Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BISHKEK, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Police have detained a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer who was carrying more than 1 kg of drugs in south Kyrgyzstan, the Internal Affairs Department of the Jalal-Abad region said Friday.

The police said they stopped a taxi on the Bishkek-Osh highway and the behavior of the passengers seemed suspicious.

While inspecting the car, police officers found a package containing 1.026 kg of marijuana in the back seat, it said.

TOKYO, September 26. /TASS/: Arctic LNG 1, which will be the next LNG project of Novatek after Arctic LNG 2, will produce about 20 mln tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian gas producer Leonid Mikhelson told reporters on Thursday.

26 September 2019; AFP: Hong Kong's embattled leader arrived for a town hall meeting on Thursday evening, part of a bid to reach out to residents after more than three months of huge, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.

The public "dialogue session" is the pro-Beijing government's first attempt to sit down with her critics following 16 consecutive weeks of unrest.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Thursday he is considering revoking a new law governing the country’s anti-corruption agency, which has alarmed activists and helped drive the biggest student protests in decades.

In a televised address, Widodo said he had received a lot of feedback on the new law including on whether to use his authority to replace it by issuing a regulation instead.

“Of course we will consider it, assess it immediately,” Widodo told reporters.

BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday deplored and strongly opposed the passing of the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 by U.S. congressional committees, urging the United States to stop interference in Hong Kong affairs.

The Act confuses right and wrong in total disregard of the facts, brazenly bolsters up violent radicals in Hong Kong and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said in a statement released Thursday morning.

NAIROBI, Sept 26 (NNN-KBC) — Parliament has been advised to rescind its approval of the nomination of Mwende Mwinzi for appointment as Kenya’s Ambassador to Seoul, South Korea.

National Assembly’s Committee on Implementation says Mwinzi’s declaration that she will not renounce her US citizenship had left the appointing authority with no choice but to seek her replacement.

The Committee has further recommended that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiates an audit of all serving Ambassadors and High Commissioners to ascertain whether any of them holds dual citizenship.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automakers on Thursday urged government officials to do more to support the key industry and their business after their government signed a trade deal with the U.S. that only kept auto tariffs unchanged.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Donald Trump, both attending the U.N. General Assembly in New York, signed a trade agreement covering agricultural, industrial and digital trade.

BEIJING (AP) — Major Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher Thursday after President Donald Trump suggested a costly tariff war with China could be resolved soon.

Benchmarks in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul advanced.

Stocks gained after Trump, speaking to reporters Wednesday at the United Nations, said China wants “to make a deal very badly” and it “could happen sooner than you think.”

“Investors have been ‘trade war’ bearish for so long that any sliver of optimism is cheered,” said Stephen Innes of AxiTrader in a report.

25 September 2019; AFP: A futuristic airport that resembles a giant starfish opened in Beijing Wednesday, as China unveils another massive infrastructure project just days before it celebrates 70 years of Communist Party rule.

Located 46 kilometres (29 miles) south of Tiananmen Square, Beijing Daxing International Airport will operate at full capacity in 2040, with eight runways and the potential to receive 100 million passengers per year.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Dozens of Hong Kong anti-government protesters appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with rioting and other offences over violent clashes two months ago near China’s main representative office.

The case was adjourned until Nov. 19 after prosecutors said they needed more time to study 35 hours of video, including police, online and CCTV footage. The 44 defendants were to be released on bail, lawyers said.