Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea east of the country Monday in its second test launch in three days, prompting Japan to request an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

The launches continue a tit-for-tat exchange that began Saturday, and follow a year in which North Korea launched more than 70 missiles, the most ever. Pyongyang has recently escalated nuclear threats and threatened an “unprecedentedly” strong response to annual U.S.-South Korea military drills, which it views as preparation for an invasion.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A delegation of U.S. lawmakers met with the head of Taiwan’s legislature on Monday as part of a five-day visit to the self-ruled island that comes as U.S.-China relations remain tense after weeks of trading accusations over a spy balloon.

The delegation that arrived Sunday includes Reps. Ro Khanna of California, Tony Gonzales of Texas, Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday announced a new $5.5 billion financial aid for Ukraine and will mark the first anniversary of the war by hosting an online Group of Seven summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Kishida, speaking at a global forum in Tokyo organized by a Japanese think tank, said Ukraine still suffers under the Russian invasion and its people need help to rebuild their daily lives and infrastructure that’s been badly damaged by Russian attacks.

BEIJING, Feb 19 (APP): A young Pakistani Ph.D scholar along with a Chinese research group at Zhejiang University, Hnagzhou, China has co-authored a book titled Graphene for Post-Moore Silicon Optoelectronics.

Dr. Ali Imran, a researcher at the School of Micro and Nano Electronics of the University and his group are focusing on graphene-based Bio-inspired Neuromorphic vision sensors.

SEOUL, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The United States held joint air exercises bilaterally with South Korea and Japan involving strategic bombers on Sunday, a day after North Korea fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in a "sudden launching drill".

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the exercise, in which South Korea's F-35A, F-15K and U.S. F-16 fighters escorted American B-1B bombers, demonstrated the allies' "overwhelming" defence capabilities and readiness posture.

BEIJING, Feb 19 (Reuters) - China warned the United States on Sunday it would "bear all the consequences" if it escalated the controversy over a Chinese balloon that the U.S. military shot down this month.

Beijing will "follow through to the end" in the event "the U.S. insists on taking advantage of the issue", the foreign ministry said in a statement.

A U.S. military jet on Feb. 4 shot down what Washington calls a Chinese spy balloon after it had crossed North America. Beijing says it was an errant weather-monitoring craft.

TOKYO, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- People flocked to Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens to see Xiang Xiang on Sunday, the final day for public viewing for the beloved five-year-old female giant panda before her return to China.

The celebrity panda's eventual departure drew fans to wait for hours at the zoo to say goodbye. A lottery for tickets to see Xiang Xiang on Sunday was held in advance since many visitors were expected, with the overall odds surpassing 20 times and the odds for the final group of viewers reaching 70 times.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Saturday fired a long-range missile from its capital into the sea off Japan, according to its neighbors, a day after it threatened to take strong measures against South Korea and the U.S. over their joint military exercises.

According to the South Korean and Japanese militaries, the missile was fired on a high angle, apparently to avoid reaching the neighbors’ territories, and traveled about 900 kilometers (560 miles) at a maximum altitude of 5,700 kilometers (3,500 miles) during an hourlong flight.

BANGKOK (AP) — The 3-year-old boy had taken only two steps from his mother’s lap when a deafening explosion rang out. The blast caught the woman in the face, blurring her vision. She forced her eyes open and searched for her son around the busy jetty where they’d been waiting for a ferry, near their small village in south-central Myanmar.

Through the smoke, she spotted him. His small body lay on the ground, his feet and legs mangled with flesh peeled away, shattered bones exposed.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Sunday its latest intercontinental ballistic missile test was meant to further bolster its “fatal” nuclear attack capacity and threatened additional powerful steps over upcoming military drills between the United States and South Korea.

The United States responded by flying long-range supersonic bombers in a show of force later Sunday for separate joint exercises with South Korean and Japanese warplanes.