Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

OSAKA, Japan (AP) — Eyeing a history-making photo opportunity, President Donald Trump on Saturday issued a Twitter invitation to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to join him for a hand shake during a visit to the demilitarized zone with South Korea.

The invitation, while long rumored in diplomatic circles, still struck as an impulsive display of showmanship by a president bent on obtaining a legacy-defining nuclear accord.

BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Argentine farmers have one of the good harvests of soybeans in the history of the country this year, but they are in no mood to celebrate in view of the declining prices, a rippling effect economists believe is, in large part, caused by the U.S.-initiated trade war with China.

BISHKEK, June 28. /TASS/: Kyrgyzstan’s ex-president Almazbek Atambayev said he would resist any attempt to arrest him, commenting on the parliament’s decision to strip him of immunity on Thursday.

"Law enforcement officers had informed me about my arrest being prepared. I’m ready to anything and I will resist," he said, adding that he had some "weapons of honor" presented to him as a reward.

The former president said many officers have voiced support for him, but many others are ready to follow orders, even illegitimate ones.

OSAKA /Japan/, June 28. /TASS/: The leaders of the BRICS member-countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) have highlighted the need for cooperation between businesses and government to prevent the use of digital platforms for recruitment by terrorists, the association said in a statement for the media following its meeting held on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

OSAKA /Japan/, June 28. /TASS/: Russia will host the BRICS summit in the summer of 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at a meeting with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

"In November, we will have to work together in Brazil within BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa - TASS], and next summer we will hold another meeting of the group of five nations in Russia," Putin noted.

OSAKA /Japan/, June 28. /TASS/: The meeting between the President of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, on the sidelines of the G20 summit lasted 80 minutes, TASS reports.

Earlier, it was suggested that the conversation will take up between 60 and 90 minutes.

OSAKA, Japan (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s trip to Asia (all times local):

11:00 a. m.

President Donald Trump says German Chancellor Angela Merkel is a “fantastic person” and he’s “glad to have her as a friend.”

Trump commented Friday as he and Merkel met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Japan. Merkel said last year that she won’t seek a fifth term as chancellor and Trump has complained outside of her presence that Germany is taking advantage of the U.S. on support for NATO.

OSAKA, Japan (AP) — The Latest on the Group of 20 summit meetings in Osaka, Japan (all times local):

1:50 p.m.

Pro-democracy activists are urging Group of 20 leaders at the summit in Osaka to pressure Chinese President Xi Jinping to improve the human rights of his people, including minorities and those in Hong Kong.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks sank Friday as investors waited for a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping that they hope will produce a truce in spiraling U.S.-China trade tensions.

Benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney all fell. Crude prices declined.

OSAKA, Japan (AP) — World leaders attending a Group of 20 summit in Japan are clashing over the values that have served for decades as the foundation of their cooperation.

European Union President Donald Tusk on Friday blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for suggesting in an interview with the newspaper Financial Times that liberalism was “obsolete.”

In a statement to reporters, Tusk said, “We are here as Europeans also to firmly and unequivocally defend and promote liberal democracy.”