Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday voiced strong dissatisfaction with and resolute opposition to a joint statement on Hong Kong affairs issued by Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press conference, saying that China has consistently repeated that Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs that brook no interference from any foreign government, organization or individual.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese prosecutors charged two detained Canadians with spying Friday in an apparent bid to step up pressure on Canada to drop a U.S. extradition request for a Huawei executive under house arrest in Vancouver.

BEIJING, Jun 18 (APP): Developing Asia will barely grow in 2020 as containment measures to address the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic hamper economic activity and weaken external demand, according to a new set of forecasts from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

BEIJING, June 18 (APP): The second phase of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been making progress despite the ongoing pandemic in Pakistan. A number of mechanisms have been established to complete all corridor projects within the prescribed time frame.

Gwadar, the key port project of CPEC has remained operational during new coronavirus outbreak and is functioning well. Chinese workers returned to their posts after completing their 14-day self-imposed quarantine, according to an article published by China Economic Net (CEN) on Thursday.

BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Beijing's epidemic situation is under control and the number of new cases is expected to drop in the coming days, said Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, on Thursday.

Although Beijing has been reporting confirmed cases every day, this does not mean that all cases are newly infected, Wu told a press conference.

The 21 cases that Beijing reported on Wednesday were basically infected before June 12, Wu said.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Former Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has been called in by Bukit Aman today to give his statement over an alleged seditious remark made in an interview with an international television station last March.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department assistant director (Prosecution and Legal) DCP Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said the Muar assemblyman was expected to present himself at Bukit Aman at about 2.30 pm today to facilitate in the investigation. 

TOKYO (AP) — Japan may have contained its coronavirus outbreaks for now but the country needs better crisis management and a digital transformation to prepare for future shocks, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike says.

“We have to sort out the problems and start preparing now for a possible next wave,” Koike said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I will firmly strengthen the system.”

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea said Thursday it hasn’t detected any suspicious activities by North Korea, a day after it threatened with provocative acts at the border in violation of a 2018 agreement to reduce tensions.

BEIJING, Jun 17 (APP): China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi Wednesday said Indian side must not misjudge the current situation and must not underestimate China’s firm will to safeguard its territorial sovereignty.

In a telephone conversation with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar this afternoon, he also demanded of Indian side to conduct a thorough investigation on the border clashes and severely punish those responsible for the incident.

BEIJING, June 17 (APP): A Chinese defence analyst said on Wednesday that Indian side wanted to consolidate its illegal occupation in the Galwan valley and was not interested to resolve the border dispute through talks and consultations.