Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

HAIKOU, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China's science ship Tansuo-1 loaded with the manned submersible Shenhai Yongshi (Deep Sea Warrior) returned to its home harbor in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, on Sunday, after finishing its first expedition in the Indian Ocean.

The manned submersible can reach a depth of 4,500 meters. The 121-day expedition trip organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences began Nov. 10, 2018. Scientists from 10 Chinese and foreign research institutes were invited to join the deep-sea research trip.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s central bank governor on Sunday affirmed an official promise to avoid manipulating its currency to boost exports, an issue he said American and Chinese negotiators discussed in their latest talks aimed at ending a tariff war.

Yi Gang gave no indication the two sides reached agreements beyond previous commitments produced by meetings of the Group of 20 major economies. He spoke at a news conference during the annual meeting of China’s ceremonial legislature.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Millions of North Korean voters, including leader Kim Jong Un, went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new lineup of roughly 700 members for the next session of the national legislature, though the vote was more of an endorsement than a competitive contest.

Voters were presented with just one state-sanctioned candidate per seat and cast their ballots not to select but rather to show their approval or, at least theoretically, disapproval of that candidate.

10 Mar 2019; AFP: Nine policemen have been killed in a militant attack in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, police said on Sunday, as tensions ratchet up in a state riven by ethnic and religious conflict.

A bloody military crackdown in 2017 forced some 740,000 Rohingya Muslims over the border into Bangladesh in violence UN investigators have said warrants the prosecution of top generals for genocide and crimes against humanity.

XICHANG, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China has made significant progress in the development of the key technologies of the heavy-lift carrier rocket, the Long March-9, which is expected to make its maiden flight around 2030.

The development of the heavy-lift rocket will greatly improve China's capacity of entering outer space. The Long March-9 rocket will support China's space industry development, utilization of space resources and deep space exploration, said experts from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

TOKYO (AP) — A 116-year-old Japanese woman who loves playing the board game Othello was honored Saturday as the world’s oldest living person by Guinness World Records.

The global authority on records officially recognized Kane Tanaka in a ceremony at the nursing home where she lives in Fukuoka, in Japan’s southwest. Her family and the mayor were present to celebrate.

Tanaka was born Jan. 2, 1903, the seventh among eight children. She married Hideo Tanaka in 1922, and they had four children and adopted another child.

ABOARD XUELONG, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China's icebreaker Xuelong, also known as the Snow Dragon, is on its way back home from its 35th Antarctic research mission.

Crew members have made a series of research advances during the four-month-long journey, such as the completion of new buildings and supporting facilities in research bases, marine species surveys, underwater robot tests, and installation of new radar and solar telescopes.

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.5 percent year on year in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday.

The increase was down from 1.7 percent for January.

Food prices climbed 0.7 percent year on year last month, down 1.2 percentage points from January, according to the NBS.

Non-food prices gained 1.7 percent, the same growth as that in January.

The CPI in urban areas increased 1.5 percent, while that in the countryside ticked up 1.4 percent.

08 Mar 2019; AFP: China threw its weight behind Huawei's legal battle against the United States on Friday, saying the telecom giant will not be a "silent lamb to the slaughter" and vowing to defend the rights of Chinese companies.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi voiced Beijing's support as Huawei mounts a legal and public relations campaign to counter US warnings that the company's networks and equipment could serve as Trojan horses for Chinese intelligence services.

HEFEI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A new China-Europe freight train service was launched Thursday night, linking Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, with Duisburg of Germany.

A train carrying electronic components, solar cell modules and power cabinet components departed from an international railway logistics center in Hefei, marking the start of the service.