Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

HONG KONG (AP) — Police will be out in force at polling stations in Hong Kong this weekend as keenly contested local elections take place amid ongoing anti-government protests.

Hong Kong’s new police commissioner, Tang Ping-keung, told reporters Friday that officers would deal with any outbreak of violence immediately without hesitation.

Six masked protesters surrendered before dawn, bringing to about 30 the number that have come out in the past day from a university campus surrounded by police.

HANOI, Nov 21 (NNN-VNA) – The Vietnamese government will advance payment, to bring back remains of 39 local people found dead in a lorry in Britain, a senior official of the country’s foreign ministry said today (Thursday).

The government decided to make advance payments, to make sure the victims are brought home as ashes or in coffins, as soon as possible, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bui Thanh Son, said.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov 21 (NNN-TNA) – A 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit northern Thailand at 6:50 a.m. local time, on Thursday (today), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), said.

The quake, which occurred at 2350 GMT Wednesday, was centred at 31 km southeast of Chaloem Phra Kiat, with a depth of 10.0 km, according to the USGS.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The Chinese government warned self-ruled Taiwan on Thursday that it was courting “disaster”, after the running mate for President Tsai Ing-wen in January elections said he was working toward the island’s independence, a red line for Beijing.

Tsai chose former premier William Lai as her vice-presidential candidate on Sunday, the same day China sailed an aircraft carrier group through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, a move Taipei denounced as attempted intimidation.

SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's presidential Blue House on Thursday held a National Security Council (NSC) meeting ahead of the termination on Nov. 23 of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan.

The NSC meeting was convened by Chung Eui-yong, top security advisor for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, according to the Blue House.

The NSC standing committee members reviewed diplomatic efforts to resolve pending issues between South Korea and Japan, deciding to continue close consultations with relevant countries.

SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's approval rating inched down this week on negative sentiment towards negotiations with the United States over the defense cost-sharing for U.S. troops stationed here, a weekly poll showed Thursday.

According to the Realmeter survey, support for Moon shed 1.0 percentage point over the week to 46.8 percent this week.

The negative assessment on Moon's management of state affairs gained 2.4 percentage points to 51.0 percent.

BEIJING, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and U.S. economic and trade teams will continue to maintain close communication, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

China is ready to work with the U.S. side to properly address each other's core concerns on the basis of equality and mutual respect and strive to reach a "phase one" deal, which serves the interests of both countries and the rest of the world, MOC spokesperson Gao Feng told a press conference.

Bangkok, Nov 21 (AFP/PTI) Pope Francis will visit one of Thailand's famed gilded temples Thursday to meet the supreme Buddhist patriarch, on the first full day of his Asian tour aimed at promoting religious harmony.

The 82-year-old pontiff is on his first visit to Buddhist majority Thailand, where he will spend four days before setting off to Japan.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar said Wednesday its leader Aung San Suu Kyi will head the legal team contesting a genocide case filed against it in the International Court of Justice over the crackdown on Rohingya Muslims two years ago that set off their exodus to Bangladesh.

HONG KONG (AP) — A small but determined group of protesters remained inside a Hong Kong university campus Thursday, resisting pleas to turn themselves in to police.

At least a few dozen were believed to still be at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the holdouts from a much larger group that occupied the campus for several days and battled police last weekend.