Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, Nov 3 (APP): Deputy Secretary-General of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Sohail Khan met with Arzybek Kozhoshev, Member of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission – Minister in charge of Energy and Infrastructure.

During a meeting held in Tashkent on the sidelines of the SCO Transport Forum, the sides discussed topical issues of interaction between the SCO Secretariat and the Eurasian Economic Commission in the field of transportation, according to the SCO Secretariat here.

BEIJING, Nov 3 (APP): Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend the opening ceremony of the sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) and the Hongqiao International Economic Forum in Shanghai on Sunday.

The Chinese premier will deliver a keynote speech, a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said on Friday.

SEOUL, Nov 3 (Reuters) - North Korea will increase its military deterrent to ensure its security against a U.S. nuclear arsenal aimed at it, its state media reported on Friday, as it criticised the United States for a recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test.

The U.S. Air Force launched a nuclear-capable Minuteman III missile from a base in California on Wednesday but the missile was blown up after an anomaly was detected. The test was attended by South Korean defence officials in their first such visit since 2016.

YANGON, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's three government-controlled areas have fallen following attacks on security outposts in the northern Shan state since Oct. 27, the Information Team of Myanmar's State Administration Council said on Thursday.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and Arakan Army (AA) groups attacked Myanmar armed forces' security outposts in some areas of the northern Shan state, the information team said.

BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Nearly a month into the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict, the death toll has surpassed 10,000, one of the worst humanitarian crises in this century.

Sadly, this confrontation has swiftly caused a significant number of casualties within a remarkably short period compared with fatalities from a pandemic and the Ukraine crisis.

Worse still, a ceasefire is nowhere in sight, as Israel has vehemently rejected any humanitarian truce under full-swing support from the United States.

IWAKI, Japan (AP) — Local fishing communities feared the worst when the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant began discharging treated radioactive wastewater into the sea.

Instead of a business calamity, however, consumers from across the nation have supported the region by eating more fish. Besides boosting a fragile industry, the demand has helped mitigate the impact of China’s ban on Japanese seafood, though there are worries about the future of the water release.

BEIJING, Nov 2 (APP): Pakistan looks forward to further strengthening exchanges with China, accelerating the high-quality joint construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), deepening economic, trade, cultural, and sub-national exchanges, and pushing bilateral relations to a higher level, Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque said.

The friendship between Pakistan and China is iron-clad and unbreakable. It is the inevitable trend of history and the aspiration of the people, he said while addressing at a farewell reception.

TOKYO, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Japan on Thursday started the third round of release of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Despite concerns and opposition among local fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture as well as other countries, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the plant's operator, started discharging the radioactive wastewater at around 10:20 a.m. local time.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has likely supplied several types of missiles to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, along with its widely reported shipments of ammunition and shells, South Korea’s military said Thursday.

In a background briefing for local journalists, South Korea’s military said that North Korea is suspected of sending an unspecified number of short-range ballistic missiles, anti-tank missiles and portable anti-air missiles to Russia, in addition to rifles, rocket launchers, mortars and shells.

ASTANA, November 1. /TASS/: Europe needs a stable pattern of relations with Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron said, speaking to students at the Kazakh Humanitarian Law University named after M.S. Narikbayev.

According to him, "the European defense architecture cannot be built on escalation and conflicts." "Russia is geographically a part of Europe, so we need to build a stable pattern of relations between EU members and non-members, and this includes Russia," Macron emphasized.