Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO/SEOUL, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Flights were cancelled and trains halted on Wednesday as heavy rain from Typhoon Khanun pounded southern regions of Japan and South Korea, just as another storm approached from the east to threaten Tokyo ahead of Japan's peak summer holiday season.

Khanun could make landfall at the southeastern South Korean port city of Tongyeong on Thursday, before tracking up the Korean peninsula, authorities said.

TOKYO (AP) — Sony’s April-June profit slipped 17% from a year earlier, as worries grew about revenue damage from a strike in the movie sector, the Japanese electronics and entertainment company said Wednesday.

Tokyo-based Sony Corp.’s fiscal first quarter profit totaled 217 billion yen ($1.5 billion), down from 261 billion yen a year ago.

Quarterly sales rose 33% to 2.96 trillion yen ($21 billion), as sales for the period grew in games and network services, the music business, financial services and imaging solutions.

BANGKOK, Aug 8 (Reuters) - The second-eldest son of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn visited a child-care centre for underprivileged families on Tuesday during a surprise visit to the kingdom, the first time he has been back in his homeland in 27 years.

The trip by Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, 42, comes at a fraught time for the Thai royal family, with the monarch's eldest daughter in a coma since December.

Vacharaesorn, who works at a law firm in New York, visited the Foundation for Slum Child Care, which is supported by the royal family, and greeted well-wishers.

BEIJING, Aug 8 (Reuters) - China's imports and exports fell much faster than expected in July as weaker demand threatens recovery prospects in the world's second-largest economy, heightening pressure for authorities to release fresh stimulus to steady growth.

The grim trade numbers reinforce expectations that economic activity could slow further in the third quarter, with construction, manufacturing and services activity, foreign direct investment and industrial profits all weakening.

BEIJING/MANILA, Aug 8 (Reuters) - China again asked the Philippines to tow away a grounded warship - a World War Two-era vessel now used as a military outpost - from a disputed shoal on Tuesday, after Manila rejected Beijing's earlier demand.

Tensions have soared between the two neighbours over the South China Sea under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with Manila pivoting back to the United States, which supports the Southeast Asian nation in its maritime disputes with China.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Buses began moving tens of thousands of Scouts to inland venues Tuesday ahead of a tropical storm, bringing an effective end to a World Scout Jamboree that had already struggled with heat, hygiene and land use controversies.

Known for its insatiable desire to host international events, the South Korean government scrambled to keep the Jamboree going as thousands of British and American Scouts departed over the weekend because of an extreme heat wave that caused some attendees to be hospitalized.

BEIJING, Aug 7 (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone conversation on Monday that China would uphold an independent and impartial position on Ukraine as it strives to find a political settlement to the issue.

Wang's comments to Lavrov were announced in a Foreign Ministry statement on Monday that said China would be an "objective and rational voice" at any international multilateral forums and "actively promote peace talks".

TOKYO (AP) — Toshiba announced a 2 trillion yen ($14 billion) tender offer on Monday in a move that would take it private, as the scandal-tarnished Japanese electronics and energy giant seeks to turn itself around.

The tender offer led by a buyout fund of major Japanese banks and companies called Japan Industrial Partners starts Tuesday and is priced at 4,620 yen ($32) a share.

Chairperson Akihiro Watanabe asked shareholders to back the proposal, saying it is the only option for Toshiba Corp. to return to its former strength.

TOKYO, August 6. /TASS/: The shadow of nuclear war has re-emerged now that some countries are threatening to use nuclear weapons, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in his message.

YANGON, Aug 6 (NNN-MNA) – Thousands of people were evacuated, as continuous heavy rain and swollen rivers caused floodings in several townships in southern Myanmar, local authorities said, yesterday.

In Mon State’s Belin township, some 6,298 people have been evacuated to 25 shelters, Aung Myat Kyaw Sein, spokesperson of the Mon State government, told media yesterday.

The flood victims in Belin township included 2,978 males and 3,320 females from 1,305 households from five wards and some villages in the township, he said.