Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 (NNN-Bernama) — Cambodia is set to make history when it hosts the SEA Games for the first time next year as it will be featuring 40 sports, including its national martial arts of kun bokator.

The South-East Asian Games Federation (SEAGF), in a statement, said this will be the highest number of sports to be featured by a nation hosting the biennial Games for the first time since 1977. 

MANILA, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The state weather bureau said that the tropical storm Megi made landfall in the central Philippine province on Sunday morning.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Megi hit land before 8:00 a.m. local time. Megi is the first tropical storm to hit the Southeast Asian country in summertime this year.

Megi was blowing maximum winds of 75 km per hour and with gusts of up to 105 km per hour as of 10:00 a.m. local time Sunday.

SEOUL, April 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Sunday nominated eight ministers for his new government, which is scheduled to be inaugurated on May 10.

Choo Kyung-ho of the main conservative People Power Party was nominated as the minister of economy and finance, who doubles as deputy prime minister for economic affairs.

Lee Jong-sup, former Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) vice chairman, was named as defense minister.

BEIJING, April 9 (APP): A Chinese provider has announced a partnership with Integra Solar for panel supply chain services and signed a memorandum of understanding to provide with integrated supply chain services of 1000 MW solar modules in the year 2022.

General Manager of C&D Clean Energy, Michael K. Lee speaking online at the MOU signing ceremony said that it was an honor to partner with Integra and play a part in this low-carbon and green cooperation.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 (NNN-Bernama) — The Malaysian Foreign Ministry today stressed the allegation that 10,000 of its citizens were still in Thailand illegally or overstaying as completely baseless, and believed that the actual number is much smaller.

The ministry said since the Movement Control Order (PKP) was implemented in March 2020, the Ministry and the Malaysian Consulate General in Songkhla has provided assistance to more than 2,439 Malaysians who wish to return home.

BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday lashed out at the United States for prisoner abuse at "black sites," calling its "enhanced interrogation techniques" brutal and horrifying.

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has set up these black sites in many countries under the pretext of its "War on Terror." Alleged terrorists are secretly placed in arbitrary detention and confessions are extorted by torture, which has drawn widespread criticism from the international community, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a regular press briefing.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s former No. 2 official John Lee on Saturday formally declared his candidacy for the upcoming leadership election, entering the race for chief executive viewed by many as Beijing’s preferred candidate.

Lee said at an online news conference that he would stand for the election on May 8 after the Chinese government approved his resignation, which he submitted last week, as the city’s chief secretary for administration.

BEIJING (AP) — A series of deaths at a hospital for elderly patients in Shanghai is underscoring the dangerous consequences of China’s stubborn pursuit of a zero-COVID approach amid an escalating outbreak in the city of 26 million people.

PUTRAJAYA, April 8 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia has abstained from a United Nations General Assembly vote to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

It was one of the 58 countries that had abstained in the voting on Thursday which saw 93 member states vote in favour while 24 countries were against the resolution. 

The Foreign Ministry in a statement on Friday said Malaysia stressed that a critical decision such as the suspension of a Human Rights Council member should not be made in haste and must be accorded its due processes.

SEOUL, April 8 (Reuters) - Plunging prices for Russian crab have South Koreans flocking to seafood markets and restaurants but some consumers are questioning whether to boycott the imports on concerns the purchases indirectly support Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The dinner-plate sized king crabs from Russia, along with slightly smaller snow crabs and lobsters, were once a pricey delicacy in South Korea, though they have become more popular at supermarkets and online retailers in recent years.