Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States should immediately stop plundering Syria's national resources, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said here Wednesday.

Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press conference when asked to comment on reports that U.S. occupation forces recently transferred oil stolen from Syria to the north of Iraq, with Syrian officials condemning the United States and its allies for acting just like pirates.

BEIJING, July 19. /TASS/: Chinese authorities have protested to the United States over Washington's intention to help Taiwan’s self-defense, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 (NNN-Bernama) — The uncertain outlook for the economy in 2023 magnifies risks across all sectors, says Moody’s Analytics. 

In a report on the global debt themed “A threat to government fiscal stability”, it said a weaker economy with higher inflation and interest rates would jeopardise government fiscal space and revenue sources.

“Household financial conditions could weaken as rising rates make adjustable-rate debt more expensive, jeopardise the value of housing assets and weaken real income growth.

BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The United States' move to politicize sci-tech and trade issues and undermine international trade rules and global market will eventually end in failure, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday.

The media in the Republic of Korea (ROK) cited unnamed sources in Washington as reporting that the U.S. government had asked the ROK to inform it by the end of August whether or not the country would participate in the U.S.-led chip alliance "Chip 4" to cope with semiconductor supply chain issues.

PHNOM PENH, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The value of imports and exports passing through the Chinese-invested Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) in Cambodia reached 1.37 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2022, up 38 percent year on year, said an operator's report on Monday.

Situated in the southwestern coastal province of Preah Sihanouk, the SSEZ is the country's largest industrial zone in terms of size and occupancy.

BEIJING, July 18 (APP): A Chinese observer has pointed out that it will take some time for China and India to figure out a solution of border issues that both sides can accept.
The border issue, if unsettled, will always be a source of risk for the normal development of bilateral relations, Qian Feng, Director of the Research Department of the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University told Global Times.

The 16th round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China began on Sunday morning with both sides looking to ease the military standoff at the border.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (NNN-Bernama) — The number of Malaysia’s new COVID-19 cases in the 28th epidemiological week (ME 28/2022), from July 10 to 16, has increased by 23.4 per cent to 26,355, compared with 21,355 reported in the previous week.

Health director-general, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, said local COVID-19 cases in ME 28 also jumped by 23.4 per cent to 26,317 cases, from 21,325 cases reported in the previous week, while imported cases increased by 26.6 per cent to 38 cases, compared with 30 cases recorded in the previous week.

JAKARTA, July 18 (NNN-Bernama) — Indonesia’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has granted an emergency use authorisation of Pfizer’s antiviral drug, Paxlovid, to treat eligible COVID-19 patients.

The approved film-coated Paxlovid contains 150 mg of nirmatrelvir co-packaged with 100 mg ritonavir, according to its head, Penny Kusumastuti Lukito.

The recommended dose is 300 mg nirmatrelvir, equivalent to two 150 mg tablets, with a tablet of 100 mg ritonavir, taken twice a day for five days, she said in a statement.

BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and urges the United States to revoke the arms sales plan, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said here Monday.

It was reported that the U.S. State Department approved a sale of up to 108 million U.S. dollars worth of military technical support to the "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States."

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (NNN-Bernama) — Ukraine remained steadfast in its commitment to pursue truth, justice and accountability for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, said its Foreign Ministry.

The ministry, in a statement Sunday, said the country has full confidence in the independent, open and impartial criminal proceedings against the alleged perpetrators in the Dutch National Prosecution and the state responsibility proceedings in the International Civil Aviation Organisation.