Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

ISLAMABAD, May 13 (APP): The Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing Monday hosted a special investiture ceremony wherein Vice Foreign Minister of China Kong Xuanyou was conferred Hilal-e-Quaid-e-Azam, the civil award of Pakistan.

Ambassador of Pakistan in China Masood Khalid conferred the award, on behalf of the President of Pakistan, in recognition of Kong Xuanyou’s services towards Pakistan and further strengthening of Pakistan-China relations, said a press release received here.

14 May 2019; DW: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's allies appear to have scored sweeping victories in the country's midterm elections. The results signal broad public backing for the leader's authoritarian style, say experts.

BEIJING (AP) — Diplomats have visited a Canadian think tank expert whose detention in China is believed to be an attempt to pressure Canada to release Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

Canadian consular officials visited with Michael Kovrig on Monday, the country’s diplomatic service said in an emailed message. No details were given in keeping with privacy rules.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s auto sales sank 17.7% in April from a year earlier, the 10th straight month of decline amid trade tension with Washington and an economic slowdown.

Drivers in the industry’s biggest global market bought 1.6 million sedans, SUVs and minivans, according to an industry group, the China Association of Auto Manufacturers. Total vehicle sales, including trucks and buses, fell 14.6% to 2 million.

BANGKOK (AP) — A United Nations fact-finding mission is urging that countries cut off all business with Myanmar’s military as part of efforts to hold the army accountable for human rights abuses.

The U.N. Human Rights Council said in a statement on Tuesday that there has been no progress toward resolving the crisis over Myanmar’s mostly Muslim Rohingya minority, more than 1 million of whom have fled military “clearance operations” in the northwest Rakhine region.

TOKYO, May 14 (Xinhua): Japan's Fast Retailing Co. said Tuesday that personal information from 461,091 customer accounts of its Uniqlo and GU shopping websites may have been breached through unauthorized access.

The two online shopping websites were hacked between April 23 and May 10 and customers' data including names, addresses, phone numbers and credit card information may have been leaked, according to the operator of the two fast-fashion brands.

"We deeply apologize to our customers and pledge to prevent this from happening again," the company said in a statement.

BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua): Beijing's Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace, has recently launched a large-scale restoration project to repair broken cultural relics that had been unearthed, according to China Central Television.

Six pieces of porcelain are part of the first batch of cultural relics to be repaired, including two bowls used during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua): China's top political advisor Wang Yang on Tuesday met with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena in Beijing.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Tuesday called the U.S. seizure of a North Korean cargo ship involved in banned coal exports a “robbery” and demanded that the vessel be returned immediately.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, carried a statement by an unnamed foreign ministry spokesman who accused the United States of betraying the spirit of a summit agreement last June between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump.

BEIJING (AP) — Sending Wall Street into a slide, China announced higher tariffs Monday on $60 billion worth of American goods in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s latest penalties on Chinese products.

Duties of 5% to 25% will take effect on June 1 on about 5,200 American products, including batteries, spinach and coffee, China’s Finance Ministry said.