Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s Defense Ministry says a Chinese weather balloon landed on one of its outlying islands, amid U.S. accusations that such craft have been dispatched worldwide to spy on Washington and its allies.

The ministry’s statement on Thursday said the balloon carried equipment registered to a state-owned electronics company in the northern city of Taiyuan.

The islet where it was found, Tungyin, is part of the Matsu island ground lying just off the coast of China’s Fujian province.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea threatened Friday to take “unprecedently” strong action against its rivals, soon after South Korea announced a series of planned military drills with the United States to hone their joint response to the North’s increasing nuclear threats.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un attended groundbreaking ceremonies for new housing and farming projects, which are part of his push for domestic achievements as the country’s economic isolation deepens amid his defiant pursuit of nuclear arms.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The outgoing president of Paraguay, whose country is one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies, spoke of his admiration for the island democracy while on a state visit to Taipei on Thursday.

Mario Abdo Benitez was welcomed with an honor guard as he walked alongside Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on a red carpet in front of the Presidential House. Abdo arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday on a five-day visit.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong supporters of a tough national security law imposed by China’s ruling Communist Party have set their sights on a United Nations session, drawing concern from rights advocates.

The law, which critics say Hong Kong authorities have used to crush dissent following massive 2019 protests, has been a focus at the U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ two-day hearing on China that concludes Thursday in Geneva. The committee reviews respect of those rights in nearly all U.N. member states every few years.

BEIJING (AP) — China and Iran have urged mutual neighbor Afghanistan to end restrictions on women’s work and education.

The call came in a joint statement Thursday issued at the close of a visit to Beijing by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during which the two sides affirmed close economic and political ties and their rejection of Western standards of human rights and democracy.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s government announced Thursday that the territory’s population dropped for a third straight year as deaths rose during the pandemic and anti-virus measures reduced the number of arriving workers, but did not mention an exodus of residents sparked by a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement.

The city’s population declined 0.9% to 7.3 million at the end of 2022 from a year earlier, according to provisional data released by the Census and Statistics Department. It said there was a net outflow of 60,000 residents, with 21,200 new residents arriving.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s ceremonial parliament has accused American lawmakers of trampling on the sovereignty of other nations after the U.S. passed a measure condemning a suspected Chinese spy balloon’s intrusion into U.S. airspace.

The statement issued Thursday by the National People’s Congress’s Foreign Affairs Committee repeated Beijing’s insistence that the balloon was an unmanned civilian weather research airship, a claim the U.S. has dismissed citing its flight route and payload of surveillance equipment.

BEIJING, February 14. /TASS/: The Chinese government strongly opposes external forces' interference in Iran's domestic affairs, as well as attempts to undermine security and stability in the country, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during talks with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday.

"We oppose external forces interfering in Iran's domestic affairs and undermining the country's security and stability, and we intend to continue strong mutual support on key interests," China Cental Television quoted Xi Jinping as saying.

HANOI, Feb 14 (NNN-VNA) – Eight people died and several other people were injured, in Vietnam’s central province of Quang Nam, after a tractor-trailer and a 16-passenger van crashed into each other, early this morning.