Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Tuesday said China firmly opposes the United States adding 28 Chinese entities to its "Entity List" and urges the U.S. side to remove them from the list as soon as possible.

The Chinese side has noticed that the U.S. Department of Commerce has added 28 Chinese entities to its "Entity List," and will continue to follow the developments, a spokesperson with the MOC said.

BEIJING (AP) — China demanded Washington lift sanctions on Chinese tech companies and warned Wednesday it will “resolutely safeguard” the country’s interests.

The Ministry of Commerce criticized curbs imposed on sales of U.S. technology to a group of Chinese companies as interference in the country’s affairs. American officials say those companies provide technology used to repress Muslim minorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

HONG KONG (AP) — Several hundred masked protesters chanting for revolution have gathered at Hong Kong’s High Court for the appeal hearing of an activist sentenced to six years in prison for his part in a violent nightlong clash with police.

Edward Leung is among a generation of young political activists who emerged after 2014′s failed nonviolent protests over Beijing’s decision to restrict elections.

Leung has been an advocate of independence for Hong Kong, which reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

TOKYO (AP) — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league is not apologizing for Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s since-deleted tweet showing support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, even after China’s state broadcaster canceled plans to show a pair of preseason games in that country later this week.

8 October 2019; AFP: The Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday dropped its multibillion-dollar bid for the prized London Stock Exchange Group, which would have created a global markets titan.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) made the shock proposal for LSEG on September 11, but LSEG formally rejected the offer the following day citing "fundamental" flaws and concerns over its ties to the city's government.

Jakarta, Oct 7 (AFP) More than 16,000 scared residents have fled an unrest-hit city in Indonesia's Papua region, the military said Monday, as one of the deadliest eruptions of violence in years sparked calls for an independent probe.

Several dozen people were killed when violence broke out in Wamena city last month, with some victims burned alive when buildings were ablaze, and others stabbed in the chaos, according to authorities.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China supports Pakistan in safeguarding its independent sovereignty and territorial integrity, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday during a visit by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Khan is scheduled to meet both Li and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing this week to discuss the security situation in the disputed region of Kashmir as well as economic ties.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Discussions to set up an English language channel – proposed by Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia to counter Islamophobia – have begun, with a technical meeting held between Pakistan and Turkey.

Turkish Ambassador to Malaysia Merve Safa Kavakci said Turkey’s Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun had led a delegation to a meeting with Pakistani representatives on the matter last week. 

SINGAPORE, Oct 8 (NNN-CNA) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo will be in Singapore on Tuesday for a two-day visit as part of the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders’ Retreat, said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in a press statement.

This will be Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s fourth Leaders’ Retreat with Widodo, and the first since the Indonesian president’s re-election in May. He will be inaugurated later this month.

BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of the U.S. side, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will lead a Chinese delegation to visit Washington for a new round of the China-U.S. high-level economic and trade consultations from Oct. 10 to 11.

Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, will hold the economic and trade consultations with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.