Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

More than 40 countries to participate in 20th China-ASEAN Expo in Sep

BEIJING, Aug 25 (APP): The 20th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), an annual trade show that aims to facilitate economic cooperation between China and ASEAN, will be held from September 16 to 19 in Nanning, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with the exhibition’s scale bouncing back to pre-virus levels, Chinese officials said.

Nearly 2 million excess deaths followed China's sudden end of COVID curbs, study says

BEIJING, Aug 25 (Reuters) - China's abrupt move to dismantle its strict COVID-19 regime, which unleashed the virus onto its 1.4 billion residents, could have led to nearly 2 million excess deaths in the following two months, a new U.S. study shows.

The study by the federally funded Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle was taken from a sample of mortality data published by some universities in China and internet searches.

Thailand's new PM pledges to woo more Chinese tourists

BANGKOK, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin pledged on Friday to enact measures aimed at boosting the number of Chinese tourists to the country.

The Pheu Thai Party in a statement quoted Srettha as saying during his visit to the tourist island of Phuket that the return of Chinese tourists remains below pre-pandemic levels and stressed the need to ease entry restrictions while enhancing overall confidence in Thailand as a travel destination.

Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water draws broad condemnation

TOKYO, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Japan started releasing nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, disregarding public concerns and strong opposition from both home and abroad.

The Japanese government and certain organizations claim that the released water is safe, but environmental activists argue that all the possible impacts have not been studied and the wastewater disposal will take decades to complete.

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Chinese companies to import more meat from Pakistan

BEIJING, Aug 24 (APP): “These days, the volume of meat export is about to go up after China allowed Pakistani meat to be imported. The Chinese government has given some specifications and standard operating procedures for boiled and heat-treated meat,” said Umair Ahmad Khan, representative of Hardoi Livestock and Meat Company at Pakistan’s first International Food and Agriculture Exhibition recently held in Karachi.

The event attracted more than 400 delegations from 55 countries, while China has the largest delegation participating in the Expo, CEN reported on Thursday.

Fukushima wastewater released into the ocean, China bans all Japanese seafood

TOKYO, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Japan started releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, a polarising move that prompted China to announce an immediate blanket ban on all aquatic products from Japan.

China is "highly concerned about the risk of radioactive contamination brought by... Japan's food and agricultural products," the customs bureau said in a statement.

South Korea: DPRK's second attempt for reconnaissance satellite launch fails: KCNA

SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The second attempt for reconnaissance satellite launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) failed on Thursday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The flights of the first and second stages of the rocket were normal, but the launch failed due to an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight, the KCNA reported.

Japan starts releasing nuclear-contaminated wastewater into ocean despite opposition at home, abroad

TOKYO, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Japan started releasing nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, despite raging opposition from both at home and abroad.

S. Korean opposition party chief calls Japan's nuke wastewater dumping "act of terror"

SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Lee Jae-myung, chief of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party, on Wednesday called Japan's decision to start dumping nuclear-contaminated wastewater on Thursday from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant an "act of terror."

"Japan, which threatened the right to life of neighboring countries in the past with the imperialist war of aggression, is about to bring another irreversible disaster to South Korea and countries around the Pacific Ocean by discharging nuclear-contaminated wastewater," Lee said during a party meeting.

North Korea says its 2nd attempt to launch a spy satellite has failed, vows 3rd try

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Thursday that its second attempt to launch a spy satellite failed again but vowed to make another attempt in October, demonstrating willingness to endure flops to acquire a key military asset coveted by leader Kim Jong Un.

The failed launch prompted neighboring Japan to issue brief a “J-alert” ordering some residents to evacuate to safe places as the North Korean rocket flew over its southernmost islands of Okinawa to the Pacific Ocean.

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