Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO (AP) — In his first policy speech Friday, Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised to strengthen pandemic management and health care in case of another coronavirus resurgence, and turn around the battered economy while bolstering the country’s defenses against threats from China and North Korea.

Tasked with a crucial mission of rallying public support ahead of national elections expected on Oct. 31, Kishida promised to pursue politics of “trust and empathy.”

TOKYO (AP) — A powerful magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook the Tokyo area on Thursday night, injuring more than 30 people, damaging underground water pipes and halting trains and subways.

Traffic disruptions continued Friday morning, with local trains delayed and commuters overflowing from stations.

The Meteorological Agency said the quake was centered in Chiba prefecture, just east of Tokyo, at a depth of about 80 kilometers (48 miles). There was no danger of a tsunami.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Australia’s former prime minister has accused China of being a bully and expressed enthusiastic support for Taiwan while visiting the democratically ruled island.

“Nothing is more pressing right now than solidarity with Taiwan,” former Prime Minister Tony Abbott told a conference Friday in Taiwan.

QINZHOU, China, Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.S. remote-control maker Universal Electronics Inc (UEIC.O) told Reuters it struck a deal with authorities in Xinjiang to transport hundreds of Uyghur workers to its plant in the southern Chinese city of Qinzhou, the first confirmed instance of an American company participating in a transfer program described by some rights groups as forced labor.

TAIPEI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Taiwan will continue to play its role as a member of the international community and ensure regional peace and stability, President Tsai Ing-wen told a visiting delegation of French senators on Thursday amid escalating tensions with China.

The four senators, led by former defence minister Alain Richard, arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday despite the strong objections of China, which views the island as its own territory and is always angered by visits of foreign officials.

MANILA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Philippine Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo on Thursday filed her certificate of candidacy hours after she officially announced that she will run for president in the May 2022 elections.

Robredo, 56, submitted her certificate to the Commission on Elections with her daughters and left the poll body without telling the media who her running-mate will be.

"I will fight. We will fight. I offer myself as a candidate for the presidency in the 2022 elections," Robredo said in a news conference earlier.

BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- China saw a total of 515 million domestic tourist trips made during the seven-day National Day holiday, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The figure was 70.1 percent of trips made during the same period before the COVID-19 epidemic, said the ministry.

Tourism revenue reached 389.06 billion yuan (about 60.38 billion U.S. dollars), a recovery of 59.9 percent of the revenue gained in the same period before the epidemic, the ministry said.

China celebrates its National Day on Oct. 1. 

JIUQUAN, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The combination of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship and a Long March-2F carrier rocket has been transferred to the launching area, and the spaceship will be launched in the near future at an appropriate time, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said Thursday.

The facilities and equipment at the launch site are in good condition, and various pre-launch function checks and joint tests will be carried out as planned, said the CMSA. 

BEIJING (AP) — In a relationship as fraught as America’s and China’s, just an agreement that talks were productive was a sign of progress.

Nine months into Joe Biden’s presidency, the two sides finally appear to be trying to ease tensions that date from the Trump administration — though U.S. complaints about Chinese policies on trade, Taiwan and other issues are little diminished.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The World Health Organization is working to ship COVID-19 medical supplies into North Korea, a possible sign that the North is easing one of the world’s strictest pandemic border closures to receive outside help.