Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, June 5 (APP): The serious military confrontation in the Sino-Indian border area lasting more than a month was entirely caused by the Indian side, Cheng Xizhong, a distinguished professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law and a former military diplomat in South Asian countries said while expressing his views on the recent Sino-Indian border confrontation.

He pointed out that there is only one way to solve the current serious military confrontation problem. The Indian Army will return wherever it comes from.

BEIJING, June 4 (APP): China on Thursday appreciated the United Nations and Saudi Arabia for jointly organizing a high-level video donation meeting on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

“China attaches great importance to the development of the situation in Yemen. It has always supported and participated in the efforts of the international community to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen,” Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said during his regular briefing held here.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The last British colonial governor of Hong Kong said the city’s democrats are on the same side of history as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, and blamed Chinese President Xi Jinping for “tightening the screws” on the city’s freedoms.

In a video question-and-answer session from the United Kingdom on Friday, Chris Patten also called for a global reset of international relations with China.

He urged the United States to take leadership in bringing countries together in their dealings with China to prevent being “picked off” one by one by Beijing.

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), June 4 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysia will witness major changes in the policy of employing foreign workers and to curb the entry of illegal immigrants post COVID-19, said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said it was about time for the policy to be reviewed as foreigners were among major contributors to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country as well as several other countries including Singapore.

PUTRAJAYA, June 5 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The government will allocate RM9 billion to tackle the rising rate of unemployment and ensure job sustainability in the country during the national recovery period post COVID-19.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the allocation which will be channeled through various initiatives, will benefit three million workforce in the country.

“I know there are many who are worried about the risk of losing jobs and their source of income after many sectors and economic activities were affected by the Movement Control Order.

SUVA, June 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fiji announced it was COVID-19 free on Friday after the island nation’s last known infected patient was given the all-clear, continuing the Pacific’s remarkable record of success against the virus.

There was panic among Fiji’s 930,000 population when the first coronavirus case was announced in mid-March, but strict isolation measures and border controls kept a lid on infections, which peaked at 18 confirmed cases.

MANILA, June 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte renewed on Friday a threat to kill drug dealers after police seized 756kg of methamphetamines, a haul he said proved the Southeast Asian country had become a transhipment point for narcotics.

The crystal methamphetamine, with a Philippine market value that police put at 5.1 billion pesos (US$102.2 million), was one of the biggest seizures since Duterte unleashed his bloody war on drugs, which has defined his presidency, in 2016.

SINGAPORE, June 5 (NNN-CNA) — About 3,800 companies closed down in April, comparable to the average of 3,700 recorded in the same month over the past five years, said Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat.

However, business cessation could see an “uptick” in the coming months as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to put a severe strain on the Singapore economy.

The formation of new businesses will remain subdued for the same reason, he said in Parliament.

BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China regrets the U.S. decision to suspend scheduled passenger flights of Chinese carriers to and from the United States, according to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson Thursday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks when asked to comment on a statement issued Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which announced the order to suspend the scheduled passenger flights of Chinese carriers to and from the United States, effective from June 16.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan has kept its deaths from the new coronavirus low despite a series of missteps that beg the question of whether it can prevent future waves of infections.

Authorities were criticized for bungling a cruise ship quarantine and were slow to close Japan’s borders. They have conducted only a fraction of the tests needed to find and isolate patients and let businesses operate almost as usual, even under a pandemic state of emergency.