Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (NNN-Bernama) — Despite a renewed emphasis on improving relations with traditional allies in Asia, the United States’ (US) policy towards China is unlikely to change dramatically under President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, according to a new report by Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s).

With ongoing trade frictions, Biden is unlikely to undo the measures taken by the Trump administration against China, said assistant vice-president and analyst Nishad Majmudar in a statement Wednesday.

JAKARTA, Dec 8 (NNN-Bernama) — Jakarta police Monday shot dead six followers of Rizieq Shihab, the leader of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) who has sparked several controversies since returning to Indonesia from Saudi Arabia on Nov 10.

FPI lawyer, Sugito Atmo Prawiro, however, was quoted by local media as claiming that the victims were instead attacked and shot by the authorities, and not the other way around.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office condemned U.S. sanctions on Chinese officials over their role in a national security law for Hong Kong as “purely double standards”, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

The office expressed “strong indignation and condemnation” at the U.S. State Department decision to sanction the 14 Vice-Chairpersons of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea said on Tuesday it had signed deals to provide coronavirus vaccines for 44 million people next year but it would not hurry inoculation to allow more time to observe potential side effects.

Its cautious approach comes as the country of almost 52 million people battles surging COVID-19 infections that health authorities say threaten to overwhelm the medical system.

TASHKENT, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan has taken back 25 women and 73 children from the refugee camps in Syria by a special flight organized on the instructions of the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the government said Tuesday.

The returnees will be provided by the government with medical, psychological, material and moral assistance, the government said.

At the same time, the country's special services are constantly carrying out measures to bring Uzbek citizens back from camps in the Middle East.

TOKYO (AP) — A small capsule containing asteroid soil samples that was dropped from space by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft and landed in the Australian Outback arrived Tuesday in Japan for research into the origin of the solar system and life on Earth.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said its capsule, tightly sealed and carefully stored in a container box, arrived in Japan on a flight from Australia attended by a group of JAXA officials and was later taken its research facility in Sagamihara, near Tokyo.

MITO, Japan (AP) — Japan’s economy expanded at a 22.9% annual rate in the last quarter, as businesses and personal spending recovered from pandemic-related shocks in the spring and early summer.

Economists said the upward revision released Tuesday was in line with forecasts and suggests Japan’s economy, the world’s third largest, is on the mend from the recession that started in late 2019, even before coronavirus outbreaks hit.

BEIJING, Nov 7 (APP): Nearly 200 sets of cultural relics from seven Asian countries including Pakistan went on display at the Hebei Museum in North China’s Hebei Province.

Be Together in the East: Special Exhibition on the Civilization of Ancient Asia displays a total of 190 relics from China, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Syrian Arab Republic, Cambodia, Lebanon and Japan, Global Times reported on Sunday.

One highlight among these cultural artifacts is an underglaze blue porcelain piece featuring Arabic writing.

BEIJING, December 7. /TASS/: Trade turnover between Russia and China in January-November decreased by 3% year-on-year, amounting to $97.38 bln, the General Customs Administration announced on Monday.

According the published data, exports to Russia for 11 months increased by 1.2% and amounted to about $45.36 bln. Imports of Russian goods and services to China decreased by 6.4% to $52.02 bln.

JAKARTA, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- COVID-19 vaccines from China were in good condition upon arrival in Indonesia and refrigeration vehicles for delivery have been well prepared to keep the vaccines undamaged and safe, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said on Monday.

"The physical checks must be carried out accurately, so that we are sure that the vaccine status is in good condition. There is no damaged packaging or contents, and the temperature during the trip or delivery meets the procedures," the minister told a press conference here.