Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Friday warned Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority that confrontation would lead nowhere and seeking "Taiwan independence" is a dead end.

Commenting on Taiwan leader's remarks on relations across the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said: "The speech is full of confrontational thinking and hostile mentality."

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 (NNN-Xinhua) — Malaysia’s state-owned oil firm Petronas said Friday that it has successfully won three exploration blocks in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil.

The company said in a statement that its subsidiary Petronas Petróleo Brasil Ltda. (PPBL) has won blocks CM 661, CM 715 and CM 541 in the region.

As operator, PPBL holds 100 percent equity in blocks CM661 and CM715. As for block CM541, PPBL owns 20 percent stake, while France’s Total SA (operator) and Qatar Petroleum holds 40 percent stake each.

TOKYO, Oct 11 (NNN-XINHUA) – A powerful typhoon, expected to hit Japan this weekend, is likely to cause major disruption to transportation networks in eastern and western Japan, with a number of flights and trains services likely to be cancelled or suspended.

With the weather agency here saying it expects Typhoon Hagibis, the 19th typhoon of the season, to make landfall over the weekend, Shinkansen bullet train services in eastern and northeastern Japan may be suspended on Saturday and Sunday, East Japan Railway Co. said.

BEIJING, Oct 10 (APP): While commenting on Indian government’s plan to spend US$ 130 on buying military equipment, a Chinese military observer has said that such a large military budget is very likely to trigger an arms race between India and Pakistan.

Manila, Oct 10 (AP) Philippine police and immigration authorities say they have arrested more than 500 illegally working foreigners, mostly Chinese involved in telecommunications and investment scams, in one of the biggest such mass arrests this year.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente and other officials say the 542 foreigners, who were arrested Wednesday night in a raid on their company premises in metropolitan Manila, did not have work permits and were involved in defrauding victims mostly in China by blackmailing or tricking them into sending out money.

ASHGABAT, October 10. /TASS/: Moscow and Ankara maintain regular contact, including between the military, on Turkey’s operation in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Thursday.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong protesters prepared for demonstrations around the city on Thursday as shopping malls said they would close early to avoid becoming targets and the city’s metro, which has borne the brunt of the violent unrest, will close three hours early.

Hong Kong is one of the world’s top shopping cities but four months of often violent protests have severely dented that reputation, with scores of shops vandalized and malls now becoming sites for sit-ins by protesters.

SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's trade ministry said Thursday that its director general-level official will hold trade talks with his Japanese counterpart this week in Switzerland over Japan's export curbs on South Korea, which caused trade spat and led Seoul to file a complaint against Tokyo with the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The meeting between the director general-level trade officials from the two countries will be held in Geneva Friday (Switzerland time), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

BEIJING, Oct 8 (APP): Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday reiterated China’s firm support to Pakistan in defending its sovereignty, territorial integrity and legitimate rights, saying his country had always regarded its relations with Pakistan as a priority in neighbouring diplomacy.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — European members of the UN Security Council called for the strict enforcement of international sanctions against North Korea, after a closed-door meeting prompted by Pyongyang’s latest missile test.

“International sanctions must remain in place and be fully and strictly enforced,” they said in a statement read by French ambassador Nicolas Riviere.

Joining France in the statement was Belgium, Germany, Poland and Britain as well as Estonia, which becomes a council member in January.