Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A five-story building being demolished in southern South Korea collapsed on Wednesday, sending debris falling on a bus and killing nine people on board, officials said.

Concrete from the collapsed building in the southern city of Gwangju fell on the bus carrying 17 people which had stopped on a nearby street, the National Fire Agency said.

Emergency officers dispatched to the site rescued eight people from the bus, all seriously injured, before discovering the nine bodies, the agency said in a statement.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 (NNN-Bernama) — The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) will write to the International Olympic Council (IOC) and Japan to seek clarification on a report that athletes from 10 countries, including Malaysia, will be barred from the Tokyo Olympics.

OCM president Mohamad Norza Zakaria said a written confirmation was vital to quash speculations, especially with the postponed Olympic Games all set to be held from July 23-Aug 8.

SHAH ALAM (Selangor, Malaysia) June 8 (NNN-Bernama) — The Muslim world must play a more proactive role to ensure the “Worldview of Islam” or Islam’s vision of existence continues to be properly studied to ensure God’s pleasure remains to be a bigger concern in the march towards the future, said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

(Reuters) --- Hong Kong will continue to invite foreign judges to its courts and the city's legal system remains "hard as a rock", Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday amid international concern about the impact of a sweeping national security law.

Worries over the ability of Hong Kong's judicial system to uphold human rights while applying the new law independently intensified last week when the judiciary said British judge Brenda Hale would step down from the top court next month. 

(Reuters) --- China's Defence Ministry on Tuesday denounced a brief weekend visit by three U.S. senators to Chinese-claimed Taiwan on a U.S. military aircraft as a "vile political provocation".

"We are resolutely opposed to it," the ministry said.

BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday pledged further assistance to Southeast Asian nations in battling the coronavirus pandemic as it seeks to boost influence with the region where the United States is also looking to strengthen ties.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations that China had already delivered 100 million vaccine doses to ASEAN nations along with other pandemic-fighting materials and technical help.

Singapore, Jun 8 (PTI) A 35-year old senior executive at a software company in Singapore, who made racially offensive tweets in April last year, including slurs to Indians and condemning Indian immigrants about COVID-19, was jailed for three weeks on Tuesday, a media report said.

Naypyitaw (Myanmar), Jun 8 (AP-PTI) Myanmar's military junta will begin presenting its case against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi in court next Monday, her lawyers said.

The military arrested Suu Kyi in February when it overthrew her elected government. Public resistance to the coup remains strong and in recent months has taken the form of a low-level armed insurrection.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presented economic plans to senior ruling party officials before an upcoming meeting to review efforts to overcome hardships brought about by the pandemic, state media said Tuesday.

The Korean Central News Agency said Kim held his consultations Monday in preparation for a meeting of the Workers’ Party’s powerful Central Committee at which they will discuss state affairs for the first half of 2021. The meeting was set for early June and could take place as early as this week.

BEIJING, June 7 (APP): Suki-Kinari Hydropower project is an accurate portrayal of the joint Belt and Road construction and also the best witness of the historical friendship between China and Pakistan.

In an interview with CEN, Deputy General Manager of SK Hydro, Danish Haseeb Khan said, “I have witnessed the joint efforts of the Chinese and Pakistani employees in Suki Kinari Hydro Private Limited (SK Hydro). Relevant government departments of the two sides have forged ahead with strong cooperation,”.