Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BAKU/YEREVAN (Reuters) - Azeris celebrated on the streets of Baku after President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday his country’s forces had taken Shusha, the second-largest city in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, but Armenian officials denied the city had been captured.

Shusha, which Armenians call Shushi, is of cultural and strategic importance to both sides and is located 15 km (9 miles) south of the enclave’s largest city Stepanakert.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s younger brother, Crown Prince Fumihito, was formally sworn in as first in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne in a traditional palace ritual Sunday that has been postponed for seven month and scaled down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The ceremony for the 54-year-old crown prince, better known as Prince Akishino, concludes a series of imperial succession rituals that began in May last year when Naruhito ascended to the throne after their 86-year-old father Akihito abdicated.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Voting was underway in Myanmar’s elections on Sunday, with the party of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi heavily favored to retain power it had wrestled from the powerful military five years ago.

More than 90 parties are competing for seats in the lower and upper houses of Parliament, while there are also elections at the state and regional levels.

TOKYO, Nov 7 (NNN-NHK) – Japan Airlines (JAL) said, it planned to raise 167.9 billion yen (1.6 billion U.S. dollars) via a public stock offering this year, in order to survive the harsh business environment amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fund will also be used to cover replacement costs for its fleet, the company said.

The sharp decline in air travel, battered the airline business and induced the first capital increase since JAL’s relisting in 2012.

Yangon, Nov 7 (AP/PTI) Myanmar holds national and state elections on Sunday in which Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party will be looking to hold on to power.

More than 37 million of Myanmar's 56 million people are eligible to vote. More than 90 parties are fielding candidates for seats in the upper and lower houses of Parliament.

BEIJING, Nov 6 (APP): China is willing to share experience with Pakistan with regard to the development of new retail business.

Both the countries may conduct in-depth discussions on the development of new retail business and make joint efforts to explore new retail business in the region so as to speed up the economic recovery during and after the pandemic, Cheng Xichong, visiting professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, senior fellow of the Charhar Institute said on Friday.

BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng on Thursday called for pushing forward China-U.S. relations along the right track.

Le made the remarks at a press conference when asked to comment on the U.S. presidential election and China-U.S. relations.

The U.S. presidential election's counting of votes is still ongoing and the result is not yet known, said Le, adding that China hopes the presidential race can proceed steadily and smoothly.

BEIJING — China has temporarily banned the entry of foreigners from at least eight countries as COVID-19 cases rise in Europe and elsewhere.

Non-Chinese can no longer enter from Russia, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Philippines, India and Bangladesh, even if they hold a valid visa or residence permit for China.

Embassies in those countries have posted online notices in recent days announcing the temporary suspension of entry.

China has enacted strict measures to guard against new infections from abroad.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysia’s exports of palm oil products to the United States generally do not encounter any problems except for the trade restrictions imposed on palm oil from FGV Holdings Bhd from Oct 1, 2020, said Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali.

“Hence, for now the restrictions imposed on Malaysian palm oil products by the US do not have a significant impact on the sector.

SEOUL (Reuters) - A North Korean man who crossed the heavily fortified border with South Korea has said he wants to defect to the South, Seoul officials said on Thursday.

The man was taken into custody in the Demilitarised Zone separating the two Koreas on Wednesday, several hours after he was spotted crossing barbed wire fences installed along the border, prompting an urgent search operation.

Authorities have launched an investigation into how the man managed to cross the frontier, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.