Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SINGAPORE (AP) — U.S. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Saturday denounced China’s efforts to steal technology from other nations and militarize man-made outposts in the South China Sea as a “toolkit of coercion,” saying Beijing’s bad behavior must end.

In his first major speech on the international stage, Shanahan mixed sharp criticism of China and warnings of North Korea’s “extraordinary” threat with vows that the U.S. will remain strongly committed to the Indo-Pacific region and is ready to invest billions of dollars in securing its stability.

31 May 2019; AFP: Condoms, perfume, wine and pianos are among a cocktail of American products that will be hit by a steep increase in Chinese tariffs on Saturday as Beijing retaliates in an escalating trade war.

The move will cap a week that was marked by a heated war of words and Chinese threats to curb exports of rare earths, which are key to US tech industries, after President Donald Trump blacklisted telecom giant Huawei.

31 May 2019; DW: A South Korea paper citing an anonymous source said that Kim Hyok Chol was accused of being a US spy and killed. Several officials who also worked on the meeting with the US have been killed or jailed, the paper said.

MANILA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The cargo ship commissioned by the Canadian government to repatriate truckloads of garbage that Canada transported to the Philippines in batches from 2013 pulled away from the country on Friday morning, a port official said.

"Finally, the containers of garbage transported from Canada and stored at the Subic Bay Freeport for several years have been pulled out as of today, May 31, 2019," Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma said in a statement.

BEIJING, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The "U.S. rebuilt China" claim touted by American politicians makes no sense both in theory and practice, an official said in an interview with Xinhua.

Saying the fallacy was over-exaggerated and a fanciful illusion, Fang Aiqing, deputy director of the economic committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee said China's development was a result of the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the hard work of the Chinese people and continuous reform and opening-up.

TOKYO, May 31. /TASS/: The United States’ allegations that Russia is conducting nuclear tests are just absurd speculations that the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization has proved as baseless, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono on Friday.

"As for allegations about Russia conducting nuclear threats, representatives of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization and credible US experts have already proved these speculations as absurd," he pointed out.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s factory activity fell into contraction territory in May amid an ongoing trade dispute with the U.S. that has seen higher tariffs slapped on Chinese exports.

The National Bureau of Statistics and an industry group, the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, said Friday the composite purchasing managers’ index of China dropped to 49.4 in May, down from 50.1 in April on a 100-point scale, marking a three-month low.

Any reading below 50 shows that activity is contracting.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Friday as trade worries continued after President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on imports from Mexico.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.7% in early trading to 20,796.38, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched down 0.1% to 6,383.70. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.4% to 2,046.56. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was little changed but up by less than 0.1% to 27,115.53, and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.3% to 2,914.46.

BEIJING (AP) — Wu’er Kaixi was among the most outspoken of the student leaders during the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, famously reproaching then-Premier Li Peng at a meeting broadcast on national television.

Three decades on, he’s more circumspect but remains just as harsh a critic of the Communist regime and just as committed to bringing democracy to China.

30 May 2019; AFP: South Korea's victorious under-18 team were stripped of the Panda Cup on Thursday after they infuriated hosts China with their celebrations.

The Koreans had already apologised to "all the people in China" after a picture emerged of a player with his foot on the trophy.