Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING (AP) — A hospital president and the director of the health commission in the northern Chinese city of Qingdao have been fired after China’s latest coronavirus outbreak, authorities said Thursday.

A brief notice on the Qingdao city government’s official microblog Thursday said Health Commission Director Sui Zhenhua and Deng Kai, president of Qingdao’s thoracic hospital to which the cases have been linked, were placed under further investigation. No other details were given.

BISHKEK, October 14. /TASS/: Kyrgyzstan’s President Sooronbay Jeenbekov plans to resign after a parliamentary election, Tolgonai Stamaliyeva, the presidential spokesperson, said on Wednesday.

"The president will resign as soon as he returns the country to the legal field, or as soon as a parliamentary election is held and a new presidential election is announced," she said.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The Malaysian public has been able to appreciate part of the cultural heritage of Cuba through music, dances and visual arts with the work of the Malaysia-Cuba Friendship Association (FOCA), said Cuba’s Ambassador to Malaysia Ibete Fernández Hernández.

In a statement to Bernama today in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of FOCA’s official launch, she said FOCA has actively participated in events promoted by the Cuban embassy in Kuala Lumpur, including the Latin American cultural and film festivals.

JAKARTA, Oct 14 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Another protest against labour-related laws took place in Jakarta on Tuesday amid the province recorded another daily tally of more than a 1,000 new COVID-19 cases.

With 1,054 cases reported in the last 24 hours, Jakarta has the most number of total cases to date at 89,228.

Tuesday’s peaceful demonstration, which was attended by thousands of workers and students, took place from 1 pm to about 4 pm.

However, like on Oct 8, certain groups tried to cause chaos by throwing stones at the police.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The Malaysian government will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China to ensure Malaysia will be among the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine from the country once it is, as expected, successfully developed by end of the year.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that through talks between Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and his visiting Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, China had agreed to list Malaysia as a priority recipient of the vaccine after it has completed clinical trials.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thousands of Thai protesters set up camp outside Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s office late on Wednesday, in an escalation of three months of demonstrations aimed at forcing the former junta leader to step down.

The protesters had earlier faced off against thousands of royalist supporters, who showed up in their biggest numbers since the start of protests that have also demanded curbs on the monarch’s powers.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Tuesday that the so-called Indo-Pacific strategy proposed by the United States would undermine peace and development prospect in East Asia.

In response to a question on the impact of the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy on the East Asia cooperation, Wang told a joint press conference with Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein that East Asia is the most dynamic region in today's world, and is also the economy with the biggest potential going forward.

SEOUL (AP) — Chinese nationalists erupted in anger at South Korean boy band BTS after its leader thanked Korean War veterans for their sacrifices.

The singer, who goes by RM, made the remark in a recorded acceptance speech for an award from the Korea Society for promoting U.S.-Korean relations.

“We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together and the sacrifices of countless men and women,” RM said in the speech, which included no mention of China.

BEIJING, Oct 13 (APP): China does not recognize the Ladakh Union Territory, illegally set up by India and the Arunachal Pradesh, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday.

“First, I want to make it clear that China does not recognize the Ladakh Union Territory, illegally set up by the Indian side and the Arunachal Pradesh,” he said during his regular briefing.

“We stand against the development of infrastructure facilities, aimed at military contention along the border area, ” he added.

BAIKONUR /Kazakhstan/, October 13. /TASS/: The solar panels and windows of the International Space Station (ISS) have marks of minor damage from micrometeorite hits but they are smaller than the projected degradation, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Ryzhikov said at a pre-flight press conference on Tuesday.

"There is, of course, minor damage to the elements of the external surface of the station: micro-canyons [from micrometeorites] can be seen on solar panels and windows," the cosmonaut said.