Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, Jan 19 (NNN-ACN) –The Chinese government made official a donation to Cuba of 700 million yuan—some 100 million dollars—for projects of social impact linked to priority sectors of the economy in the island.

Carlos Pereira, Cuban ambassador to the People’s Republic, and Tang Wenhong, vice-president of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, signed the agreement to deliver the donation.

SEOUL, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense has asked its forces stationed in South Korea to provide equipment to help Ukraine in the war against Russia, the U.S. military said on Thursday, adding the move has "zero impact" on its operations in the Asian country.

U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), which has some 28,500 troops in South Korea, said the move is part of U.S. efforts to help Ukraine with its inventories.

BANGKOK, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Thailand on Thursday started long-haul train services at a new terminal station in its capital of Bangkok, gearing towards its goal of being a rail hub in Southeast Asia.

Speaking at an opening ceremony Thursday, Thai Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said the Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal was built following the government's plan to improve the infrastructure for seamless connectivity between every mode of travel.

TOKYO, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet dropped to 26.5 percent, a record low since he took office in October 2021, as a majority opposed tax hikes for defense spending, according to a Jiji Press survey released on Thursday.

The latest public opinion survey found that the Kishida cabinet's approval rating dropped 2.7 percentage points from the previous month to 26.5 percent, below 30 percent for the fourth consecutive month, and that the disapproval rating grew 1.1 points to a record high of 43.6 percent.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Thursday, as investors grew cautious after Wall Street’s biggest pullback of the year.

Shares dipped in Tokyo, but rose in Seoul and Sydney, where they recouped earlier losses by late morning. Hong Kong shares were slightly lower, while Shanghai shares were little changed.

TOKYO, Jan 18 (NNN-NHK) – The Japan Coast Guard, today said, one of its patrol boats had run aground in shallow waters, off the coast of Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture.

According to the Niigata coast guard, none of the 43 crew members of the patrol boat, Echigo were injured, although local reports said, the vessel is taking on water and leaking oil.

The patrol boat reportedly contacted the Japan Coast Guard at around 6:30 a.m. local time, to say the boat was stranded as it had run aground in shallow waters.

HANOI, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan was named as the acting president on Wednesday, a day after former President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned, the official Vietnam News Agency reported.

Vuong Dinh Hue, chairman of Vietnam's National Assembly (NA), signed an announcement on behalf of the NA's Standing Committee about the new position of Xuan during an extraordinary meeting of the 15th NA held on Wednesday, it said.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa and her online news company were cleared Wednesday of tax evasion charges she said were among a slew of legal cases used by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to try to muzzle critical reporting.

BEIJING (AP) — For seven decades, China’s Communist Party has ruled the world’s most populous country. As the nation’s population crests and begins to shrink, experts say, it will face challenges ranging from supporting the elderly to filling the ranks of its military.

Population growth has been slowing for years, but the announcement Tuesday that the country’s population fell by about 850,000 in 2022 came sooner than earlier projections.

BEIJING, Jan 17 (APP): China said on Tuesday that sanctioning of a Pakistani individual by the UN Security Council sanction committee was a recognition of Pakistan’s staunch fight against terrorism.