Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, Oct 28 (APP): A large gold mine with an initially estimated gold reserve of 31.55 tonnes has been discovered in central China’s Henan Province.

According to the provincial bureau of geology and mineral exploration and development, the mine is in Zhuzhuang Township in Tongbai County, Chinese media report.

The estimated gold reserve at the mine is likely to exceed 50 tonnes by the end of this year after further exploration, it said.

For decades, Henan Province has remained China’s second-largest gold-producing region.

BEIJING, Oct 28 (APP): Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Thursday set aside Indian concerns over new border land law and hoped that relevant countries could avoid making undue speculation about it.

“We hope relevant countries can avoid making undue speculation about the normal legislation in China,” he said in response to Indian Foreign Ministry’s statement in which it had asked China not to use the new land border law to alter the land along borders.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (NNN-XINHUA) – Malaysia’s exports grew by 24.7 percent, year on year, to 110.83 billion ringgit (about 26.67 billion U.S. dollars) in Sept, as exports to China registered the highest monthly value ever, official data showed today.

The export growth was contributed mainly by robust external demand for petroleum products, manufactures of metal, palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, as well as, electrical and electronic (E&E) products, the International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI), said in a statement.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said on Thursday it has agreed with China to upgrade their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, a day after reaching a similar deal with Australia.

Australia's clinching of the enhanced partnership was a symbolic win for Canberra in beating China to the first such deal with the fast-growing Southeast Asia region, which has become a strategic battleground between Beijing and Washington.

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government on Thursday unveiled its 10th round of relief measures to assist COVID-19-hit businesses as the Southeast Asian nation still grapples with the pandemic.

In its statement, the government said garment, airline, and tourism-related businesses such as hotels and restaurants still suffer from the impact of the pandemic.

BEIJING, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese military spokesperson on Thursday urged the U.S. side to rebuild a correct perception of China, adopt a rational and pragmatic China policy, and take concrete actions to promote a sound and stable military-to-military relationship.

The military relationship between China and the United States is an important part of the bilateral relations, Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said at a press conference.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported its highest quarterly profit in three years as it continues to see robust global demand for its computer memory chips.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The soldiers in rural Myanmar twisted the young man’s skin with pliers and kicked him in the chest until he couldn’t breathe. Then they taunted him about his family until his heart ached, too: “Your mom,” they jeered, “cannot save you anymore.”

The young man and his friend, randomly arrested as they rode their bikes home, were subjected to hours of agony inside a town hall transformed by the military into a torture center.  As the interrogators’ blows rained down, their relentless questions tumbled through his mind.

BEIJING, Oct 27 (APP): President Xi Jinping has said that China will continue to support Pakistan in its fight against COVID-19, jointly build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with high quality and strengthen cooperation and continue to deliver benefits to the two people and promoting growth and improving people’s wellbeing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said on Wednesday.

SEOUL, Oct 27 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea reported 3,363 more cases of COVID-19 variants for the past week, bringing the total number of such cases to 46,417, the health authorities said today.

Among the new cases found for one week, till Oct 23, 125 were imported from overseas, while the remaining 3,238 were locally transmitted, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The far higher number of local transmissions indicated the domestic spread of the variants.

Of the new cases, 3,362 came from the Delta variant, and one from Alpha.