Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists published results of in-situ detection of water signals on the moon by the Chang'e-5 lunar lander, lending new evidence to the dryness of the satellite.

The study published on Saturday in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances revealed that the lunar soil at the landing site contains less than 120 ppm water or 120g water per ton, and a light, vesicular rock carries 180 ppm, which are much drier than that on Earth.

BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Shenzhou-13 astronauts in China's space station core module have completed the manual rendezvous and docking experiment with the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said Saturday.

At the beginning of the experiment, the astronauts in the core module teleoperated the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft to leave the front docking port of the core module's node cabin and move to the planed parking point, with the coordination of ground control engineers.

BEIJING (AP) — A strong overnight earthquake shook a sparsely populated area in western China early Saturday and forced the suspension of high-speed rail service because of tunnel damage, authorities said.

Four people with minor injuries in Menyuan Hui Autonomous County had been treated and released, officials told a news conference.

HONG KONG (AP) — One of two people who attended a large gathering with senior Hong Kong officials and was believed to be infected with COVID-19 turned out to be a false positive, meaning about 80 of more than 180 attendees may no longer face a lengthy quarantine.

The birthday party at a restaurant on Monday evening has roiled officialdom, drawing a rebuke from city leader Carrie Lam who criticized about a dozen officials including the police chief and the home affairs secretary for setting a bad example as Hong Kong tries to limit the spread of the omicron variant.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s foreign minister on Saturday defended Prime Minister Hun Sen’s trip to Myanmar, the first by a foreign leader since the military takeover last year plunged the country into turmoil, though there was little evidence the mission yielded any immediate breakthrough.

ALMATY, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Fresh violence erupted in Kazakhstan's main city of Almaty on Thursday as Russia sent in paratroopers to put down a countrywide uprising in one of Moscow's closest former Soviet allies.

Police in Almaty said they had killed dozens of rioters overnight into the early hours of Thursday morning. Authorities said at least 18 members of the security forces had died, including two found decapitated. More than 2,000 people were arrested.

BANGKOK (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to Myanmar seeking to revive peace efforts after last year’s military takeover has provoked an angry backlash among critics, who say he is legitimizing the army’s seizure of power.

Hun Sen is the first head of government to visit Myanmar since the military takeover last February. The authoritarian Cambodian leader has held power for 36 years and keeps a tight leash on political activity at home.

Moscow, Jan 7 (AP) The president of Kazakhstan on Friday declared that constitutional order was mainly restored after the country was engulfed in unprecedented unrest in recent days.

An anti-terror operation has commenced. Law enforcement agencies are working hard. Constitutional order has been mainly restored in all regions of the country. Local authorities are in control of the situation, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was quoted by his spokespeople as saying Friday.

NUR-SULTAN, January 5. /TASS/: The law-enforcement personnel have launched a special counter-terror operation in Almaty where looting continues, the Almaty commandant’s office reported on Wednesday.

"A special counter-terror operation has been launched in the city to establish order," the statement says.

The commandant’s office also called on Almaty residents "to remain calm and render assistance to the law-enforcement agencies in establishing the Constitutional order and public security."

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Malaysia reported another 123 cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, and 88 of them are those returning from the Umrah (Minor Hajj) pilgrimage, in Saudi Arabia, Health Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin said, today.

Khairy said, the country has detected 245 Omicron cases, of which 233 are imported and 12 are local transmissions. Some 157, or 64.08 percent of the total, are those returning from Saudi Arabia, he told a press conference.