Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

PASIR PUTEH (Malaysia), Sept 24 (NNN-Bernama) — The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained four fishing vessels and 43 Vietnamese fishermen, including their skippers, for illegal fishing in the country’s waters on Thursday.

The Deputy Director (operations) of Kelantan MMEA, Maritime Commander Khairun Dalilah Baharun, said that the illegal fishing vessels were discovered during operations by an enforcement vessel approximately 125 to 150 nautical miles from the Tok Bali estuary in the state of Kelantan.

MANILA, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The Philippines on Sunday accused China's coast guard of installing a "floating barrier" in a disputed area of the South China Sea, saying it prevented Filipinos from entering and fishing in the area.

Manila's coast guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources "strongly condemn" China's installation of the barrier in part of the Scarborough Shoal, Commodore Jay Tarriela, a coast guard spokesperson, posted on the X social media platform, formerly Twitter.

TOKYO, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- A boxed meal maker in northeastern Japan has been banned by public health authorities from operating due to hundreds of food poisoning cases caused by its products, local media reported.

Yoshidaya, a local maker of boxed meals, commonly known as "bento" in Japanese, voluntarily suspended operations starting Sunday, after being banned from operations on Saturday by public health authorities in Aomori Prefecture.

JAKARTA, Sept 22 (NNN-ANTARA) – Semeru volcano, located in the Indonesian province of East Java, erupted today, and local authorities have warned people to stay away from the area.

According to the Semeru Volcano Monitoring Post, the volcano exploded at 9:23 a.m. local time, launching hot ashes as far as 700 metres from the crater to the south-east.

“The volcano’s eruption spewed a column of thick, grey ash towards the south-east and south,” Yadi Yuliandi, an officer of the monitoring post, said in a statement, today.

SINGAPORE, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The complete phasing-out of fossil fuels is not realistic, China's top climate official said, adding that these climate-warming fuels must continue to play a vital role in maintaining global energy security.

China is the world's biggest consumer of fossil fuels including coal and oil, and its special climate envoy Xie Zhenhua was responding to comments by ambassadors at a forum in Beijing on Thursday ahead of the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai in November. Reuters obtained a copy of text of Xie's speech, and a video recording of the meeting.

BATANGAS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - A small but restive volcano near the Philippine capital Manila spewed above average sulfur dioxide and volcanic smog on Friday, prompting authorities to close schools in dozens of cities and towns and to urge people to stay indoors.

The state volcanology and seismology institute said it observed upwelling of hot volcanic fluids in the Taal volcano's crater lake, resulting in the emission of volcanic gases. Heavy pollution also shrouded buildings in the capital region in haze.

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held a politburo meeting on Wednesday, hailing the visit to Russia by Kim Jong Un, the DPRK's top leader, as a success with desired results attained, the country's state news agency reported Friday.

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Azerbaijan said it was delivering food and other humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday, two days after the region’s ethnic Armenian separatist government called a cease-fire in a short but intense fight with Azerbaijani forces.

But the aid will be only a slight relief to the region that has endured severe food and medicine shortages since last December, an ordeal now aggravated by thousands who fled the recent fighting without being able to take food with them.

21 September 2023; MEMO: Director General of Israeli Defence Ministry, Eyal Zamir, visited Azerbaijan two days before clashes erupted with Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

Members of the Israeli delegation met with their Azeri counterparts, including Defence Minister, Zakir Hasanov, The Times of Israel said, pointing out that the visit came amid stepped-up Israeli arms supplies to Azerbaijan.

BEIJING, Sept.21 (APP): The China and Pakistan joint air force exercise recently concluded in Northwest China is beneficial to both sides in terms of skills, tactics and interoperability, said Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert.

The two countries use different training approaches, but at the same time fly the same aircraft, the J-10C, so both sides can learn from each other, Fu told Global Times.