Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia’s exports of halal products had increased by 19 per cent to RM36.30 billion in 2021 from RM30.50 billion in 2020, said Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Lim Ban Hong.

In his welcoming speech at the launch of the 18th Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) here, he noted that the halal industry is also expected to grow even further in the Asia Pacific region following Malaysia’s ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on March 18, 2022.

SEOUL, Sept 8 (Reuters) - North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament convened this week to pass legislation aimed at turning the country into a "beautiful and civilized socialist fairyland," state media reported on Thursday.

The North Korean Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) met for its first session on Wednesday, and adopted laws on landscaping and rural development, state news agency KCNA reported.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s governing party said Thursday that an internal survey found that nearly half of its national lawmakers had ties to the Unification Church, in a widening controversy that emerged after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

BEIJING, Sept. 7 (APP): Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque said, “Last year Pak-China trade volume hit a record level. We expect that in the next 3 to 5 years, we can double this level”.

“Every year CIFTIS is growing and becoming bigger and bigger. I think this is China’s strength – innovations, new technologies, new approaches, new development…” Moin ul Haque said in an interview with China Economic Net (CEN) during China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS).

TOKYO, Sept 7 (NNN-NHK) – Japan today lifted the daily entry cap on arrivals to the country from 20,000 to 50,000, in a bid to bolster the ailing tourism sector, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also effective today, travellers coming to Japan will be exempt from taking COVID-19 tests 72 hours before departure, if they have received three vaccination shots.

Japan has been looking to bring its entrance protocols, once the most rigid among the Group of Seven (G7) major developed nations, in line with other major economies.

PHNOM PENH, Sept 7 (NNN-AKP) – The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), Cambodia’s central bank, today issued the first government bond of 100 billion riels (about 24.3 million U.S. dollars), aiming to raise funds for national development.

The bond is auctioned through the NBC’s platform from 8.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. local time, the NBC said, adding, the face value per unit is worth one million riels (about 243 dollars).

JAKARTA, Sept 7 (NNN-ANTARA) – The visa-on-arrival policy has helped boost Indonesia’s tourism recovery, encouraging more international travellers to visit Indonesia, especially to the resort island of Bali, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister, Sandiaga Uno, said.

“The number of foreign tourists in July was the highest since the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the minister.

The country recorded 476,970 international visitors arriving in July, a 61-fold increase over the same month last year, including 246,504 visitors to Bali, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

BEIJING (AP) — The death toll in this week’s earthquake in western China has jumped to 74 with another 26 people still missing, the government reported Wednesday, as frustration rose with uncompromising COVID-19 lockdown measures that prevented residents from leaving their buildings after the shaking.

The 6.8 magnitude quake that struct just after noon Monday in Sichuan province caused extensive damage to homes in the Ganze Tibetan Autonomous Region and shook buildings in the provincial capital of Chengdu, whose 21 million citizens are under a strict COVID-19 lockdown.

BEIJING, Sep 6 (APP): Chinese meteorological company will set up an automatic weather station and is looking forward to building meteorological labs in Pakistan.
“Currently, we are working on the provision of automatic weather stations (AWS) and technologies. If conditions permit, we are also looking to building meteorological labs with our Pakistani partners, Zhuge, CEO of ZOGLAB, a professional Chinese manufacturer specialized in instruments for atmosphere and environment, told China Economic Net (CEN).

BEIJING, Sep 6 (APP): Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque expressed condolences over the loss of precious lives in the earthquake in southwest Sichuan province of China and said that the Pakistani nation stood in solidarity with China in this natural calamity.

“We are deeply saddened over the loss of so many precious lives in the earthquake in Sichuan. We share the grief of bereaved families and convey our condolences. We stand in solidarity with China in this natural calamity,” he said in a message here on Tuesday.