Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Ten people were on board a Japan's Self-Defense Force (SDF) helicopter that disappeared from the radar on Thursday in waters off the southwestern prefecture of Okinawa, local media reported.

The UH-60 multipurpose chopper flying around Okinawa's Miyakojima Island disappeared from radar at around 4:40 p.m. local time, according to public broadcaster NHK citing defense ministry sources.

The SDF and the coast guard are searching for the helicopter, which belongs to a unit in the Kumamoto Prefecture, local media said.

TOKYO, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Japan saw excess deaths of up to 113,000 in 2022, more than double the year-earlier figure, according to newly released health ministry statistics, underscoring the possibility that COVID-19, directly and indirectly, contributed to the increase in excess mortality.

The estimates were compiled by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), an institution under the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

KAMPONG CHHNANG, Cambodia, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and China have successfully concluded the fifth edition of joint military exercise "Golden Dragon 2023" at the Royal Gendarmerie Training Center here.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh and Vice Admiral Wei Wenhui, deputy commander of the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, as well as Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian attended the closing ceremony on Wednesday.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Thursday threatened unspecified “offensive action” over the expansion of U.S. military exercises with rival South Korea as President Joe Biden’s special representative for North Korea flew to Seoul for talks with allies over the North’s growing nuclear threat.

TOKYO (AP) — A missing Japanese army helicopter carrying 10 crew members is believed to have crashed into the sea off a southern island after objects appearing to be aircraft parts were spotted in the area, an official said Thursday.

The UH-60JA Black Hawk helicopter disappeared from radar on Thursday afternoon while on a reconnaissance mission north of Miyako island, the head of the Ground Self Defense Force, Yasunori Morishita, said at a news conference.

BANGKOK (AP) — More than 5,000 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand in recent days as fighting between Myanmar’s army and armed resistance groups has intensified in the border area, Thai media and officials said Thursday.

At least 5,428 civilians, including more than 800 children, crossed the border by Wednesday night from Myanmar’s Myawaddy district to seek refuge in Thailand’s Tak province, public broadcaster Thai PBS reported, citing an unidentified security official.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping called Thursday for peace talks over Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron appealed to him to “bring Russia to its senses,” but Xi gave no indication Beijing would use its leverage as Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic partner to press for a settlement.

Xi gave no sign China, which declared it had a “no limits friendship” with Moscow before last year’s invasion, had changed its stance since calling for peace talks in February.

MANILA, Apr 5 (NNN-PNA) – An offshore earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6, jolted the eastern Philippines last night, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said, however, no damage or casualties were reported yet.

The institute said, the quake, which occurred at 8:54 p.m. local time (1254 GMT), hit at a depth of nine km, about 120 km south-east of Gigmoto town, in Catanduanes province.

HANOI, Apr 5 (NNN-VNA) – The 32nd edition of the Vietnam International Exhibition (Vietnam Expo), kicked off here today, attracting hundreds of enterprises.

Vietnam Expo 2023 held, on Apr 5-8, reports the participation of some 500 enterprises from countries and regions, including China, Indonesia, Japan, Poland and South Korea.

TAIPEI, April 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan's defence ministry said on Wednesday a Chinese aircraft carrier group was in the waters off the island's southeast coast, the same day President Tsai Ing-wen was due to meet U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

China, which claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, has warned of unspecified retaliation if the meeting goes ahead.

China staged war games around Taiwan last August following the visit to Taipei of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.