Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TAIYUAN, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- China sent a resource satellite and two small satellites into planned orbits from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province on Thursday.

They were launched on a Long March-4B carrier rocket at 11:26 a.m. (Beijing Time).

The resource satellite, ZY-1 02D, will provide observation data for natural resources asset management, ecological monitoring, disaster prevention and control, environmental protection, urban construction, transportation and contingency management.

TOKYO, September 11. /TASS/: Japan’s new foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, has called for a soonest meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to focus on the peace treaty issues, Motegi told Japanese reporters on Wednesday.

"I have instructions to work toward a resolution that is acceptable to both countries. I want to hold a discussion with Foreign Minister [Sergey] Lavrov as soon as possible," Motegi said, cited by Kyodo news agency.

11 September 2019; AFP: Japan's Shinzo Abe Wednesday appointed new foreign and defence ministers and promoted a popular rising political star, in a cabinet reshuffle that fuelled speculation over the prime minister's successor.

The spectacular appointment as environment minister of the telegenic Shinjiro Koizumi, the 38-year-old son of much-loved former PM Junichiro, set tongues wagging in Tokyo political classes as the Abe era draws to a close.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China announced its first batch of tariff exemptions for 16 types of U.S. products, days ahead of a planned meeting between trade negotiators from the two countries to try and de-escalate their bruising tariff row.

The exemptions will apply to U.S. goods including some anti-cancer drugs and lubricants, as well as the animal feed ingredients whey and fish meal, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan’s ruling party on Wednesday urged citizens to avoid visiting Hong Kong after a person from Taiwan was detained in China on state security charges, as Hong Kong’s protests add to already tense relations between Taiwan and Beijing.

China said Lee Meng-chu, an adviser from a small township in Taiwan, who had been missing since Aug. 19 after traveling to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, was suspected of “engaging in criminal acts that endanger state security”.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday leader Kim Jong Un observed the test-launch of a super-large multiple rocket launcher, the latest in a series of weapons tests performed amid stalled diplomacy over the North’s nuclear program.

Tuesday’s rocket launcher test was made hours after North Korea said it was willing to resume nuclear negotiations with the United States in late September. While offering talks, North Korea still warned its dealings with the U.S. may end if Washington fails to come to the negotiating table without new acceptable proposals.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday, cheered by a rise on Wall Street amid some signs of easing tensions between the U.S. and China on trade issues.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% to 21,514.14 in morning trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.1% to 6,622.60. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.6% to 2,043.72. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4% to 26,795.87, while the Shanghai Composite slid 0.4% to 3,010.32.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea said Wednesday it will initiate a complaint to the World Trade Organization over Japan’s tightened export controls on key materials South Korean companies use to make computer chips and displays.

South Korea, which has accused Tokyo of weaponizing trade to retaliate over political disputes, will formally request bilateral consultations with Japan on Wednesday as the first step in the WTO dispute settlement process, said Yoo Myung-hee, a senior official at South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

10 September 2019; AFP: Hong Kong's embattled leader warned the United States on Tuesday not to "interfere" with her government's response to the city's pro-democracy movement, after fresh protests called on Washington to ramp up pressure on Beijing.

Millions of people have demonstrated over the last 14 weeks in the biggest challenge to China's rule of the financial hub since its handover from Britain in 1997.

SHANGHAI, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- A satellite terminal, believed to be world's largest of its kind, will be put into operation at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, as its third-phase expansion project starts operation on Sept. 16, local authorities said Monday.

Located south of the airport's existing T1 and T2 terminals, the satellite terminal, covering an area of 622,000 square meters and whose construction is part of the third-phase expansion project, will provide departure, arrival and transfer services.