Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BANGKOK (AP) — At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured when a fire broke out early Friday morning at a crowded music pub in eastern Thailand, police and rescue workers said.

Video circulating on social media showed people fleeing the pub while thick black smoke billowed from the door and then the entrance through which people were escaping was suddenly engulfed in flames. Several people’s clothing was on fire as they emerged from the pub. Rescue workers said more than three dozen people were injured.

TOKYO, Aug 4 (NNN-NHK) – Torrential rain lashed regions in north-east and central Japan overnight through this morning, with local authorities in Yamagata and Niigata Prefectures, urging residents to seek shelter.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a level 5 alert, the highest on Japan’s disaster warning scale, for six municipalities in Yamagata Prefecture, but has since downgraded the warning.

The emergency warning for Niigata Prefecture, however, is still in effect, the weather agency said.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia-Turkiye bilateral ties have been upgraded to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) effective from Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s recent visit to Ankara.

Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said moving forward, both countries have agreed to organise and conduct more discussions, both formally and informally, between the two countries’ Foreign Ministers.

“Prime Minister has just concluded a very successful visit to Ankara where he and President Erdogan had very fruitful meetings over several issues.

SEOUL, Aug 4 (Reuters) - North Korea warned it will "never tolerate" the United States' criticism of the isolated country's nuclear programme, calling Washington the "kingpin of nuclear proliferation" and saying it would not allow any encroachment of its sovereign rights.

North Korea has conducted missile tests at an unprecedented pace this year and international experts believe it is readying its seventh nuclear test, the first since 2017.

SHANGHAI, Aug 4 (Reuters) - China's average ground temperatures have risen much more quickly than the global average over the past 70 years and will remain "significantly higher" in the future as the challenges of climate change mount, a government official said.

In its annual climate assessment published this week, China's weather bureau described the country as "a sensitive region in global climate change", with temperatures rising 0.26 degrees Celsius (0.47 degrees Fahrenheit) a decade since 1951, compared to the global average of 0.15 degrees.

PHNOM PENH, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Chinese government's top diplomat Wang Yi walked out before the start of a gala dinner of foreign ministers at a meeting in Cambodia on Thursday and was seen leaving the venue in a vehicle, witnesses said.

Wang Yi waved to media as he entered a holding room for the dinner then walked out of the venue, without giving a reason, according to Reuters journalists. Two witnesses working at the venue told Reuters Wang Yi was seen leaving in a vehicle.

TAIPEI/BEIJING, Aug 4 (Reuters) - As U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a brief visit to Taiwan this week that enraged Beijing, the welcome she received from government officials and the public was in sharp contrast with a different sort of message that began popping up elsewhere on the island.

On Wednesday, in some branches of 7-11 convenience stores in Taiwan, the television screens behind cashiers suddenly switched to display the words: "Warmonger Pelosi, get out of Taiwan!"

TOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Five ballistic missiles fired by China appear to have landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Japanese defence minister Nobuo Kishi said on Thursday, part of military exercises launched by China earlier in the day.

The exercises, China's largest ever in the Taiwan Strait, began as scheduled at midday and included live-firing in the waters to the north, south and east of Taiwan, bringing tensions in the area to their highest in a quarter century.

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi further expounded here Thursday on China's stance on U.S. act of provocation against China's sovereignty.

KEELUNG, Taiwan (AP) — China conducted “precision missile strikes” Thursday in the Taiwan Strait and in the waters off the eastern coast of Taiwan as part of military exercises that have raised tensions in the region to their highest level in decades.

China earlier announced that military exercises by its navy, air force and other departments were underway in six zones surrounding Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.