Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, July 15 (Reuters) - Detection in the Chinese city of Wuhan of a bacteria that caused cholera in a student and was separately found in samples from softshell turtles at a food market has struck a sensitive nerve with ordinary Chinese people, with some relating it to COVID-19.

The food market where samples from softshell turtles tested positive of the pathogen capable of causing cholera has been disinfected, local authorities said late on Thursday.

JAKARTA, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting kicked off Friday in Indonesia's Bali resort island, with the finance leaders seeking ways to tackle global economic threats impacted by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

BANGKOK (AP) — Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi denied the accusations in an election fraud charge against her when she testified for the first time on the case Friday at the prison court in the capital Naypyitaw, a legal official said.

The army seized power from Suu Kyi’s elected government in February last year, claiming massive voting fraud in the 2020 general election, an allegation not corroborated by independent election observers.

BEIJING, Jul 14 (APP): China is ready to extend cooperation to the international institutions to help Sri Lanka achieve sustainable development and overcome the current difficulties, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 14 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Malaysia reported 3,934 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight, bringing the national total to 4,604,670, according to the Health Ministry.

There are seven new imported cases, with 3,927 cases being local transmissions, data released on the ministry’s website showed.

Nine new deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 35,828.

The ministry reported 2,747 new recoveries, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 4,531,948.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 (NNN-Bernama) — The Ministry of Haj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia has announced that the 1444 H umrah visa application for foreign pilgrims will open from Thursday.

Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted the ministry’s statement on Wednesday as saying that umrah pilgrims from inside and outside Saudi Arabia will perform umrah and pilgrimage to the Prophet’s Mosque from July 30.

Check for umrah visa application criteria via the ministry’s portal by clicking the following link: https://haj.gov.sa/en/InternalPages/Umrah.

TOKYO/LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Britain and Japan are close to an agreement to merge their next-generation Tempest and F-X fighter jet programmes, with the two countries aiming for a deal on a new joint project by year-end, three sources told Reuters.

It would be the first time Japan has sought a non-U.S. partner for a large military programme and the first major collaboration between Tokyo and London, going beyond what had been expected when industrial talks began five years ago.

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Thursday refuted the so-called "Chinese debt trap" claim, saying that it is pure disinformation and a narrative trap created by those who do not hope to see China-Africa cooperation pick up speed.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily news briefing, responding to a query on a recent report on debt in Africa.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Australia’s top agriculture official met with his Indonesian counterpart on Thursday to discuss ways to stop a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak that has infected hundreds of thousands of cattle in Indonesia and prevent the outbreak from spreading to Australia.

The disease was detected in the Indonesian provinces of Aceh and East Java in May and has spread to 20 other provinces, including Bali, in the past two months.

BEIJING, Jul: 13 (APP): China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) power plants we have are the most efficient in Pakistan, noted Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Masood Malik.

These plants sent an exemplar for Pakistan’s energy scenario, he said in an exclusive interview with China Economic Net (CEN). Again Pakistan’s energy sector is hanging in balance this summer due to inefficiencies, burgeoning circular debt, massive dependence on imported fossil fuels.