Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, Mar 10 (APP):As Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to the adverse impact of climate change, China’s leading solar solutions provider LONGi has long been committed to developing the PV field with local partners to optimizing energy structure in Pakistan.

We signed an MoU with the Government of Pakistan in July 2019 to invest in the construction of a 50 MW solar power plant in the Bahawalpur, Punjab, as our first step, Ali Majid, General Manager, Pakistan, LONGi Solar, said in an exclusive interview.

BISHKEK, March 10. /TASS/: In 2023, Kyrgyzstan will host the CSTO’s peacekeeping exercise Indestructible Brotherhood, President Sadyr Japarov said at a meeting with CSTO Secretary-General Imangali Tasmagambetov in Bishkek on Friday.

HANOI, Mar 10 (NNN-VNA) – Fertiliser prices in Vietnam are falling, as cost of natural gas and farmers’ demand decrease, local media reported today.

The decline in prices is considered a boon for farmers, who are able to reap the benefits, however, it leaves production enterprises grappling with challenges, the local newspaper, Vietnam News reported.

The market has continued to witness a sharp drop in prices, with urea fertiliser currently at its lowest price point in over two years, the newspaper said.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (NNN-Bernama) — Nokia, the technology leader across mobile, fixed and cloud networks, remains committed to supporting enterprises in Malaysia in their digital transformation journey and advancing the nation’s Industry 4.0 roadmap throughout 2023.

Managing director for Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Maldives Mohd Rauf Nasir said Malaysia is an extremely important market to Nokia, and the group will continue to focus efforts on helping communication service providers (CSPs) and enterprises throughout the 5G and Industry 4.0 transformation journey.

TOKYO, Mar 10 (NNN-NHK) – Japan’s parliament, today endorsed the appointment of economist and academic, Kazuo Ueda, as the new Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor.

Ueda, 71, a former BOJ policy board member, was endorsed by the lower chamber of parliament a day earlier, and will succeed Haruhiko Kuroda, whose 10-year tenure ends on Apr 8.

The government’s picks for two BOJ deputy governors, Ryozo Himino, a former commissioner of the Financial Services Agency, and Shinichi Uchida, an executive director at the central bank, were also endorsed by parliament today.

ABOARD PHILIPPINES COAST GUARD PLANE, South China Sea, March 10 (Reuters) - As a Philippine coast guard aircraft flew over the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, a message came in over the radio telling it to immediately leave "Chinese territory".

Such warnings, from a Chinese coast guard ship, have become an almost daily ritual around one of the world's most contested archipelagos, where China is one of five countries claiming the strategic islands - or at least some of them - as their own.

JAKARTA, March 10 (Reuters) - A New Zealand pilot being held hostage by separatists in Indonesia's Papua region has appeared in videos calling for the United Nations to mediate in the conflict in the resource-rich region.

Pilot Phillip Mehrtens, who works for the domestic Susi Air service, was abducted by the armed wing of Free Papua Movement (OPM) last month after landing at an airstrip in Nduga district.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's palm oil stocks fell 6.56 percent from January to 2.12 million tons in February, official data showed Friday.

According to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Malaysia's crude palm oil production also decreased by 9.35 percent month-on-month to 1.25 million tons in February.

Meanwhile, the country's palm oil exports slipped 1.99 percent month-on month to 1.11 million tons.

Palm oil imports, on the other hand, plunged 63.81 percent month-on-month to 52,446 tons.

BEIJING (AP) — China on Friday accused Canada of smearing its reputation over allegations China is secretly operating two overseas police stations in Quebec.

Canada should “stop sensationalizing and hyping the matter and stop attacks and smears on China,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing.

“China has been ... strictly abiding by international law and respecting all countries’ judicial sovereignty,” Mao said.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — With Chinese leader Xi Jinping receiving a norms-breaking third five-year term as president on Friday, the other six men who serve with him on the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee are beginning to take up their new portfolios.

All are party veterans with close personal and professional ties to Xi, China’s most powerful figure in decades.

Chief among them, the party’s second-in-command Li Qiang is widely expected to take over as premier, nominally in charge of the Cabinet and caretaker of the economy.