Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei on Tuesday shrugged off US attempts to block his company's global ambitions, saying the United States underestimates the telecom giant's strength.

Ren spoke to Chinese media days after President Donald Trump issued orders aimed at thwarting Huawei's business in the United States, the latest salvo in a months-long effort to stop the company's charge to the top of the leaderboard in next-generation 5G technology.

"The current practice of US politicians underestimates our strength," Ren said, according to transcripts from state-run media.

BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Washington's long-standing addiction to bullyism has become a grave threat to global stability and peace.

The United States has shown ultra enthusiasm in brandishing the tariff stick against its main trade partners, including the European Union(EU), Japan, Canada, Mexico and China.

The intention of such actions is plain and simple: it is determined to crush anyone it sees a threat to its global dominance. And that is exactly what it has been doing since it became a superpower in the aftermath of World War II.

Jakarta, May 21 (AFP/PTI) Indonesia's Joko Widodo has been re-elected as president of the world's third-biggest democracy, the elections commission said early Tuesday, beating rival Prabowo Subianto, a retired general who has vowed to challenge any victory for the incumbent leader.

The commission was expected to announce the official results of the April 17 poll on Wednesday in the Southeast Asian nation of 260 million.

BEIJING (AP) — Google is assuring users of Huawei smartphones the American company’s basic services will work on them following U.S. government restrictions on doing business with the Chinese tech giant.

Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., said Monday it is complying with and “reviewing the implications” of the requirement for export licenses for technology sales to Huawei Technologies Ltd.

Last week’s order follows U.S. government accusations that Huawei, the biggest maker of network gear for phone companies and the No. 2 global smartphone brand, is a security risk.

Felix Dorfin has been sentenced to death in a surprise verdict after prosecutors asked for a 20-year jail term. Indonesia has some of the world's strictest drug laws — including death by firing squad.

A court in Indonesia on Monday sentenced Frenchman Felix Dorfin for drug trafficking. Prosecutors had requested 20 years' imprisonment.

"After finding Felix Dorfin legally and convincingly guilty of importing narcotics ... [he] is sentenced to the death penalty," presiding judge Isnurul Syamsul Arif told the court on Lombok Island.

20 May 2019; DW: Three prison guards and 29 inmates have been killed after a riot broke out at a high-security prison in Tajikistan. It is the second deadly prison disturbance in the country in the space of six months.

Convicted Islamic State (IS) militants detained in a high-security prison in the Tajik city of Vahdat killed three guards and five fellow prisoners, the country's justice ministry said on Monday. 

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed in Asia on Monday, with India and Australia leading gains for the region following elections that looked set to keep incumbents in office.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.3% to 21,343.09 after the government reported Monday that the economy grew at a better-than-expected 2.1% annual pace in January-March.

PYONGYANG, May 19. /TASS/: Russian Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexander Kozlov will visit North Korea on June 6-8, a source in Pyongyang said in a conversation with TASS.

The co-chairmen of the Russia-North Korea intergovernmental commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation will meet in Pyongyang, the source said. "The commission’s co-chairmen will meet to implement the agreements reached during the summit in Vladivostok," he noted.

SHANGHAI, May 18 (Xinhua): China's world No. 1 ranked shot putter Gong Lijiao conceded her first defeat in more than 14 months as she finished second at the 2019 IAAF Diamond League Shanghai meet here on Saturday.

The 30-year-old, a two-time winner of the Diamond Prize, opened the competition with a 18.99 meters first round effort to take the leading position. But Chase Ealey of the United States achieved 19.58m in the second round to stun the jubilant local crowds.

LANZHOU, May 18 (Xinhua): "Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids," as an Elton John hit goes.

However, a Mars simulation base in the middle of China's Gobi desert might be the perfect place to introduce young, budding astronauts to what life would be like on the red planet.

Surrounded by barren hills and red soil in northwest China's Gansu Province, "Mars Base One" allows visitors to explore a variety of space facilities and the rocky, martian-like landscape.