Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping said Wednesday that Beijing will send an envoy to Ukraine to discuss a possible “political settlement” to Russia’s war with the country.

Beijing has previously avoided involvement in conflicts between other countries but appears to be trying to assert itself as a global diplomatic force after arranging talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March that led them to restore diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.

BANGKOK (AP) — A video camera that had been missing for more than 15 years after it was dropped by a Japanese journalist who was fatally shot during a street protest in Myanmar was handed over Wednesday to his sister at a ceremony in Bangkok.

ABOARD BRP MALABRIGO (AP) — A Chinese coast guard ship blocked a Philippine patrol vessel steaming into a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, causing a frightening near-collision in the latest act of Beijing’s aggression in the strategic waterway.

The high seas face-off Sunday between the larger Chinese ship and the Philippine coast guard’s BRP Malapascua near the Second Thomas Shoal was among the tense moments it and another Philippine vessel encountered in a weeklong sovereignty patrol in one of the world’s most hotly contested waterways.

BEIJING, Apr 26 (APP): China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Zhang Jun has called on the warring parties in Sudan to promptly end their hostilities.

The recent eruption of armed conflict in Sudan has led to massive civilian casualties and infrastructure destruction.

“It pains China, a good friend and partner of Sudan, to see the country’s relapse into turmoil”, said Zhang Jun.

BEIJING, April 26. /TASS/: Chinese authorities have no intention to quietly observe the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis, but at the same time will not fuel the flame, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said during a phone call with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky Wednesday.

"China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible power," Xi Jinping said, according to CCTV. "We will not observe the ongoing fire quietly, and we will not fuel the flames."

BANGKOK, April 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thai police have arrested the wife of a senior officer on suspicion of murdering nine people by poisoning them with cyanide, officials said Wednesday.

The woman, aged in her 30s, was arrested in Bangkok on Tuesday over the killings, which took place over several years.

Investigators believe money was the motive in the killings, Royal Thai Police spokesperson Archayon Kraithong said.

Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief told reporters that a 10th victim had survived after vomiting.

BANGKOK, April 26 (Reuters) - Government and think-tank representatives from Myanmar and its neighbours, including India and China, held talks in New Delhi on Tuesday as part of a secretive effort to de-escalate a bloody crisis in the army-run Southeast Asian nation, two sources said.

Myanmar was plunged into conflict and economic chaos in 2021 after its powerful military overthrew the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering an armed resistance that it has sought to violently crush.

TAIPEI, April 26 (Reuters) - Taiwan's annual military drills this year take into account China's recent war games and focus on breaking a blockade, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, as a senior security official said Taiwan now had a "Five Eyes" intelligence link.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military pressure in the past three years to try to assert its sovereignty claim.

SHANGHAI, April 26 (Reuters) - Leaders from a top U.S. business lobbying group said on Wednesday that Beijing's probe against U.S.-based chipmaker Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) marked a "major concern" for other companies operating in the country.

25 Apr 2023; MEMO: Israel's defence industry enterprises will supply Azerbaijan with two satellites worth $120 million in total, Azerbaijan news outlet, Haqqin.az, reports.

This was reported by an Israeli journalist who accompanied Israel's Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, during his visit to Azerbaijan on Tuesday and Wednesday, and published an article on its results, citing the FM's office and a source in Israel's security forces.