Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BANGKOK, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Kasikorn Research Center (K-Research) said on Monday that initial economic loss from the fine dust fouling the air in Bangkok and surrounding areas is estimated at 2.6 billion baht (82 million U.S. dollars) or more.

K-Research attributed it mainly to lost opportunities in tourism. "The initial opportunity cost for tourism was at 1-3.5 billion baht, representing 2.5-4.5 percent of tourism income contributed by Bangkok," said the report.

MANILA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The death toll has climbed to 27 in the twin explosions at a church in the conflict-plagued Sulu province of the southern Philippines on Sunday, the police said.

Police Chief Superintendent Graciano Mijares, Philippine National Police (PNP) director in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), told local media that so far his office has recorded 27 dead, including seven army soldiers, and 77 injured in the blasts that hit the Jolo Cathedral at 8:15 a.m. local time on Sunday.

JAKARTA, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian disaster authority has put the total casualty of floods and landslides in South Sulawesi province to 59 while search and evacuation of survivors continue, spokesman of national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told Xinhua in a text message on Friday.

BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday voiced support for Venezuela's efforts in safeguarding its sovereignty, independence and stability as well as opposition to foreign interference in the South American country's internal affairs.

According to media reports, Juan Guaido, president of Venezuela's National Assembly, proclaimed himself "interim president" of the country on Wednesday, about which the United States, Brazil and some other countries have issued statements in recognition of his presidency.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese tech giant Huawei announced plans Wednesday for a next-generation smartphone that will use its own technology instead of U.S. components, maneuvering to gain a competitive edge and sidestep U.S. complaints it is a security risk.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP): China is calling on the United States to stay out of Venezuela’s current political crisis and says it opposes all outside intervention in the South American country.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Thursday that all parties to the conflict should “remain rational and level-headed and seek a political resolution on the Venezuelan issue through peaceful dialogue within the framework of the Venezuelan Constitution.”

24 Jan 2019; DW: Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has been named Malaysia's new king. The 59-year-old was picked after the abrupt resignation of Sultan Muhammad V earlier this month.

Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah of central Pahang state was elected Malaysia's 16th king on Thursday following a meeting with the country's royal households.

XI'AN, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- A woman who successfully received a womb donated from her mother after a uterus transplant in November 2015 gave birth to a healthy baby boy in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Sunday.

Weighing 2 kg and measuring 48 cm long, the baby is China's first and the world's 14th baby born from a transplanted womb, doctors with the Xijing Hospital in Xi'an, capital of the province, said Wednesday.

Yang Hua, 26, the new mother, was born without a uterus but has her own ovaries.

SHANGHAI, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- China has cloned five monkeys from a gene-edited macaque with circadian rhythm disorders, the first time multiple monkeys have been cloned from a gene-edited monkey for biomedical research.

Scientists made the announcement Thursday, with two articles published in National Science Review, a top Chinese journal in English. The cloned monkeys were born in Shanghai at Institute of Neuroscience of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

BEIJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday said the U.S. plan to extradite Meng Wanzhou, Huawei chief financial officer, from Canada did not comply with international law or have legitimacy.

The remarks came as Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying reiterated China's position on the Meng Wanzhou case at a press briefing.

Hua said the U.S. request for Meng's extradition was essentially related to U.S. sanctions against Iran.