Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will travel to Europe on April 8-12 for the 21st China-EU leaders' meeting in Brussels, the eighth leaders' meeting of China and Central and Eastern European countries in Croatia, and an official visit to the country.

Li will make the Europe trip upon an agreement made by the Chinese and European sides, as well as at the invitation of Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, the Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Geng Shuang said here Tuesday.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore Airlines says it has grounded two of its Boeing 787-10 aircraft due to engine issues.

The carrier said in a statement on Tuesday that “premature blade deterioration was found on some engines” of its 787-10 fleet at recent routine inspections.

It said, “Pending engine replacements, two SIA 787-10 aircraft have been removed from service.”

The carrier said it would operate other aircraft on the affected routes to minimize disruption. It said some flights were disrupted but gave no details.

SHANGHAI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- World famous consumer brands including Apple, Louis Vuitton and Gucci have announced their decisions to cut their suggested retail prices to give the gains from China's value-added tax (VAT) cut to consumers.

China on Monday started to slash VAT in multiple industries.

Apple's online store in China lowered the price of iPhone XS and iPhone XS MAX by 500 yuan (74.6 U.S. dollars), while that of iPhone XR dropped 300 yuan. Its newly launched iPad Air, iPad mini and AirPods are also on the price-cut list.

BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- A new relay satellite launched late Sunday night will allow videos calls to be made between China's future space station and the ground and provide data transmission and control services for various spacecraft.

The Tianlian II-01 satellite was sent to an orbit at an altitude of 36,000 km by a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 11:51 p.m. Beijing Time on Sunday.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares surged Monday in Europe and Asia after the release over the weekend of encouraging manufacturing data in China that suggest government stimulus may be gaining traction.

Germany’s DAX gained 1.0 percent to 11,634.87 while the CAC40 in France jumped 0.9 percent to 5,396.96. Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.8 percent to 7,340.09. Wall Street looked set to extend gains from last week, with the future contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.7 percent to 26,103.00. That for the S&P 500 also gained 0.7 percent, to 2,856.90.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged New Zealand to provide a “fair, transparent, convenient” investment environment in a meeting Monday with the country’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, that comes amid a dispute over use of Chinese telecoms equipment.

Relations between the two countries have been strained since New Zealand in November stopped mobile phone company Spark from using Huawei gear in its planned 5G upgrade because of security concerns.

BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- China sent a new data relay satellite into orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province late Sunday night.

The Tianlian II-01 satellite was launched at 11:51 p.m. Beijing Time by a Long March-3B carrier rocket.

As the first satellite to constitute China's second-generation data relay satellite network, the Tianlian II-01 will provide data relay, measurement and control, transmission services for manned spacecraft, satellites, carrier rockets and other non-spacecraft users.

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s king has stripped fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of his royal decorations, citing his 2008 flight to escape serving a two-year prison term on a conflict of interest conviction and other legal cases against him.

Thai media reported that the royal command from King Maha Vajiralongkorn was published Saturday in the Royal Gazette.

BACOLOD, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police said Sunday 14 suspected communist rebels were killed after they opened fire during raids in a central province but rights groups countered the men were farmers and the latest victims of extrajudicial killings.

TOKYO (AP) — North Korea said Sunday it wants an investigation into a raid on its embassy in Spain last month, calling it a “grave terrorist attack” and an act of extortion that violates international law.

The incident occurred ahead of President Donald Trump’s second summit with leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi on Feb. 27-28. A mysterious group calling for the overthrow of the North Korean regime has claimed responsibility.