Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brought his daughter to visit troops to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the country’s army as he lauded the “irresistible might” of his nuclear-armed military, state media said Wednesday.

The visit came amid indications North Korea is preparing to stage a massive military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, where it could showcase the latest hardware of a growing nuclear weapons program that stokes the concern of its neighbors and the United States.

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), Feb 7 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysian government through the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday contributed medical aid worth RM227,984 (US$53,033) to the government of Ukraine.

Malaysia’s Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa handed over the aid, which consists of medicines containing Levothyroxine Sodium 100 mcg tablets, Fentanyl Citrate 50mcg/millilitre (ml) in 2ml injections, Amikacin 250mg/ml in 2ml injections and Propofol 10mg/ml injection, to Charge d’affaires of Ukraine Embassy in Malaysia Denys Mykhailiuk.

ULAN BATOR, Feb 7 (NNN-XINHUA) – Mongolia’s foreign trade turnover, increased by 61.1 percent year on year, to over 1.76 billion U.S. dollars in Jan, official data, released by the Mongolian Customs General Administration showed, today.

The country registered a surplus in foreign trade balance as exports exceeded imports by around 389.7 million dollars, said the administration.

Mining products accounted for 81.2 percent of the mineral-rich country’s total exports in Jan, it added.

TOKYO, Feb 7 (NNN-NHK) – Household spending in Japan fell 1.3 percent in Dec last year, as spending by people on residential expenses, including maintenance, declined, the government said in a report today.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, spending by households occupied by two or more people dropped for the second straight month, to an average of 328,114 yen (2,479 U.S. dollars) in the recording period.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the statistics bureau said, household spending declined 2.1 percent.

SHANGHAI, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Chinese artificial intelligence stocks are the latest rage in mainland markets as the global frenzy around the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT chatbot spurs speculative bets on the revolutionary computing technology.

Just two months after its launch, ChatGPT - which can generate articles, essays, jokes and even poetry in response to prompts - has been rated the fastest-growing consumer app in history. That has pushed Google owner Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) to plan its own chatbot service and using more artificial intelligence for its search engine.

HANOI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam exported wood and wood products worth some 1.1 billion U.S. dollars in January, down 29.8 percent year on year, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Tuesday.

The decrease was caused mainly by a shortage of orders, according to Do Xuan Lap, chairman of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association.

Global inflation has had negative impacts on demand and orders in the wood industry in year-end period last year and early this year, local online newspaper VnEconomy cited Lap as saying.

TOKYO (AP) — Growing worry over Chinese threats has led to a major Japanese boost in military spending, defense partnerships and aid packages, a concerted new effort to draw like-minded Asian nations into a stronger, unified front as Beijing seeks to establish regional dominance.

This security shift will be highlighted during a visit to Tokyo starting Wednesday of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines, a mutual U.S. ally that Japan has increasingly developed defense ties with in recent years.

BEIJING (AP) — China said Tuesday it will “resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests” over the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon by the United States, as relations between the two countries deteriorate further.

The balloon prompted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a highly-anticipated visit to Beijing this week that had offered slight hopes for an improvement in relations.

China claims it was a civilian balloon used for meteorological research but has refused to say to which government department or company it belongs.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets rebounded Tuesday after Wall Street sank under pressure from worries about higher interest rates and after Japan reported stronger wage gains than expected.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul advanced. Oil prices rose.

Wall Street sank for a second day Monday after unexpectedly strong U.S. data on hiring and wages dampened hopes the Federal Reserve might decide it has succeeded in cooling inflation and can wind down plans for more rate hikes.

SEOUL, Feb 7 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to expand military drills and beef up the country's war readiness posture, state media reported on Tuesday, as Pyongyang prepares to mark a military anniversary.

Kim presided over the meeting of the central military commission of the ruling Workers' Party on Monday where officials discussed "major military and political tasks" for this year and the "long-term issues concerning the orientation for army building," KCNA news agency said.