Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

GUIYANG, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's self-developed FTC-2000G versatile aircraft successfully conducted its maiden flight Friday in the city of Anshun in southwest China's Guizhou Province, according to its developer.

The FTC-2000G was developed by the Guizhou Aviation Industry Corporation under the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

The multi-functional military aircraft can be used for attacking, combat, as well as daily training.

Jakarta, Sep 29 (AFP) The death toll from Indonesia's quake and tsunami jumped to 384, the disaster agency said Saturday, as hospitals struggled to cope with hundreds of injured and rescuers scrambled to reach the stricken region.

So far, it said all the deaths were recorded in tsunami-struck Palu, a day after waves 1.5 metres (five feet) high slammed into the city of 350,000 in central Sulawesi island.

TOKYO (AP) — New photos taken on the surface of an asteroid show that it is (drum roll, please) ... rocky.

It may be no surprise, but Japan space agency scientists and engineers are thrilled by the images being sent to Earth by two jumping robotic rovers that they dropped onto an asteroid about 280 million kilometers (170 million miles) away.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency posted the latest photos on its website late Thursday. They show slightly tilted close-ups of the rocky surface from different locations.

BEIJING (AP) — A former Chinese stock market regulator who was detained after a collapse in share prices in 2015 was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison on charges of taking bribes and insider trading.

Yao Gang, a former deputy chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, was one of a series of prominent figures in Chinese finance who were detained after misconduct came to light following the market rout.

BEIJING; 28 Sep 2018; (AP) — Beijing urged the United States on Thursday to stop slandering China after President Donald Trump accused the Asian giant of trying to interfere in upcoming American congressional elections.

Geng Shuang, a foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing that the Chinese government does not interfere in other countries’ internal affairs.

SHANGHAI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's research icebreaker Xuelong returned to a base in Shanghai Wednesday after finishing the 9th Arctic research expedition.

The Icebreaker, also known as the Snow Dragon, carrying a research team, spent 69 days on its journey.

Scientists and researchers have conducted a series of investigations into the marine environment, submarine topography, ecology, fishery, sea ice and shipping routes in areas including the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, Canada Basin and the central Arctic Ocean.

Beijing has rejected a US Navy warship's request to make a port call in Hong Kong next month, reported the local US consulate on Tuesday, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.

BEIJING, September 25. /TASS/. China and Russia are capable, combining their efforts, to overcome the negative consequences of the sanctions pressure and trade wars unleashed by Washington, Vice Minister of Commerce of China Fu Ziying said on Tuesday.

BEIJING, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said Monday it resolutely supports the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government's ban on the so-called "Hong Kong National Party."

The HKSAR government has announced an order in its Gazette to prohibit the operation of the "Hong Kong National Party." A spokesperson of the office said it is an unregistered and illegal group as well as a "Hong Kong independence" organization.

Beijing, Sep 25 (AFP) China said on Tuesday it was impossible to hold trade talks with the United States while Washington is imposing tariffs that are like "holding a knife to someone's throat".

Speaking a day after Washington activated tariffs on 200 billion in Chinese goods, vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen said China is open to negotiations but that the two sides must treat each other "equally and with respect".