Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

ALMATY, Dec 27 (NNN-BERNAMA-SPUTNIK) –The number of people who died as a result of the Bek Air airline crash on Friday near the Kazakh city of Almaty has risen to 14, with 35 more people having been injured in the incident, Sputnik news agency reported the city’s administration as saying.

Earlier in the day, the Kazakh Interior Ministry said that nine people died and nine more were injured in the crash, which took place soon after the take-off.

“14 people died at the site (of the crash),” the city administration said in a statement.

26 Dec 2019; MEMO: China, Iran and Russia will hold joint naval drills starting on Friday in the Indian Ocean and Sea of Oman, China’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday, amid heightened tensions in the region between Tehran and Washington, Reuters reports.

China will send the Xining, a guided missile destroyer, to the drills, which will last from Dec. 27 to 30, and is meant to deepen cooperation between the three countries’ navies, ministry spokesman Wu Qian told a monthly news briefing.

Beijing, Dec 26 (AFP/PTI) Beijing on Thursday said it "firmly opposes" trade restrictions included in a new US defence act, having already admonished the bill for interfering in China's internal affairs.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) -- signed into law last week -- bars the use of federal funds to buy railcars and buses from China, and slows the lifting of sanctions on tech giant Huawei.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China Southern Air Holding, the parent of China Southern Airlines (600029.SS), has set up a cargo company with registered capital of 1 billion yuan ($143 million), as it looks to consolidate its air cargo assets through state-led reforms.

The move from December 24 was disclosed by a filing approved on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System and comes as China prioritizes implementing mixed ownership reforms to revamp its bloated, debt-ridden state sector.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is in close touch with the United States on signing a Phase 1 trade deal, the country’s commerce ministry said on Thursday, adding that both sides are still going through necessary procedures before the signing.

Gao Feng, commerce ministry spokesman, made the comments to reporters at a regular briefing.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Imported cold rolled coils of iron or non-alloy steel with a width of more than 1300mm from China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam will now be subjected to anti-dumping duties following the conclusion of an investigation by the government on claims by local industry that the products were being dumped in Malaysia.

BANDA ACEH, Dec 26 (NNN-ANTARA) – On one Sunday morning, Mawardi was watching cartoons with his two brothers at his house, on Meulaboh Bay in Indonesia’s westernmost province of Aceh, when a 9.3-magnitude earthquake literally shook them from their seats.

His mother and grandmother, who were also inside the house, panicked and rushed his brothers and him out of the house. They received no formal warning alerts about what was going on.

SINGAPORE, Dec 26 (NNN-CNA) – Singapore Economic Development Board announced today (Thursday) that the country’s manufacturing output declined 9.3 percent year on year in Nov, compared to a revised 3.6 percent increase in Oct.

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, the output decreased nine percent year on year in Nov, compared to a revised 0.3 percent decrease in the previous month.

Meanwhile, on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, Singapore’s manufacturing output decreased 9.4 percent in Nov. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, the output fell 8.4 percent.

MANILA, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Typhoon Phanfone has pounded the central Philippines with heavy rain and strong winds from Tuesday, killing at least 13 people, the government said on Thursday.

The Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said nine people died in Iloilo and four in Capiz province in the central Philippines. At least six others are reported missing, it added.

SEOUL, Dec 26 (NNN-YONHAP) — A North Korean propaganda outlet on Thursday denounced stepped-up surveillance by the United States and South Korea of military targets in the communist nation, saying the country is closely watching such “provocative” moves.

The U.S. and South Korea have been on high alert in recent days amid growing concerns that the North could conduct a major provocation, such as launching an intercontinental ballistic missile, in protest over stalled nuclear talks.