Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO, May 14 (NNN-NHK) – Five people were taken to hospital yesterday, after a car plowed into a supermarket in central Japan, according to local police.

At about 9:45 a.m. local time, a passenger car driven by an 80-year-old man slammed into the front of a supermarket in Inazawa of Aichi Prefecture.

Local police reported that all five individuals injured in the incident were female and aged between 60s and 70s. While one of them sustained serious injuries, the remaining four suffered only minor injuries.

TOKYO, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Earthquakes with a preliminary magnitude of up to 5.9 struck Japanese islands including Kozushima on Sunday, according to the weather agency.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the temblor, measuring 3 on Japan's seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7, occurred at 5:12 p.m. local time (0812 GMT) at a depth of 10 km.

The temblor's epicenter was located in the adjacent sea of Hachijojima Island at a latitude of 33.4 degrees north and a longitude of 139.3 degrees east.

BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Decades ago, an Asian economy was poised to become a leading player in world trade, notably in the semiconductor sector, but its prosperity and rapid growth aroused the ire of the United States, which soon launched an all-out campaign to stymie its economic prospect.

BANGKOK (AP) — Officials in Thailand began counting votes Sunday in a general election, touted as a pivotal chance for change nine years after incumbent Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha first came to power in a 2014 coup. He is now running against the daughter of the politician who is the military’s top nemesis.

The polls closed at 5 p.m. and some results were expected in early evening, with a fuller picture coming later Sunday night. Thai elections use paper ballots that are counted publicly at polling stations.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of people hunkered down Sunday in monasteries, pagodas and schools, seeking shelter from a powerful storm that slammed into the coast of Myanmar, tearing the roofs off buildings and killing at least three people.

The center of Cyclone Mocha made landfall Sunday afternoon in Myanmar’s Rakhine state near Sittwe township wind speeds up to 209 kilometers (130 miles) per hour, Myanmar’s Meteorological Department said.

BEIJING, May 13 (APP): With a huge potential to export meat, Pakistan is all set to start exporting boiled meat to the Chinese market in the near future, Commercial Councilor, Pakistan Embassy, Beijing said on Saturday.

“China had agreed to import meat from Pakistan during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing in November last. Now, both sides are in the process of exchanging documents and hopefully, the agreement would be implemented in a month,” he told APP.

TOKYO, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Five people were taken to the hospital Saturday after a car plowed into a supermarket in central Japan, according to local police.

At about 9:45 a.m. local time, a passenger car driven by an 80-year-old man slammed into the front of a supermarket in Inazawa of Aichi Prefecture.

Local police reported that all five individuals injured in the incident were female and aged between 60s and 70s. While one of them sustained serious injuries, the remaining four suffered only minor injuries.

Japanese and South Korean officials held hourslong talks into early Saturday and agreed on a visit later this month by South Korean experts to the Fukushima nuclear plant before it begins the controversial release of treated but radioactive water into the sea. The safety of the water is a major sticking point as the two sides work to improve long-strained ties.

NIIGATA, Japan (AP) — The Group of Seven’s top financial leaders united Saturday in their support for Ukraine and their determination to enforce sanctions against Russia for its aggression but stopped short of any overt mention of China.

The finance ministers and central bank chiefs ended three days of talks in Niigata, Japan, with a joint statement pledging to bring inflation under control, help countries struggling with onerous debts and strengthen financial systems.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia is on track to achieve its gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of between 4 and 5.0 per cent this year, said central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

Governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said the growth would be anchored by firm domestic demand amid a challenging global environment.

“Risks to the growth outlook are fairly balanced.