Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), Aug 26 (NNN-Bernama) — The Malaysian Space Board, which convened for the first time Thursday, agreed in principle that the government ratify the international space treaty in line with the country’s priorities and interests, according to a Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) statement Friday.

MOSTI said the government’s priority for now is a security and liability treaty related to the issue of suspected rocket debris discovered in Sarawak at the end of July.

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia had rescued some 865 foreigners from human trafficking in 87 cases from Jan. 1 to Aug. 20, Interior Minister Sar Kheng said in a statement on Friday.

"A total of 60 human trafficking suspects in 17 cases had been sent to court," he said.

According to the results of research and interrogation, many of these foreigners were deceived via social media to cross borders illegally into Cambodia, with the promise of high-paying jobs, he said.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s leader on Friday said China and Russia are “disrupting and threatening the world order” with Beijing’s recent large-scale military exercises near the island and Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

TASHKENT, August 24. /TASS/: In order to ensure its global hegemony, the US is trying to dismantle the established security architecture in Southeast Asia, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting of SCO defense ministers on Wednesday.

TOKYO, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday that travelers coming to Japan will be exempt from taking COVID-19 tests before departure if they have received three vaccine shots.

The eased COVID-19 restrictions on arrivals to Japan will begin on Sept. 7, the Japanese leader told a virtual press briefing.

Along with easing the virus testing requirements, Kishida said the government will soon decide on raising the daily cap of arrivals to Japan.

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court suspended the prime minister from his duties on Wednesday while it decides whether the man who led a military coup in 2014 has violated the country’s term limits, potentially opening a new chapter of turmoil in the nation’s troubled politics.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s removal is likely to only be temporary since the court has generally ruled in the government’s favor in a slew of political cases.

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mixed Wednesday as a wait-and-see mood set in following another — though more modest — day of sell-offs on Wall Street.

Worries about inflation are weighing on investors’ minds, including in Asia. Inflation data for Singapore released earlier in the week showed inflation was still going strong, with core inflation headed higher to 4.8% year on year for July. Food price inflation was at 6.1%.

Benchmarks finished lower in Japan and China, while they were higher in Australia and South Korea. European shares fell in early trading.

23 August 2022; MEMO: Uzbekistan's President has returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia with $14 billion in promised investments, his office says, Taskent Times reports.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia is preparing to pay $12 billion for chronic energy shortages.

The agreements include a pledge for Saudi firm, ACWA Power, to build a 1.5 GW wind farm in Karakalpakstan.

SEOUL, Aug 23 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea reported 150,258 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight, compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 22,449,475, the health authorities said today.

The daily caseload was up from 59,046 the previous day and higher than 84,103 tallied a week earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

For the past week, the daily average number of confirmed cases was 135,390.

Among the new cases, 504 were imported from overseas, lifting the total to 55,714.

SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's currency hit the lowest in over 13 years Tuesday on the strong U.S. dollar, leading the foreign exchange authorities to issue a verbal warning.

The won/dollar exchange rate finished at 1,345.5 won per dollar, up 5.7 won from the previous close. It marked the highest in more than 13 years since the exchange rate reached 1,356.8 won on April 28, 2009.