Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's accumulated outbound direct investment (ODI) reached over 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of 2017, moving up to the second place in the world rankings, according to an official report.

"China has made investment in 189 countries and regions globally, with its accumulated ODI accounting for 5.9 percent of the world's total," said Zhang Xingfu, an official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

Jakarta, Oct 7; GANASHAKTI: As many as 5,000 people are believed missing from two hard-hit areas in Palu more than a week after the Indonesian city was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami, an official said Sunday.

Indonesia's disaster agency said the figure was based on estimates from local heads in the Petobo and Balaroa areas of the city, where entire neighbourhoods disappeared in the twin disaster on Sulawesi island that has seen 1,763 bodies recovered so far.

JAKARTA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Death toll from multiple earthquakes and an ensuing tsunami in Indonesia's Central Sulawesi province jumped to 1,649, spokesman of the national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Saturday.

Among the victims, 1,413 were recorded in Palu, the provincial capital of Central Sulawesi as the city was stricken by both quakes and a tsunami on Sept. 28, Sutopo said.

"Most of the victims were found in Palu and they were hit by tsunami, particularly in the coastal areas near Talise beach," the spokesman said.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. says it has issued a recall for 2.43 million hybrid vehicles in Japan and elsewhere for potential problems with stalling.

The company said Friday that in rare cases the vehicles might fail to enter a “failsafe” driving mode, lose power and stall. Power steering and braking would still work but a stall at a fast speed could increase risks of a crash.

SEOUL, South Korea; 5 Oct 2018; (AP) — Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday in a corruption case that has badly tainted his status as the country’s first leader with a business background who once symbolized the country’s economic rise.

BEIJING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday firmly opposed to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's accusations against China's domestic and foreign policies and said any malicious slander on China is futile.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivered a speech at a think tank on the evening of Oct. 4, claiming that China interferes in U.S. internal affairs and elections and making accusations against China's domestic and foreign policies.

Kuala Lumpur; 2 October 2018: Hassan al-Kontar is a Syrian who lived in Malaysian airport for more than 200 days before Malaysian authorities arrested and removed him  on Monday.

Al-Kontar was stranded there since March after failing in his attempts to gain asylum in Ecuador and Cambodia, and then being refused entry on his return to Malaysia.

TOKYO; 3 Oct 2018; (AP) — A German-French observation device safely landed on an asteroid on Wednesday after a Japanese spacecraft released it as part of a research effort that could find clues about the origin of the solar system, Japanese space officials said.

The Japan Space Exploration Agency said the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, or MASCOT, was released from the unmanned spacecraft Hayabusa2 and successfully landed on the asteroid Ryugu.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s anti-graft agency said Wednesday that the wife of former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been arrested and will face money laundering charges in a graft scandal involving the 1MDB state investment fund.

The agency said Rosmah Mansor was detained at its headquarters in the Putrajaya government administrative center about four hours after she arrived for a third round of questioning over alleged theft and money laundering at the fund.

SEOUL, South Korea; 2 Oct 2018; (AP) — A top South Korean official told lawmakers that North Korea is estimated to have up to 60 nuclear weapons, in Seoul’s first public comment about the size of the North’s secrecy-clouded weapons arsenal.