Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO, Nov 13 (NNN-NHK) – A 33-year-old former secretary of a ruling party, has become Japan’s youngest-ever female mayor, after winning election in Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture, local media reported, today.

Shoko Kawata, an independent, backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), junior coalition partner, Komeito, and the main opposition party Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, beat two other contenders in the mayoral election, held yesterday, following the resignation of the former mayor, Kyodo News reported.

MANILA, Nov 13 (NNN-PNA) – Four people died, after their car collided with a dump truck, in Olongapo City, north-east of Manila, police said today.

Police said, the accident occurred around 8.00 p.m. local time, last night, while the two vehicles were travelling a curvy road in the city. Pictures posted on social media showed the wrecked car pinned underneath the ten-wheeler truck.

The victims, who suffered severe head and body injuries, were declared dead on arrival at a city hospital.

YANGON, Nov 11 (NNN-MNA) – Myanmar earned 1.81 billion U.S. dollars from agricultural products export, in the first seven months of the current 2023-24 fiscal year, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce, today.

The figure from Apr 1 to Nov 3, represented a decrease from the 2.01 billion U.S. dollars recorded in the same period last year, showed the ministry’s data.

MANILA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The Philippines' coast guard said on Saturday it would maintain its regular supply missions to troops stationed on a disputed atoll in the South China Sea even though it expects more Chinese vessels to be sent to the area.

The Philippines regularly sends supplies to a handful of troops living aboard an aging warship that was deliberately run aground on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to assert Manila's sovereignty claims over the atoll.

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Dohazari to Cox's Bazar Railway, one of the priority development projects of Bangladesh, was inaugurated here on Saturday to bolster connectivity and transportation infrastructure in the South Asian country.

The 103.5-km railway, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), was partly built by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and the China Railway Group Limited (CREC).

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen attended the inauguration ceremony.

TASHKENT, Nov 10 (NNN-UzA) – The 16th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), was held in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, yesterday, during which, the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted, the great potential in expanding economic ties between ECO countries.

According to the press service of the president, the purpose of this summit is to discuss the prospects for multifaceted cooperation within the ECO and bring it to a new level.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 (NNN-BERNAMA) – China is willing to make joint efforts with Malaysia, to further advance bilateral ties, as the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations next year, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng said here.

ASTANA (Kazakhstan), Nov 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Kazakhstan on Thursday, while Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi are expected in Uzbekistan, amid renewed diplomatic interest in the region.

Central Asia’s former Soviet republics have sought to diversify their partnerships as Moscow’s sway over the region — which it considers as under its sphere of influence — has waned since Russia invaded Ukraine.

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 9 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has expressed hope that China would join forces to ensure the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can be resolved quickly so that humanitarian aid could be sent to Gaza without restrictions. 

According to Malaysian Foreign Minister Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, the matter was conveyed by Anwar to China’s Vice President Han Zheng during their meeting at Perdana Putra here. 

Han, who is on a four-day official visit to Malaysia, had earlier paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister.

BEIJING, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 jolted Papua New Guinea Region at 2053 GMT on Thursday, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10.0 km, was initially determined to be at 5.43 degrees south latitude and 145.81 degrees east longitude.