Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Japan's average retail gasoline price has climbed to its highest level in 15 years, official data showed Wednesday, as the government's subsidy to prevent price hikes has been progressively reduced.

As of Monday, The average price for regular gasoline stood at 176.70 yen (1.24 U.S. dollars) per liter, advancing 1.90 yen from July 24 and hitting its highest level since August 2008, according to the country's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

ZHUZHOU, Hebei (AP) — China’s capital has recorded its heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years over the past few days after being deluged with heavy rains from the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri.

The city recorded 744.8 millimeters (29.3 inches) of rain between Saturday and Wednesday morning, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said Wednesday.

01 August 2023; MEMO: China is pressuring Uyghurs living abroad to spy on human rights campaigners by threatening families back home, the BBC reports.

According to the report, China is pressuring Uyghurs living abroad to spy on human rights campaigners, researchers told the BBC.

BEIJING, Aug 1 (APP): The small and beautiful projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would boost income fast, increase employment and benefit local people.

As CPEC and other BRI projects between China and Pakistan have focused on major infrastructure, more small but beautiful projects would be set to boost income fast and increase employment and benefit local people, Zhu Yongbiao, executive director of the Research Center for the Belt and Road at Lanzhou University told Global Times.

BEIJING, Aug 1 (Reuters) - China should encourage its citizens to join counter-espionage work, including creating channels for individuals to report suspicious activity as well as commending and rewarding them, the state security ministry said on Tuesday.

A system that makes it "normal" for the masses to participate in counter-espionage must be established, wrote the Ministry of State Security, the main agency overlooking foreign intelligence and anti-spying, in its first post on its WeChat account, which went live on Monday.

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Myanmar's ruling military pardoned on Tuesday jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi on five of the 19 offences for which she was convicted but she will remain under house arrest, state media and informed sources said.

The pardons mean six years will be shaved off Suu Kyi's 33-year jail term, junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told the Eleven Media Group, adding that it was part of an amnesty under which more than 7,000 prisoners were freed across the strife-torn country.

BEIJING, Aug 1 (Reuters) - China said on Tuesday it has complained to the United States about a weapons aid package to Taiwan, urging Washington to refrain from going further down a "wrong and dangerous" path.

The U.S. unveiled an aid package for Taiwan worth up to $345 million on Friday as Congress authorised up to $1 billion worth of weapons aid for the island as a part of the 2023 budget.

A spokesperson for China's defence ministry, Tan Kefei, said the U.S. must stop all forms of "military collusion" with Taiwan.

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 100-million-U.S.-dollar loan to help boost the caliber of Cambodia's labor force by addressing skills gaps and shortages.

In its press statement on Tuesday, the lender said this will be done through reforms and investments in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) combined with private sector participation.

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong government official vowed Tuesday to mull legal changes and set up protocols to better protect whales after the discovery of a carcass sparked anger on social media and speculation that sightseers had contributed to the animal’s death.

Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said it was unclear whether wounds on the whale had caused its death. But he suggested whale-watching activities could have disturbed or hurt the whale after it was first spotted in the city in mid-July.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 31 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Malaysia’s population is expected to grow 2.1 percent, this year, led by international migration, official data showed today.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that, the total population of Malaysia in 2023 is estimated at 33.4 million, as compared to 32.7 million in 2022.

According to the DOSM, the increase in population growth rate is due to the higher number of non-citizens, which is likely to increase from 2.5 million in 2022 to three million this year.