Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BAKU/YEREVAN (Reuters) - Iran’s president warned on Wednesday that fighting between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces in the South Caucasus could trigger a regional war as the death toll rose on the 11th day of hostilities.

More than 300 have now died in the renewed fighting in and around the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which under international law belongs to Azerbaijan but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians.

Mito, Oct 7 (AP/PTI) Japan has proposed raising its catch quotas for Pacific bluefin tuna, a fish so highly prized for sushi and sashimi that its population is at less than 5% of historical levels.

An online meeting of countries that manage the Pacific bluefin that began Tuesday is studying the proposal to raise Japan's catch limits for both smaller and larger bluefin tuna by 20%.

Moscow, Oct 7 (AP/PTI) Officials in Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday nullified the results of a weekend parliamentary election after mass protests erupted in the capital of Bishkek and other cities, with opposition supporters seizing government buildings overnight and demanding a new vote.

Hundreds of people were injured, one fatally.

BISHKEK, October 6. /TASS/: Kyrgyzstan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has declared the outcome of the October 4 parliamentary elections invalid.

"In connection with numerous violations during the vote and the pre-election period, a decision was made at a meeting of the Central Election Commission’s members to declare the elections invalid," the commission’s press service told TASS on Tuesday.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Relations between Malaysia and Vietnam have been described as broad-based and substantive, with both countries enjoying vibrant ties in a wide range of sectors – namely trade and investment, education, security, defence, and people-to-people ties.

Bidding farewell to his fellow comrades and the people of Malaysia, Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Le Quy Quynh, 61, who will be concluding his stint here on Oct 8, said Vietnam and Malaysia have effectively cooperated in many fields in recent years.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (NNN-BERNAMA) — An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hit the Fiji Islands at 6.11 pm today.

According to a statement issued by the Malaysian Meteorological Department, the epicentre of the earthquake was 323 kilometres (km) east of Laucala, Fiji, at a depth of 629 km.

“However, the earthquake did not pose a tsunami threat to Malaysia,” the statement said.

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Japan on Tuesday to rally support from Washington’s closest allies in Asia, calling for deeper collaboration with Japan, India and Australia as a bulwark against China’s growing regional influence.

The East Asia visit, Pompeo’s first in more than a year, coincides with worsening tensions with China. Yet the call for a united front against Beijing is a sensitive subject for Washington’s allies, which are reliant on China for trade.

TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, said they will lead a regional initiative called “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” aimed at countering China’s growing assertiveness, a main issue they will discuss Tuesday with the top envoys from Australia and India.

The first in-person talks among the foreign ministers since the coronavirus pandemic began also brings together Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said that like his fierce critics, he has also suspected that extrajudicial killings may have happened under his drug crackdown that has killed thousands of people.

He said in televised remarks Monday night he had once inquired into the brutal deaths and was told some drug dealers may have been killed due to rivalry among syndicates or for stealing drug money.

(AP) --- Shares advanced in on Tuesday Asia after hopes for economic aid from Washington helped Wall Street recover its losses from the initial shock of learning President Donald Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Trump left the hospital after spending less than three days there, returning to the White House late Monday despite uncertainty over his recovery and risks that he is still infectious.

Shares rose in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul.