Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO, Sept 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — New Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government was backed by at least two-thirds of respondents in domestic polls taken in the early days of his administration.

The Kyodo news agency said its telephone poll showed 66.4 per cent of the public supported Suga’s cabinet.

A separate survey by the Nikkei newspaper and TV Tokyo showed 74 per cent support, the third-highest for an incoming Cabinet in the poll’s history, with positive replies noting Suga’s “trustworthy” personality.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The second high-level U.S. envoy to visit Taiwan in two months began a day of closed-door meetings Friday as China conducted military drills near the Taiwan Strait after threatening retaliation.

Undersecretary of State Keith Krach, who handles the economic growth, energy and the environment portfolio, held talks with Taiwan’s minister of economic affairs and the Cabinet’s vice premier. He was due to meet with business leaders over lunch and dine with President Tsai Ing-wen later Friday.

BANGKOK (AP) — A two-day rally planned this weekend is jangling nerves in Bangkok, with apprehension about how far student demonstrators will go in pushing demands for reform of Thailand’s monarchy and how the authorities might react.

At least 10,000 people were estimated to have attended a major protest rally on Aug. 16, and a bigger turnout is expected this time. In an escalation of tactics, organizers plan to march to Government House, the prime minister’s offices, to hand over petitions.

BEIJING, Sep 17 (APP): Research and development on COVID-19 vaccines in China is progressing rapidly, and they may be available for public use as early as November, a senior virologist said.

Five of the nine COVID-19 vaccines that have entered phase 3 clinical trials globally are being developed in China, and they have produced satisfying trial results, said Wu Guizhen, chief biosafety expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to China Daily on Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Bernama) — Mexico and Malaysia are united and have many things in common including the same date for their national day celebration – September 16, said Mexico’s Ambassador to Malaysia Carlos Felix Corona.

On September 16 Mexico commemorated its 210th year of Independence while Malaysia celebrated its 57th year of nationhood.

BANGKOK, Sept 17 (NNN-TNA) – Three companies of policemen will be deployed from today, in the premises of Thailand’s Government House, as part of the government’s preparations for a student protest at the upcoming weekend, officials said yesterday.

The policemen, from the Metropolitan Police headquarters, are staying on alert inside Government House, for stepped-up security reasons at least until the upcoming Sunday, said officials.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan will monitor not just inflation trends but job growth in guiding policy, its governor Haruhiko Kuroda said, signalling the BOJ’s readiness to ramp up stimulus if job losses from the coronavirus crisis heighten the risk of deflation.

With the immediate hit from the pandemic easing, the central bank kept monetary policy steady earlier on Thursday and upgraded its view on the economy to say it was starting to pick up.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A senior U.S. State Department official is due to arrive in Taiwan on Thursday for a three-day visit that has already drawn a warning from China.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Keith Krach is scheduled to meet Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and other senior officials, the island’s foreign ministry said Thursday. Krach, who holds the portfolio for economic growth, energy and the environment, is the highest-level official from the State Department to visit the island in decades.

Beijing, Sep 16 (AP/PTI) Recent Chinese war games near Taiwan were a deliberate signal to the leaders of the island and its foreign backers that Beijing intends to make good on its vow to defend what it considers Chinese sovereignty, a government spokesperson said Wednesday.

Ma Xiaoguang of the Chinese Cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office said the exercises were a necessary measure" because Taiwan's leaders had been engaging in activities aimed pushing the island's formal independence from China.

HANOI/LONDON, Sept 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Four people have been jailed in Vietnam for their roles in the death of 39 migrants found in a lorry in England’s Essex.

The men, women and children were discovered in a refrigerated trailer in Grays on Oct 23.

The four defendants were found guilty of “organising, brokering illegal emigration” after a one-day trial in Ha Tinh, VnExpress reported.

The state media outlet said one victim paid $22,000 for the illegal journey.