Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (NNN-BERNAMA) — China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday that China and ASEAN have the full capacity, wisdom as well as the responsibility to maintain peace and tranquillity in the South China Sea.

Speaking in a joint news conference after a bilateral meeting with Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein here Tuesday, Wang said ASEAN should also work together to “remove external obstruction” in the South China Sea.

Beijing, Oct 13 (AP/PTI) China's trade growth accelerated in September as the world's second-largest economy recovered from the coronavirus pandemic.

Exports rose 9.9% over a year earlier to 239.8 billion, up from August's 9.5% growth, customs data showed Tuesday. Imports gained 13.2% to 202.8 billion, up from the previous month's 2.1% contraction.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will order his government to compile extra economic stimulus measures as early as November, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The move would signal the government’s readiness to deploy more support to cushion Japan’s economy from the significant disruption to consumers and businesses by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The measures could focus on supporting tourism and the restaurant industry from declining consumption, the Nikkei said.

BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday urged the United States to immediately stop its planned arms sales to Taiwan and cease military contact with the island.

The U.S. arms sales to Taiwan seriously violate the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. Joint Communiques, especially the August 17 Communique, severely interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine China's sovereignty and security interests, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily news briefing.

"China firmly opposes this," said the spokesperson.

KUALA LUMPUR (AP) — Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said he presented the nation’s king Tuesday with evidence that he has enough support among lawmakers to topple the prime minister and form a new government, an assertion the palace denied.

Anwar said he presented the monarch with evidence of the support he has from over 120 lawmakers, which would allow him to unseat Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

HANOI, Oct 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 18 people died and more than a dozen are missing after floods submerged homes in central Vietnam and rough seas capsized fishing boats, authorities said as another storm threatened fresh downpours.

Images on state media showed entire villages under water in Quang Tri and Quang Nam, while murky floodwaters swept through the Imperial City of Hue and the tourist hotspot Hoi An over the weekend.

JAKARTA, Oct 12 (NNN-BERNAMA) — A total of 19 members of the Indonesian Parliament have been confirmed COVID-19 positive, with the republic recording 3,492 new positive cases within the last 24 hours.

According to the Secretary General of the House of Representatives (DPR) of the Republic of Indonesia, Indra Iskandar, a total of 42 staff of the house have also been infected with the virus.

Speaking to the local media today, he expressed concern of more staff of the house being confirmed COVID-19 positive.

12 Oct 2020; MEMO: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed the formation of a new multilateral forum to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, international news agencies reported yesterday.

His remarks came during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in China’s southwestern city of Tengchong on Saturday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday that he did not see the need for a negative income tax or a basic income as the country already has a well-established system of medical insurance and pensions.

“At this stage, I don’t think we need a so-called negative income tax or basic income system because we already have a fairly well-established, well-developed, medical insurance and pension system,” Kuroda said.

BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 jolted 77 km southwest of La Esperanza, Mexico at 0413 GMT on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 39.04 km, was initially determined to be at 14.8773 degrees north latitude and 93.5811 degrees west longitude.