Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement would be a key contributor to the recovery strategy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to an ASEAN foreign ministers' joint communique released here on Friday.

In the joint communique issued after the 55th ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting (55th AMM) held in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, the ministers welcomed the entry into force of the RCEP from Jan. 1, 2022.

BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday that the context and the events that led to the tensions in the Taiwan Strait are crystal-clear. The U.S. is the unprovoked provocateur and creator of the crisis.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a daily press briefing. "The current situation is entirely caused by Speaker Pelosi and other U.S. politicians," Hua said.

Hua said the Taiwan question is not about democracy, but a major issue of principle about China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

BEIJING (AP) — Some 80,000 tourists are stranded in the southern Chinese beach resort of Sanya, after authorities declared it a COVID-19 hot spot and imposed a lockdown.

The restrictions came into force on Saturday morning, as authorities sought to stem the spread of COVID-19 in the city on tropical Hainan Island. There were 229 confirmed cases on Friday and an additional 129 on Saturday.

PHNOM PENH, August 5. /TASS/: Russia has recently sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the neglect by the United States of its responsibilities as host country of the organization's headquarters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

BEIJING, August 5. /TASS/: The United States’ actions cannot impede the process of China’s national reunification and the "noose around the neck of Taiwan’s independence" will be tightened more and more, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a meeting with his Singaporean counterpart, Vivian Balakrishnan, in Phnom Penh on Friday.

PHNOM PENH, August 5. /TASS/: Russia is ready to discuss the exchange of prisoners with the US, but only within the channel, negotiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden. If the Americans resort to public diplomacy, its’ "their problem," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters Friday.

BEIJING, August 5. /TASS/: Russia is an important driving force in the global community's fight against terrorism, the vicious slander of the United States will not change this, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a briefing on Friday, commenting on calls in the US Congress Senate to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.

SEOUL, Aug 5 (NNN-YONHAP) – Five people were killed, and 37 others were injured, in a South Korean fire accident, that took place at a hospital building in Icheon, around 50 km south-east of the capital, Seoul.

The fire broke out at 10:17 a.m. local time (0117 GMT), yesterday, from the four-story building, which houses a hospital for dialysis patients, on the fourth floor, offices on the second and third floors, and restaurants on the first floor.

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and the European Union have vowed to enhance bilateral ties for mutual benefits, a spokesman said on Friday.

The commitment was made during a meeting between Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell Fontelles, who also serves as vice president of the European Commission, on Thursday on the sidelines of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and Related Meetings hosted by Cambodia.

TOKYO (AP) — China will not be able to isolate Taiwan by preventing U.S. officials from traveling there, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday in Tokyo as she wrapped up an Asia tour highlighted by a visit to Taipei that infuriated Beijing.

Beijing has tried to isolate Taiwan, including by preventing the self-governing island from joining the World Health Organization, Pelosi said.