Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (NNN-XINHUA) – Malaysia’s exports grew by 24.7 percent, year on year, to 110.83 billion ringgit (about 26.67 billion U.S. dollars) in Sept, as exports to China registered the highest monthly value ever, official data showed today.

The export growth was contributed mainly by robust external demand for petroleum products, manufactures of metal, palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, as well as, electrical and electronic (E&E) products, the International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI), said in a statement.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said on Thursday it has agreed with China to upgrade their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, a day after reaching a similar deal with Australia.

Australia's clinching of the enhanced partnership was a symbolic win for Canberra in beating China to the first such deal with the fast-growing Southeast Asia region, which has become a strategic battleground between Beijing and Washington.

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government on Thursday unveiled its 10th round of relief measures to assist COVID-19-hit businesses as the Southeast Asian nation still grapples with the pandemic.

In its statement, the government said garment, airline, and tourism-related businesses such as hotels and restaurants still suffer from the impact of the pandemic.

BEIJING, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese military spokesperson on Thursday urged the U.S. side to rebuild a correct perception of China, adopt a rational and pragmatic China policy, and take concrete actions to promote a sound and stable military-to-military relationship.

The military relationship between China and the United States is an important part of the bilateral relations, Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said at a press conference.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported its highest quarterly profit in three years as it continues to see robust global demand for its computer memory chips.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The soldiers in rural Myanmar twisted the young man’s skin with pliers and kicked him in the chest until he couldn’t breathe. Then they taunted him about his family until his heart ached, too: “Your mom,” they jeered, “cannot save you anymore.”

The young man and his friend, randomly arrested as they rode their bikes home, were subjected to hours of agony inside a town hall transformed by the military into a torture center.  As the interrogators’ blows rained down, their relentless questions tumbled through his mind.

BEIJING, Oct 27 (APP): President Xi Jinping has said that China will continue to support Pakistan in its fight against COVID-19, jointly build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with high quality and strengthen cooperation and continue to deliver benefits to the two people and promoting growth and improving people’s wellbeing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said on Wednesday.

SEOUL, Oct 27 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea reported 3,363 more cases of COVID-19 variants for the past week, bringing the total number of such cases to 46,417, the health authorities said today.

Among the new cases found for one week, till Oct 23, 125 were imported from overseas, while the remaining 3,238 were locally transmitted, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The far higher number of local transmissions indicated the domestic spread of the variants.

Of the new cases, 3,362 came from the Delta variant, and one from Alpha.

BANGKOK, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Thailand held a dry-run on Wednesday for its long-awaited, quarantine-free reopening to vaccinated travellers, as the country rushes to reboot an industry battered by an 18-month hiatus in international tourism.

At Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport, Thailand's main gateway, airport staff and health and immigration officials ran a simulation of the arrival of a plane full of visitors, to test out electronic screening measures.

TAIPEI, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Taiwan is not seeking to get into an arms race with China but does need to defend itself and will not submit to pressure, its defence ministry said in a report to parliament on Wednesday.

Tensions between Taiwan and China, which claims the democratically-governed island as its own territory, have spiked over the past year as Beijing ups its military and political pressure to force Taipei to accept Chinese sovereignty.