Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BISHKEK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Kyrgyz and Tajik border guards exchanged fire on Thursday amid a standoff over a blocked road, in the latest clash between the former Soviet neighbours following a similar violent incident last year that killed dozens.

The border between the two countries, both of which host Russian military bases and are closely allied with Moscow, is poorly demarcated.

The Secretary General of Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), Stanislav Zas, called for an immediate ceasefire at the border, RIA news agency reported.

BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- China has urged the United States to "find no more excuses and immediately correct the wrongdoings" in its trade practices after a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling granted China rights to slap tariffs on U.S. goods, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.

On Jan. 26, the WTO issued the decision that China could impose tariffs on goods imported from the United States totaling up to 645 million U.S. dollars a year, as the U.S. side failed to implement previous recommendations and rulings made by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body.

BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday held a phone conversation over China-U.S. relations and the current situation in Ukraine.

The top priority for China and the United States at present is to truly implement the important consensus reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden during their video meeting in November last year, said Wang.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Thursday fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea in its sixth round of weapons launches this month, South Korea’s military said.

Experts say North Korea’s unusually fast pace in testing activity underscores an intent to pressure the Biden administration over long-stalled negotiations aimed at exchanging a release of crippling U.S.-led sanctions against the North and the North’s denuclearization steps.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets tumbled by unusually wide margins Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated it plans to start raising interest rates soon to cool inflation.

Tokyo’s market benchmark fell more than 3%. Hong Kong and Seoul lost more than 2%.

BEIJING (AP) — China is demanding the U.S. end “interference” in the Beijing Winter Olympics, which begin next month, in an apparent reference to a diplomatic boycott imposed by Washington and its allies.

The Foreign Ministry said Minister Wang Yi made the demand in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday Beijing time.

Beijing, Jan 27 (AP) Asian stock markets tumbled by unusually wide margins Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated it plans to start raising interest rates soon to cool inflation.

Tokyo's market benchmark fell more than 3%. Hong Kong and Seoul lost more than 2%.

BEIJING (AP) — From the deadly crushing of Beijing’s 1989 pro-democracy protests to the suppression of Hong Kong’s opposition four decades later, China’s Communist Party has demonstrated a determination and ability to stay in power that is seemingly impervious to Western criticism and sanctions.

(AP) --- Current and former staffers have accused the top director of the World Health Organization in the Western Pacific of racist, unethical and abusive behavior that has undermined the U.N. health agency’s efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

SEOUL, Jan 25 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s daily number of COVID-19 cases hit a new record high, owing to the spread of the Omicron variant, the health authorities said today.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the country reported 8,571 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 749,979.

The daily caseload was up from 7,512 the previous day, topping 8,000 for the first time here, since the country’s first case was found in Jan, 2020.