Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BANGKOK; 24 Sep 2018; (AP) — Shares have fallen in Europe and Asia after China reportedly rebuffed a plan for talks with the U.S. on resolving their dispute over trade and technology.

KEEPING SCORE: Germany’s DAX fell 0.4 percent to 12,382.50 and the CAC 40 in France lost 0.3 percent to 5,479.86. The FTSE 100 in Britain lost 0.2 percent to 7,472.33. The futures contracts for the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both fell 0.2 percent, auguring a slow start on Wall Street.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Brunei has the second least polluted urban areas in the world, according to study by the World Health Organization (WHO) measuring ambient air pollution in 1,622 locations across 92 countries.

Australia has the least polluted urban areas, followed by Brunei and New Zealand. Estonia is Europe's top performing nation, followed by Finland and Iceland, said local daily the Borneo Bulletin on Monday, quoting the WHO study.

Hong Kong, Sep 24 (AFP) Hong Kong banned a political party which promotes independence on Monday, a first since the city was handed back to China by Britain 21 years ago as Beijing ups pressure on any challenges to its sovereignty.

Semi-autonomous Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland including freedom of expression but the space for political dissent is shrinking in the face of an increasingly assertive China under President Xi Jinping.

Beijing, Sep 24 (AFP) China must come clean about the fate of an estimated one million minority Muslims swept up in a "massive crackdown" in far western region of Xinjiang, Amnesty International said in a new report Monday.

Beijing has ramped up restrictions on Muslim minorities to combat what it calls Islamic extremism and separatist elements in the far western province.

But critics say the drive risks fuelling resentment towards Beijing and further inflaming separatist sentiment.

TEHRAN, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Tehran and Moscow are closely cooperating in various fields of the nuclear industry, the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said on Thursday.

"Nuclear cooperation between Iran and Russia is in progress at high level in diverse areas," Behrouz Kamalvandi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

Iran's cooperation with Russia includes the construction of two new power plants, as well as projects on stable isotopes and nuclear fuel, Kamalvandi said.

MOSCOW, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss Syrian issues with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Russia's Sochi on Monday, the Kremlin said in a statement Sunday.

The meeting will take place at a time when the Syrian government forces backed by Russia and Iran are preparing an offensive against rebels' last major stronghold in Idlib province, although Turkey and the United States have repeatedly warned against any operation.

VIENNA, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal will have serious repercussions for the international and regional peace and security, Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi said in a statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) general conference on Monday.

"This ominous move is doomed to have serious repercussions for the international and regional peace and security," said Salehi, who is also the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

BEIJING, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's military has voiced its "strong indignation and resolute opposition" against recent "sanctions" by the U.S. on Chinese military authority and personnel, according to China's Ministry of National Defense.

Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the ministry, said Saturday that Chinese military has made solemn representations and protests to the U.S. side.

TOKYO, September 20. /TASS/. Japan’s government is working out the possibility of organizing a meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister Taro Kono and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during the UN General Assembly in New York on September 24-27, Japan’s NHK TV reported with reference to diplomatic sources on Thursday.

SHANGHAI, September 20. /TASS/. The board of directors of BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB) approved three infrastructure and sustainable development projects in India and Russia with loans aggregating $825 mln at its 16th meeting in Shanghai, NDB said in a statement.