Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BISHKEK, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Kyrgyzstan's new government led by Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov took the oath of office on Tuesday.

The oath-taking ceremony was held in parliament with the participation of President Sooronbai Jeenbekov.

Congratulating the members of the new government, President Jeenbekov expressed hope that they will be faithful to their oath and do everything for the country's development.

(AP) --- Federal authorities in New York on Wednesday seized a shipment of weaves and other beauty accessories suspected to be made out of human hair taken from people locked inside a Chinese internment camp.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials told The Associated Press that 13 tons (11.8 metric tonnes) of hair products worth an estimated $800,000 were in the shipment.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday after Wall Street capped its best quarter since 1998, shrugging off continued signs of global economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2% to 22,187.27. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.0% to 2,130.14. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 gained 0.9% to 5,953.50. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.5% to 24,427.19, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 2,993.60.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police made their first arrests Wednesday under a new national security law imposed a day earlier by China’s central government, as thousands of people defied tear gas and pepper pellets to protest against it.

Police said nine people were arrested under the law, including a man with a Hong Kong independence flag and a woman holding a sign displaying the British flag and calling for Hong Kong’s independence. Others were detained for possessing items advocating independence. Further details were not immediately available.

BEIJING (AP) — China has demanded staff and business information from four U.S. media companies including The Associated Press in what it called a necessary response to similar demands by Washington on Chinese state-controlled news outlets.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian announced Wednesday that the AP, United Press International, CBS and National Public Radio had seven days to file declarations regarding their staff, financial operations, real estate ownership and other matters.

Hong Kong, Jul 1 (AP/PTI) Hong Kong police made their first arrest under a new national security law imposed by China's central government, arresting a protester on Wednesday for carrying a flag calling for Hong Kong's independence.

The man was arrested after police had issued multiple warnings to the crowd at a protest in the city's Causeway Bay shopping district that they might be in violation of the law, according to a police statement on Twitter.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is ready to accommodate travel bubble when the government agrees to reopen its international borders, said Group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh.

SINGAPORE, July 1 (NNN-BERNAMA) —  Mediacorp will broadcast ‘live’ two General Election 2020 political debates in English and Mandarin on Channel 5 and Channel 8 respectively this evening.

Mediacorp has invited the four political parties fielding the most number of candidates in the General Election – the People’s Action Party (PAP), Progress Singapore Party (PSP), Worker’s Party (WP) and Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) – to send a candidate to each of the debates.

BANGKOK, July 1 (NNN-TNA) – The Tourism Council of Thailand said, it expects to see only an estimated eight million foreign tourists this year, 80 percent down from last year, due to the impact from COVID-19.

“However, we are confident that tourism in Thailand will begin to pick up in 2021,” said Chairat Triratanajaraspon, the council’s president.

He said, last year, Thailand had a record 39.8 million foreign tourists, whose spending accounted for about 11 percent of Thailand’s GDP.

BEIJING, June 30 (APP): China on Tuesday said it was strongly concerned over Indian decision to block of apps with Chinese links and called upon Indian government to uphold the legitimate and legal rights of the international investors including the Chinese ones.