Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

YANGON, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- China handed over 1,000 prefabricated houses worth 15.9 billion kyats (10.3 million U.S. dollars) to Myanmar authorities for displaced people in Rakhine state at Myanmar Thilawa Port Saturday.

Speaking at the ceremony, Union Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe of the State Counselor's office thanked China for its efforts in the rehabilitation process in Rakhine state.

Chinese Ambassador Hong Liang pledged to continue assisting the Myanmar government in view of the friendship between the two countries.

BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank said Friday that it has inked a bilateral currency swap agreement with its counterpart in Japan.

The agreement will allow the two sides to swap a total of 200 billion yuan (about 28.78 billion U.S. dollars) for 3.4 trillion Japanese yen, and vice versa, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on its website.

The move was aimed at enhancing financial stability of the two countries and facilitating bilateral economic and financial exchanges, the PBOC said.

Tokyo, Oct 26; AFP: Japan's Okinawa region voted Friday to hold a non-binding referendum on a deeply unpopular plan to relocate a US military base, in the latest twist to a long-running saga.

The decision, by local politicians, comes a month after residents elected a new governor who opposes plans to move the US Marines' Futenma Air Station from an urban area to a sparsely populated part of the island.

BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in Beijing Thursday afternoon for an official visit to China.

At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Abe will visit China from Oct. 25 to 27. It is the first official visit by a Japanese prime minister in seven years.

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in Zhuhai has been officially opened. The bridge in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province is considered to be the longest in the world.

The bridge officially opened to traffic at 9 a.m. on Oct. 24. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)

BEIJING, October 23. /TASS/. China won’t yield to any form of blackmail and for this reason Washington should act with prudency in pressing for its demand China should join the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news briefing on Tuesday when asked by TASS to comment on US President Donald Trump’s statement that the INF treaty should apply not just to Russia and the United States, but to China as well.

LANZHOU, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- A new rail and road cargo service was launched Tuesday, linking Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, with Islamabad in Pakistan.

The first train carrying 30 carriages of mechanical equipment, auto parts and daily necessities left a logistics center Tuesday morning in Lanzhou, bound for Kashgar in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The goods will then be transported to Islamabad by a highway.

BEIJING, October 22. /TASS/. Washington’s withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) will result in negative consequences, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Monday.

"The US unilateral withdrawal from the treaty [INF] will have a multilateral negative effect," the Chinese diplomat said.

US President Donald Trump’s remark on China was "an absolute mistake," she noted. "We hope that all the sides will be able to solve all issues of concern through dialogue."

BEIJING, 21. /TASS/. The death toll from the passenger train crash in Taiwan was risen to 18. As many as 160 people were injured, the Central News Agency said on Sunday citing a spokesman for the local emergencies agencies.

According to the spokesman, there are no foreign nationals from among those killed and injured.

SYDNEY; 20 Oct 2018; (AP) — Australia’s ruling coalition was forced into minority government on Saturday after a massive swing against its senior partner, the Liberal Party, in a by-election for the seat of the prime minister the party itself had dismissed.

In a stinging backlash from the electorate after the fourth toppling of an Australian leader by internal party vote in just eight years, a swing of more than 20 percent against the sitting Liberals propelled independent candidate Kerryn Phelps to a decisive victory.