Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

16 May 2019; AFP: China said Thursday it has formally arrested two Canadians who have been detained for months on national security grounds, in a case that has inflamed tensions between Ottawa and Beijing.

Former diplomat Michael Kovrig is "suspected of collecting state secrets and intelligence" while businessman Michael Spavor is suspected of "stealing and illegally offering state secrets" abroad, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular briefing.

16 May 2019; AFP: China warned the United States on Thursday against further harming trade ties after President Donald Trump effectively barred Chinese telecom giant Huawei from the US market, escalating tensions between the world's top economic powerhouses.

CHANGSHA, May 16 (Xinhua): A leading saline soil rice research center in eastern China's Shandong Province made the decision to expand its experimental land to over 666 hectares early this month.

The Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice Research and Development Center in the coastal city of Qingdao said the move aims to speed up research and development and optimize the types of saline soil rice.

The center said one other important purpose of the expansion is to seek the best cultivation methods.

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua): China has developed a number of new-generation carrier rockets to take the country's space industry to the next level.

LONG MARCH-7

The Long March-7 is a medium-sized carrier rocket with high reliability and safety. It is designed to launch cargo vehicles during the construction of China's manned space station project and meet the long-term demand for upgrading manned carrier rockets in service.

TIANJIN, May 16 (Xinhua): North China's Tianjin Municipality has completed the country's first inspection of electric power lines using drones and the 5G wireless network, whose future application could exempt workers from the dangerous job.

The inspection on Wednesday afternoon involved a drone equipped with a high-definition camera and a 5G terminal. It flew 6 kilometers in the Binhai New Area and transmitted instantaneous videos of the power lines to engineers who checked for signs of glitches.

Singapore, May 15 (AFP/PTI) The US navy chief said Wednesday he did not want maritime tensions with China to "boil over", a week after Washington's latest challenge to Beijing's territorial claims in contested waters.

Beijing said last week two American warships sailed near disputed islands in the South China Sea without permission, prompting the Chinese Navy to ask them to leave.

The ships entered waters adjacent to Gaven and Chigua reefs in the Spratly Islands, which Beijing calls Nansha, on May 6, China's foreign ministry said.

TOKYO, May 15 (Xinhua): The Japanese government is planning to reduce the number of people with dementia by setting quantifiable targets to lower the ratio of patients in their 70s, over a six-year period until 2025, sources close to the matter said Wednesday.

The government is hoping the initiative will help counter the rising social security costs involved with caring for sufferers and the scheme will involve the implementation of preventative measures and methods to delay the onset of dementia.

SEOUL, May 15 (Xinhua): A South Korean taxi driver burned himself to death early Wednesday in what was believed to be a protest against the introduction of mobile carpooling services, according to local media reports.

The 76-year-old driver, identified by his surname Ahn, set fire on himself at around 3:19 a.m. local time on the sidewalk near the Seoul Plaza in central Seoul.

He was found by a passer-by and taken to a nearby hospital, but the taxi driver passed away.

15 May 2019; AFP: Chinese President Xi Jinping declared Wednesday there was "no clash" of civilisations and denounced racial supremacy as "stupid" amid tensions with the United States and concerns over Beijing's rising global power.

His remarks came after a top-level US official last month described the rivalry between China and the US as "a fight with a really different civilisation and a different ideology".

KUNMING, May 15 (Xinhua): Firefighters in southwest China's Yunnan Province are still battling a forest fire that broke out on Monday.

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, over 2,000 people and three helicopters were working to extinguish the fire in the city of Anning, according to the provincial forest fire control department.

Parts of the province are suffering from severe drought and according to forecasts, the area will see no rainfall in the following week.

The size of the area covered by the fire and its cause are under investigation.