Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

Beijing, Dec 17 (AFP/PTI) China on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to unanimously back its joint proposal with Russia to ease sanctions on North Korea, warning that dialogue to resolve nuclear tensions must not regress.

The nuclear-armed North has issued increasingly strident declarations in recent weeks, even promising an ominous "Christmas gift" if Washington does not come up with some concessions.

NUR-SULTAN, December 18. /TASS/: Kazakhstan plans to allocate $233 mln to finance the project to build the Baiterek space launch facility at the Baikonur space center, Kazakh Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Askar Zhumagaliev told reporters on Wednesday.

New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he met South Korea Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon during a visit to the country and held discussions on wide-ranging issues.

His visit to South Korea came amid protests over the amended citizenship law in India.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Leaders and senior representatives from some 20 Muslim nations flocked to the Malaysian capital on Wednesday to discuss issues agitating Muslims globally at a summit Saudi Arabia decided to snub, and Pakistan ducked out of attending.

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 17 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The revival of the Bandar Malaysia development project, following the “detoxification” exercise by the Pakatan Harapan government, is expected to generate economic impact on the country’s urban development, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Dec 18 (NNN-BBNEWS) – China and Brunei signed a protocol on the phyto-sanitary requirement, to allow export of muskmelon from Brunei to China, Brunei’s Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, said.

The signing was made in Beijing on Monday, between the General Administration of Customs of China and the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism of Brunei. Brunei was represented by the Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism, Haji Ali, and on behalf of China was Vice Minister of General Administration of Customs, Zhang Jiwen.

SEPANG , Dec 18 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Malaysia to attend the ongoing Kuala Lumpur Summit (KL Summit) 2019 in the Malaysian capital.

The special aircraft carrying the president landed at the KL International Airport (KLIA) here at at 1.30 pm today. 

On hand to welcome the Turkish president was Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad. 

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower Wednesday after Wall Street logged fresh record highs as investor optimism faded about an interim U.S.-China trade deal announced last week.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.5% to 23,935.44. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained nearly 0.1% to 6,851.40. South Korea’s Kospi was little changed but inched down to 2,195.29. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.2% to 27,802.23, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3%, to 27,802.23. Shares were higher in Thailand, India and Indonesia but lower in the Philippines.

SEOUL, Dec 17 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, today named Chung Sye-kyun, former National Assembly speaker, as new prime minister, for the latter half of his single five-year presidency.

Moon made the announcement, at the press centre of the presidential compound, saying, what matters for the pick of Chung to the second-highest administrative position was the ability to pull off people’s integration and harmony, while respecting opposition parties in time of fierce political strife.

TOKYO, December 17. /TASS/: Former USSR president Mikhail Gorbachev said in an interview with Japan’s Asahi newspaper, published on Tuesday, that by quitting nuclear arms control treaties, Washington is seeking to gain absolute military supremacy.

"The underlying cause of US withdrawal from treaties is their determination to remove all kinds of restrictions in the military sphere and to gain absolute military supremacy," the paper quoted Gorbachev as saying. "However, in the modern world, a hegemony of one country is impossible."