(Reuters) --- China condemned on Thursday a joint statement by G7 foreign ministers that expressed support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan and cast Beijing as a bully, saying it was a gross interference in China’s internal affairs.
G7 foreign ministers said in a communique after a London summit that China was guilty of human rights abuses and of using “coercive economic policies”, which the G7 would use collective efforts to stop.
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Thursday on cautious optimism about upcoming company earnings reports showing some recovery from the damage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.0% in morning trading to 29,391.19, in the first session after the Golden Week series of national holidays. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.7% to 3,168.56, but Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.5% to 7,057.80. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up nearly 0.1% to 28,436.53, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.4% to 3,433.39.
BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday suspended an economic dialogue with Australia, stepping up a pressure campaign that began over Australian support for a probe into the origins of the coronavirus.
Beijing also has blocked imports of Australian coal, wheat, wine and other goods, plunging relations to a multi-decade low. Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government has not offered any concessions.
The Chinese government accused Australia of taking steps “to disrupt normal exchanges” due to a “Cold War mindset and ideological discrimination.”
BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Wednesday in light trading while China and Japan were closed for holidays.
Hong Kong declined while Sydney and India advanced following Wall Street’s overnight fall. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets retreated.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index lost 0.7%, dragged down by more declines for tech stocks including Apple and Microsoft.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.6% to 28,397.29 while the S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney rose 0.4% to 7,094.90.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Myanmar’s security forces moved in and the street lamps went black. In house after house, people shut off their lights. Darkness swallowed the block.
Huddled inside her home in this neighborhood of Yangon, 19-year-old Shwe dared to peek out her window into the inky night. A flashlight shone back, and a man’s voice ordered her not to look.
PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), May 4 (NNN-Bernama) — The allegations that the vaccination rate in Malaysia is slow and low are not true as the vaccination jabs are done according to the supply delivery schedule, said National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
He said that the country had, so far, received a total of 1,938,660 doses of the Pfizer, Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines, of which 1,453,382 doses had been inoculated.
(Reuters) --- The Group of Seven rich democracies will on Tuesday discuss ways of countering challenges from China and Russia without trying to contain Beijing or escalate tension with the Kremlin, two of its top diplomats said.
Founded in 1975 as a forum for the West’s richest nations to discuss crises such as the OPEC oil embargo, the G7 is debating responses to the two vast and increasingly assertive countries as well as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), plus China, Japan and South Korea, have pledged to enhance financial cooperation to achieve resilient, inclusive and sustainable economic growth amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pledge was made during the 24th ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' Meeting (AFMGM+3) which was held virtually on Monday in Brunei.
BISHKEK, May 3. /TASS/: Bishkek and Dushanbe ended the process of withdrawing their military units from the border, the Kyrgyzstan’s Border Service says on Monday.
"The parties completed the withdrawal of extra forces and means from the state border line inward to their territories," the Service reports.
The joint commission comprising representatives of defense ministries of both countries continue working, the Service noted. The situation on the border and in adjacent areas is ‘stable’ now, without incidents and shooting.
YANGON. May 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A leading Myanmar ethnic rebel army said that it had shot down a military helicopter on Monday, a day after a renewed junta crackdown on anti-coup protests left at least five civilians dead.
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) said it downed the helicopter gunship during fierce clashes near the town of Momauk in the country’s far north.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and seized power on Feb 1.
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