Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

ULAN BATOR, Apr 13 (NNN-XINHUA) – A strong wind and a heavy dust storm are now hitting the southern Gobi provinces of Mongolia, the country’s meteorology and environmental monitoring agency said today.

The wind speed is reaching 18-24 metres per second in the provinces of Dundgovi, Umnugovi and Dornogovi, which are most affected by desertification, the weather agency said.

In addition, snow and snowstorms are hitting the central and northern parts of the country, including the national capital, Ulan Bator.

TASHKENT, Apr 13 (NNN-UzA) – Uzbek President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, met with visiting Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, here yesterday, saying that, he is looking forward to visiting China.

Mirziyoyev asked Qin to convey his sincere regards to President Xi Jinping and congratulated Xi on his re-election as the Chinese president by unanimous vote, which demonstrated that all Chinese people wholeheartedly endorse and fully support his wise leadership.

BEIJING, April 13 (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday sanctioned chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul for visiting Taiwan, saying he had sent a "serious wrong signal to Taiwan independence separatist forces".

China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and strongly objects to all high-level engagements between foreign and Taiwanese officials, especially if it involves Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.

BEIJING/TAIPEI, April 13 (Reuters) - China will ban vessels from an area near Taiwan on Sunday because of the possibility of falling rocket debris, its maritime safety agency said on Thursday, which Taiwan's Central News Agency said would be from a weather satellite launch.

The disruption comes during tension in the region over Chinese military exercises around Taiwan, a show of force in response to a meeting last week in Los Angeles between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

TAIPEI, April 13 (Reuters) - China's plan to set up a no-fly zone to the north of Taiwan on April 16 will affect about 33 flights, Taiwan's official Central News Agency (CNA) reported, citing the island's transport minister, Wang Kwo-tsai.

The impact on flights was greatly reduced after Taiwan said it had successfully urged China to drastically narrow its plan to close air space north of the island, Wang was reported as saying.

BEIJING (AP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was in the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai on Thursday as he looks to boost ties and win political support for attempts to mediate the conflict in Ukraine.

Lula arrived late Wednesday and is due to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday before concluding his visit on Saturday.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Thursday conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile launch in a month, possibly testing a new type of more mobile, harder-to-detect weapons system, its neighbors said, in an extension of the North’s provocative run of missile tests.

The launch prompted Japan to issue an evacuation order on a northern island, and though it was later retracted, it shows the vigilance of North Korea’s neighbors over its evolving missile threats.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Leaked U.S. intelligence documents suggesting Washington spied on South Korea have put the country’s president in a delicate situation ahead of a state visit to the U.S., the first such trip by a South Korean leader in 12 years.

The documents contain purportedly private conversations between senior South Korean officials about Ukraine, indicating that Washington may have conducted surveillance on a key Asian ally even as the two nations publicly vowed to reinforce their alliance.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia is the most attractive destination for data centre investment among emerging markets in Southeast Asia (SEA), said independent real estate consultancy Knight Frank Malaysia.

The company Wednesday launched its white paper on data centres in Malaysia in partnership with DC Byte, highlighting the country’s attractiveness for data centre investment in Kuala Lumpur and Johor state.

KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 12 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Natural rubber production in Malaysia decreased by 7.6 percent to 27,209 tonnes in Feb, as compared to 29,451 tonnes in Jan, 2023, official data showed today.

Year-on-year comparison showed that the production of natural rubber fell 2.7 percent from 27,950 tonnes a year ago, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement.

According to the DOSM, total stocks of natural rubber in Feb, declined by 1.5 percent to 191,636 tonnes, as compared to 194,563 tonnes in Jan.