Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, April 19 (APP): Cheng Xizhong, Visiting Professor of Southwest University of Political Science and Law said on Tuesday said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, China-Pakistan relations would witness a broad-based acceleration in all domains.

“Since being elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif has repeatedly stressed the need to speed up the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said in a statement issued here.

MANILA, Apr 19 (NNN-PNA) – An offshore earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9, jolted Davao Oriental province, in the southern Philippines today, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

The institute said, the quake, which occurred at 9:23 a.m. local time, hit at a depth of 49 kilometres, about 54 kilometers south-east of Manay town, in the province.

The institute said, the tectonic quake will trigger aftershocks and can cause damages.

BEIJING, April 19 (Reuters) - As China's domestic tourism unravels, desperate provinces are slashing ticket prices, offering tax breaks and even begging locals to help save plummeting tourist earnings in a sector that employs tens of millions of people.

The slump in tourism - which includes travel, accommodation and catering - has persisted into 2022 because of wider COVID-related curbs on inter-province travel, lockdowns and endless mass testing, official data shows.

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- China will adhere to its dynamic zero-COVID approach as local infections are surging, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission (NHC) said Tuesday.

The World Health Organization said COVID-19 remains a public health emergency of international concern, NHC spokesperson Mi Feng told a press conference, adding that China will keep in place its measures against both imported and local infections.

DILI, East Timor (AP) — Voters in East Timor chose a president in a runoff Tuesday between former independence fighters who’ve blamed each other for years of political paralysis.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta had a commanding lead in the election’s first round but failed to exceed 50% of the votes and avoid the runoff. Ramos-Horta received 46.6%, incumbent President Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres won 22.1% and 14 other candidates split the rest of the votes in the March 19 election.

BEIJING, Apr 18 (APP): China on Monday expressed concern over the escalating tension between Palestinians and Israeli police at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.

China has been following closely with concern the escalating tension between Palestine and Israel in Jerusalem, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Wang Wenbin said during his regular briefing here.

TOKYO, Apr 18 (NNN-NHK) – Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, said today that, recent sharp declines of the Japanese yen could negatively impact Japanese firms’ earnings outlooks and hence the nation’s already struggling economy.

“The yen’s recent depreciation against the U.S. dollar has been quite rapid,” Kuroda told a parliamentary session.

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), April 18 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia is in the midst of calling the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to stop the Israeli aggression on Palestinians, as seen in the raid and clashes at the Al Aqsa mosque last Friday. 

Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said the incident has to be stopped from continuing as it could lead to the repeat of May 2021 air attack on Gaza.

BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The crews of China's Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 missions have been selected, and are carrying out relevant training and mission preparations, according to a press conference on Sunday.

Both crews will stay in orbit for six months, and they will for the first time rotate in orbit to realize the uninterrupted manned residence, Huang Weifen, chief designer of the China manned space program's astronaut system, said at the press conference.

The two crews, totaling six astronauts, will live together in orbit for five to 10 days.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leaders face pressure to shore up sinking economic growth after Shanghai and other cities shut down to fight coronavirus outbreaks, threatening to disrupt global trade and manufacturing.

Growth slid to 1.3% over the previous quarter in the first three months of 2022, down from a 1.4% rate in last year’s final quarter, official data showed Monday. Compared with a year earlier, a measurement that can hide recent fluctuations, growth was 4.8%, up from 4% in the final quarter of 2021.