Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

HANOI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A landslide triggered by prolonged downpours has left three military personnel dead and 19 missing in central Vietnam's Quang Tri Province on Sunday, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The incident occurred early Sunday when the landslide engulfed a military base in Quang Tri's Huong Hoa mountainous district.

Three bodies had been found as of 10 a.m. local time, according to the news agency, with further search and rescue underway.

BEIJING (AP) — China has passed a new law restricting sensitive exports to protect national security, allowing Beijing to reciprocate against the U.S. as tensions mount between the sides over trade and technology.

The law, which will apply to all companies in China, was passed Saturday by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee and will take effect on Dec. 1.

Under the law, China can take “reciprocal measures” toward countries or regions that abuse export controls and threaten its national security and interests.

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan on Saturday announced a new attempt to establish a cease-fire in their conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh starting from midnight, a move that comes a week after a Russia-brokered truce frayed immediately after it took force.

The new agreement was announced following Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s calls with his counterparts from the two nations, in which he strongly urged them to abide by the Moscow deal. There were no immediate claims of violations after the truce took effect at midnight.

HONG KONG (AP) — Nearly 15 years ago, Grace Ma decided to name her bar Club 71, in commemoration of a July 1, 2003 rally where hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers protested a proposed national security law for the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

“I took the name Club 71, because somehow it is more hopeful, with half a million Hong Kong people having a demonstration, a rally, to stand for themselves, not to ignore what’s going on in Hong Kong,” said Ma.

BEIJING, Oct 17 (APP): Pakistan and China are all-weather friends, who have stood by one another in times of hardship, and their partnership during the COVID-19 period has been exemplary, Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque said on Saturday.

According to the ambassador, when the coronavirus first hit China, Pakistan stood by China, sending a plane loaded with much-needed supplies, and the Pakistani president undertook a solidarity visit to China in March.

BAKU, October 17. /TASS/: The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced on Saturday that the country's air defense forces destroyed the Su-25 aircraft of the Armenian armed forces.

"On October 17, at 11:11 local time (10:11 Moscow time), Azerbaijani air defense units destroyed Su-25 aircraft belonging to the Armenian Armed Forces, which tried to strike at the positions of the Azerbaijani army units in the direction of the Jabrayil region," the defense ministry said in a statement.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, leaves Sunday on his first overseas foray since taking over from his former boss Shinzo Abe last month, heading to Vietnam and Indonesia.

The choice to visit Southeast Asia underscores Japan’s efforts to counter Chinese influence and build stronger economic and defense ties in the region, much in line with Abe’s vision.

BANGKOK (AP) — Pro-democracy activists in Thailand staged a fourth straight day of high-profile protests in the capital on Saturday, thwarting efforts by the authorities to stop them, including a shutdown of the city’s mass transit systems.

Unlike protests a day earlier, which saw police using water cannons to keep the protesters at bay, Saturday’s demonstrations were peaceful, with no reports of any clashes by the time participants started heading home in the evening.

BEIJING, Oct 16 (APP): China’s experience in building and developing ports and basic infrastructure is certainly benefiting Pakistan and it is expected that soon Gwadar will become the ‘silicon valley’ of Pakistan and could emerge as center for promotion of economic activities at regional and global level.

If we talk about Gwadar, this city is also called city of fishermen like Shenzhen, China’s first special economic zone.

BEIJING, Oct 16 (APP): The Uyghur population has grown from 5.55 million to more than 13 million over the past 40 years in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, a Chinese foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Friday said.

“Since you asked about the situation in Xinjiang, I have more data at hand to share with you. Over the past 40 years, the Uyghur population in Xinjiang has been more than double from 5.55 million to more than 13 million,” he said while responding to a question during his regular briefing held here.