Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Malaysia reported 2,445 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight, bringing the national total to 4,837,005, according to the health ministry.

There are two new imported cases, with 2,443 cases being local transmissions, data released on the ministry’s website showed.

Another two deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 36,365.

The ministry reported 1,613 new recoveries, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 4,775,927.

BEIJING/SYDNEY, Sept 29 (Reuters) - China held a ceremony on Thursday to certify its C919 narrowbody passenger jet, photos on social media showed, representing a major milestone in the country's ambitions to challenge Airbus (AIR.PA) and Boeing (BA.N) in commercial aerospace.

The plane, produced by state-owned manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC), had been widely expected to be certified by the end of the month after two aircraft flew to Beijing on Sept. 13. A sign in one of the photos said "C919 aircraft type certificate issuance ceremony" in Chinese.

YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — Standing on the deck of an American destroyer at a naval base here on Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris directly challenged China by accusing it of “disturbing behavior” and “provocations” around Taiwan.

Harris said the United States would in response “deepen our unofficial ties” to the disputed island that China views as part of its territory.

BANGKOK (AP) — A court in military-ruled Myanmar convicted former leader Aung San Suu Kyi in another criminal case Thursday and sentenced Australian economist Sean Turnell to three years in prison for violating Myanmar’s official secrets act, a legal official said.

Suu Kyi received a three-year sentence after being convicted with Turnell under the secrets law, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information about the case.

PANMUNJOM, Korea (AP) — In a show of defiance, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday, hours after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris flew home from a visit to South Korea during which she traveled to the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas and emphasized the “ironclad” U.S. commitment to the security of its Asian allies.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (NNN-Bernama) — Since the launching of Vision 2030 in 2016, the Saudi government has achieved many successes in the implementation of several basic reforms which in turn contributed to many other important achievements, said Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Malaysia Dr Mahmoud Hussein Saeed Qattan. 

These achievements included strengthening the status and role of the kingdomat the Islamic, regional and international levels and Saudi’s contributions and its leading role in the stability of global energy markets and the global economy.

SEOUL, Sept 28 (Reuters) - North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, a day before U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is set to arrive in Seoul.

The launch came two days after South Korea and U.S. forces conducted a military drill in waters off the South's east coast involving an aircraft carrier. On Sunday, North Korea fired another ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast.

TOKYO, September 27. /TASS/: Russia hopes to develop cultural ties, including inter-museum exchanges with China, which has been waiting for opportunities to introduce Russian culture to its general public as well as with India, Special Representative of the Russian President for International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy told Russian journalists on Tuesday.

TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shortly after arriving in Tokyo for the state funeral of assassinated former leader Shinzo Abe.

Abe, a former prime minister who was assassinated in July, will be honored on Tuesday, and Harris is leading a U.S. delegation to pay its respects.

“The alliance between Japan and the United States is a cornerstone of what we believe is integral to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,” she said Monday at the Akasaka Palace.

TOKYO (AP) — A tense Japan prepared Tuesday for a rare and controversial state funeral for assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving leader in his nation’s modern history and one of the most divisive.

Tokyo was under maximum security, with angry protests opposing the funeral planned around the capital and nation. Hours before the ceremony began, dozens of people carrying bouquets of flowers queued at public flower-laying stands at nearby Kudanzaka park.