Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING (AP) — China defended the World Health Organization and lashed out at the U.S. decision to withdraw from the U.N. body, adding to a litany of disputes between the world’s largest economies and increasing geopolitical rivals.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the move was “another demonstration of the U.S. pursuing unilateralism, withdrawing from groups and breaking contracts.”

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The mob of over 150 people who forcefully took Muhammad Yunus’ cadaver from a hospital in eastern Indonesia thought it was impossible that the 49-year-old Islamic preacher could have died from the coronavirus. He had always washed his hands, worn a mask and followed health protocols issued by the government, according to local residents.

BEIJING, July 8 (APP): Ambassador Geng Shuang has assumed charge as Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations (UN) in New York.

Geng, the 30th spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry from September 26, 2016 to June 5, 2020, submitted his credentials at the United Nations Secretariat and officially started his tenure as Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — President Donald Trump’s point man to North Korea said Wednesday that the U.S. administration is ready to resume stalled nuclear negotiations despite the North’s repeated claims that it has no immediate intent for dialogue with Washington.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun spoke to reporters following meetings with South Korean officials in Seoul, where they reaffirmed the allies’ commitment toward a diplomatic approach in resolving the nuclear standoff with the North but avoided specific answers on what was discussed.

HONG KONG (AP) — Beijing’s national security office was inaugurated in Hong Kong on Wednesday, just over a week after China’s central government imposed a tough new law on the city that critics view as a further deterioration of freedoms promised to the former British colony.

TOKYO (AP) — Pounding rain that already caused deadly floods in southern Japan was moving northeast Wednesday, battering large areas of Japan’s main island, swelling more rivers, triggering mudslides and destroying houses and roads. At least 58 people have died in several days of flooding.

By Wednesday morning, parts of Nagano and Gifu in central Japan were flooded by massive downpours.

Hong Kong, Jul 7 (AP/PTI) TikTok said Tuesday it will stop operations in Hong Kong, joining other social media companies in warily eyeing ramifications of a sweeping national security law that took effect last week.

The short-form video app's planned departure from Hong Kong comes as various social media platforms and messaging apps including Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Google and Twitter balk at the possibility of providing user data to Hong Kong authorities.

HANOI (Reuters) - A court in Vietnam on Tuesday sentenced a man to eight years in prison after finding him guilty of uploading anti-state posts on his Facebook account, the security ministry said.

Despite sweeping economic reform and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and tolerates little criticism.

HONG KONG, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) take effect on Tuesday, the HKSAR government said when the implementation rules were gazetted on Monday evening.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Tuesday repeated it has no immediate intent to resume dialogue with the United States hours before U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun was to arrive in South Korea for discussions on the stalled nuclear diplomacy.

In a statement released through Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency, senior North Korean foreign ministry official Kwon Jong Gun also ridiculed South Korea’s “nonsensical” calls for revived negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang when it has lost its relevance as a mediator.