and by extension creates thousands of skilled jobs and investment into the country, Anwar said at the official launch of Proton's newest model, the Proton X90 sports utility vehicle (SUV).

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Japan’s prime minister expressed sympathy for the suffering of Korean forced laborers during Japan’s colonial rule, as he and his South Korean counterpart Sunday renewed their resolve to overcome historical grievances and strengthen cooperation in the face of shared challenges such as North Korea’s nuclear program.

LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia (AP) — A picturesque tourist destination will host crisis-weary Southeast Asian leaders with sun-splashed tropical islands, turquoise waters brimming with corals and manta rays, seafood feasts, and a hillside savannah crawling with Komodo dragons.

The sunshiny setting is a stark contrast to the seriousness of their agenda.

BEIJING, May 7 (APP): Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang hailed the successful holding of the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue on Saturday, signaling the resumption of trilateral cooperation mechanisms.

Chinese experts view it as of great significance to inject stability into the region and help increase mutual trust between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which have encountered border disputes over the past few years.

JAKARTA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A bus carrying 50 people plunged into a river in Indonesia's Central Java province on Sunday morning, leaving one dead and 30 others wounded, officials said.

The accident in Tegal regency occured at around 8:00 a.m. local time, and it was allegedly caused by a brake failure, said Yusuf Latief, spokesman for the national search and rescue office.

"The bus was being parked and when the driver tried to warm up the engine, the bus suddenly moved toward the river," he told Xinhua over phone.

SEOUL, May 6 (NNN-YONHAP) – A U.S. military fighter jet, crashed in South Korea today, with no casualty reported.

The F-16 fighter jet, crashed into a farmland at 9:31 a.m. local time, in Pyeongtaek, about 70 km south of the capital, Seoul. The city is where a key military base of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) is located.

One pilot on board the ill-fated combat plane escaped before the crash.

Most of the fighter jet was burned down. A police official was quoted as saying, no other damage was reported, as there are no private houses near the scene.