Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

24 June 2019; DW: China said on Monday that it would not allow the Group of 20 nations to discuss the situation in Hong Kong when the group of world economic powers meets in Japan later this week.

Hong Kong has been the site of massive protests this month as demonstrators demanded the withdrawal of a bill that would allow people to be extradited to mainland China to face trials in courts controlled by the Communist Party. Protesters have also called on the city's leader, Carrie Lam, to step down.

Beijing, Jun 24; GANASHAKTI: Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders of the BRICS grouping during the G20 Summit in Japan this week where the talks would be focussed on opposing the "unilateralist" and "protectionist" trade policies of the US, a senior Chinese minister said on Monday.

SEOUL, June 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump will make a two-day visit to South Korea this weekend, the South Korean presidential Blue House said Monday.

Blue House spokesperson Ko Min-jung told a press briefing that Trump will officially visit South Korea for two days from Saturday to hold a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday.

BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Beijing's observatory issued a blue alert on Monday for high temperatures over the next two days.

The temperature could rise to over 35 degrees Celsius in most parts of Beijing from Monday to Tuesday and could top 38 degrees Celsius in parts of the city on Monday.

The observatory advised residents to guard against the heat wave and said workers exposed to high temperatures should take protective measures.

TOKYO, June 24. /TASS/: Japan intends to allow imports of fresh chicken from Russia as part of earlier reached agreements on the expansion of bilateral trade as well as to help to meet the growing domestic demand for the product, Nikkei Asian Review daily reported on Monday.

According to the daily, a relevant agreement is expected to be signed following a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28-29.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Monday as investors watched for movement in the China-U.S. trade dispute ahead of a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping planned for later this week in Osaka, Japan, at the Group of 20 summit.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese and U.S. trade negotiators are in contact on ways of resolving disputes ahead of an expected meeting between their heads of state at the G-20 summit in Japan later this week, a Chinese official said Monday.

The sides were seeking to “consolidate the important consensus reached between the two leaders” in a telephone call last week, Wang Shouwen, a Commerce Ministry vice minister, told reporters. Wang gave no details about specific issues under discussion.

HONG KONG (AP) — Leaders of recent protests in Hong Kong say they plan more demonstrations for Wednesday, hoping to draw the attention of world leaders attending the Group of 20 summit.

The leaders of the Civil Human Rights Front said they hope the world leaders in Osaka, Japan, this week will hear the protesters’ concerns over the weakening of the city’s legal autonomy from mainland China.

They spoke Monday near the city government headquarters, where a few protesters remained though the offices in the building had reopened.

BANGKOK (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders have pressed their call for self-restraint in the disputed South China Sea after a new incident and renewed their alarm over the U.S.-China trade war with one warning it may spiral out of control.

The long-raging territorial conflicts and the protracted dispute between the two global economic powerhouses are high on the agenda of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders meeting Sunday in an annual summit in the Thai capital of Bangkok.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The long-simmering armed conflict between Indonesia’s military and Papuans seeking independence includes indigenous teenagers and boys who appear barely adolescent, The Associated Press has found, highlighting how Indonesia’s heavy-handed attempts to extinguish the movement have produced a new generation of fighters.