Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SHANGHAI/SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) shares fell nearly 6% on Friday after the electric automaker unveiled a restyled, China-made Model 3 with a higher price, while slashing prices of its premium vehicles and its "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) software.

The launch of the new Model 3 sedan marks the first time the automaker has rolled out a vehicle in China ahead of the United States, underscoring its growing reliance on the country where it is in a race for market share with BYD (002594.SZ).

HONG KONG (AP) — Most of Hong Kong and other parts of southern China ground to a near standstill Friday with classes and flights canceled as powerful Typhoon Saola passed along the coast.

Many workers stayed at home and students in various cities saw the start of their school year postponed to next week. Trading on Hong Kong’s stock market was suspended and hundreds of people were stranded at the airport after about 460 flights were canceled in the key regional business and travel hub.

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s king on Friday reduced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s eight-year prison term to a single year following the divisive politician’s return last week from 15 years of self-imposed exile.

The action may mark a symbolic end to the political schism that has wracked the Southeast Asian nation since Thaksin was forced from power by the army 17 years ago, leaving democracy endangered.

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Pope Francis arrived in Mongolia on Friday morning to encourage one of the world’s smallest and newest Catholic communities.

It’s the first time a pope has visited the landlocked Asian country and comes at a time when the Vatican’s relations with Mongolia’s two powerful neighbors, Russia and China, are once again strained.

BEIJING, Aug 31 (APP): China will hold the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in October, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced on Thursday.

With connectivity as the priority, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to provide a new platform for international economic cooperation and inject new impetus into the development of all countries as well as global economic growth, Wang said during his regular briefing held at the International Press Center.

JAKARTA, Aug 31 (NNN-ANTARA) – At least five people reportedly died and more than 20 others injured, after a pickup truck fell off a cliffside, in the Indonesian province of Central Java, last night, a local official said.

According to the preliminary investigation report, released today, the truck, which was carrying 44 people, plunged over a 30-metre cliff, after it lost power while driving uphill and ended up rolling backwards in the Kebumen district at around 8:15 p.m. local time.

NEW DELHI/BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to skip a summit of G20 leaders in India next week, sources familiar with the matter in India and China told Reuters, a development that would dash chances of a meeting there with U.S. President Joe Biden.

Xi's absence also could be a shot at host India, according to some analysts, who see it as a signal China is reluctant to confer influence on its southern neighbour that boasts one of the fastest growing major economies as China's slows.

BEIJING/ HONG KONG Aug 31 (Reuters) - China issued its highest typhoon warning on Thursday as Super Typhoon Saola, packing winds of more than 200 kph (125 mph), headed towards the southeastern coastline, threatening Hong Kong and other major manufacturing hubs in nearby Guangdong province.

Aug 31 (Reuters) - The Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have rejected as baseless a map released by China that denotes its claims to sovereignty including in the South China Sea and which Beijing said on Thursday should be viewed rationally and objectively.

China released the map on Monday of its famous U-shaped line covering about 90% of the South China Sea, a source of many of the disputes in one of the world's most contested waterways, where more than $3 trillion of trade passes each year.

TOKYO, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Japan's agriculture minister on Thursday referred to the Fukushima nuke wastewater released into the ocean as "contaminated water" instead of the term "treated water" insisted by the Japanese government, which triggered criticism from the government.

"We exchanged information on the subsequent evaluation of contaminated water," Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tetsuro Nomura told the reporters after his meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the latter's official residence.