Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A former U.S. national security adviser called for deeper interaction between his country and Taiwan during a visit Saturday to the self-ruled island, which has seen increasing military threats from China.

John Bolton, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024, said at a pro-Taiwan independence event in Taipei that national security teams from both sides must develop contingency plans on how to respond to actions Beijing might take, warning it would be too late once an attack occurs.

PEKANBARU (Indonesia), April 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A speedboat carrying at least 78 people sank in western Indonesia, and rescuers were searching for nine people still missing in the rough seas early on Friday.

Rescuers have retrieved 11 bodies, mostly women and children, and rescued 58 people so far, many of them unconscious after drifting in choppy waters for hours, said Nyoman Sidhakarya, the Pekanbaru Search and Rescue Agency chief.

Local television footage showed people standing on an overturned boat trying to reach a fishing boat packed with survivors.

TASHKENT (UZBEKISTAN), April 28 (NNN-Bernama) — Uzbekistan is actively continuing its reforms to ensure investors’ rights are protected, said President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his address at the Second Tashkent International Investment Forum 2023 (TIIF-2023) on Thursday.

“We will continue our reforms in protecting the rights of entrepreneurs. In particular, the International Commercial Court will start its activities for the first time in our history. It has become possible thanks to the support of international experts”, the president further said.

TAIPEI, April 28 (Reuters) - A Chinese uncrewed combat aircraft has flown around Taiwan, the island's defence ministry said, showcasing Beijing's ability to attack its fall-back east coast bases, as a U.S. maritime patrol aircraft transited the Taiwan Strait.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has increased military pressure on the island over the past three years as it tries to force Taipei to accept its sovereignty claim.

VIENTIANE, April 28 (Xinhua) -- An agreement has been inked among the National University of Laos (NUOL), the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) under China's education ministry, and the Guangxi Minzu University in the Lao capital for jointly training Chinese language teachers of Laos.

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Supreme Court upheld a death sentence for an ex-elementary school principal convicted of killing three people, including a toddler, during an armed gold shop robbery in 2020.

The court ruled Wednesday that Prasitthichai Khaewkao did not deserve a reduction in his original sentence, calling the shooting in a shopping mall in Lopburi province “outrageously, ruthlessly inhuman” in a statement released Friday. Four people were injured in the attack and a salesclerk, a security guard and a 2-year-old boy were killed.

HONG KONG (AP) — Like most people in Hong Kong, taxi driver Leung Tat-chong says it feels like the city is recovering after years of protests, crackdowns and pandemic restrictions, while it also has changed forever.

He’s earning almost as much as he did before the pandemic. But, Leung said, the city has been divided since the 2019 protests, in which hundreds of thousands of people marched, and many battled police, in opposition to a government they saw as a proxy for Beijing.

BEIJING (AP) — Foreign companies are under growing pressure in China from anti-corruption, security and other investigations as President Xi Jinping’s government tightens control over business, clashing with efforts to lure back investors after the pandemic.

Islamabad/Beijing, Apr 27 (PTI) China's new Premier Li Qiang on Thursday held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif and voiced support for cash-strapped Pakistan in maintaining financial stability, and hoped that Islamabad will continue to create a favourable environment to guarantee the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel working in the country.

BEIJING, April 27. /TASS/: No matter how complicated the conflict in Ukraine may be, it must be resolved at a negotiation table, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said during the meeting with foreign ministers of Central Asian countries in Xi An in northwestern China.

"No matter how complicated the crisis may be, it must be resolved by negotiations; no matter how complicated a conflict may be, it must be resolved only by politics," Qin Gang said, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry website.