Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

JAKARTA, Dec 22 (NNN-ANTARA) – Three people died and eight others were injured, in a vehicle accident in Indonesia’s West Java yesterday.

“A truck was speeding down a downhill road, out of control, then beat some motorbikes and stopped after hitting a house and a shop,” head of the Cianjur Police Traffic Unit, Commissioner Adjutant, Adhi Prasidya, explained.

Those who died were the truck driver, a motorcyclist, and a homeowner.

The injured have been taken to the nearby hospital for medical treatment.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 (NNN-Bernama) — The ringgit continued to trend higher as it strengthened against the US dollar in the early session on Friday following weaker US economic data, an economist said.

At 9 am, the ringgit climbed to 4.6300/6380 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.6525/6565.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the final third quarter (3Q) 2023 US gross domestic product (GDP) estimates came in lower than expected at 4.9 per cent against consensus survey of 5.2 per cent.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 (NNN-Bernama) — Egypt is grateful to the people and government of Malaysia for their unwavering support in helping the Palestinians in Gaza with humanitarian aid.

Following the October 23 meeting in Cairo between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the presidential directive to promptly send humanitarian aid from Malaysia to Gaza as soon as possible was issued, according to Egypt’s ambassador to Malaysia, Ragai Tawfik Said Nasr.

TOKYO, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government on Friday lifted its ban on exports of arms and ammunition manufactured under license from foreign companies to their countries, and conditionally to third countries.

The controversial change was brought up under the revised Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and the Implementation Guidelines.

Under the amended document, the government allows weapons made in Japan under foreign license, including completed products and components, to be shipped to the country that the licenser is based.

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court on Friday rejected a bid by prominent activist publisher Jimmy Lai to throw out a sedition charge against him, delivering the ruling on the third day of his landmark national security trial.

Lai, 76, was arrested during the city’s crackdown on dissidents following huge pro-democracy protests in 2019.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the country will maintain military pressure on the Philippines amid a dispute over sovereignty in the South China Sea that could involve U.S. forces defending their treaty partner.

HONG KONG (AP) — China released draft guidelines Friday aimed at curbing excessive spending on online gaming in the latest move by the ruling Communist Party to keep control of the virtual economy.

The proposal caused shares in the biggest Chinese gaming companies, Tencent and NetEase, to plunge in Hong Kong.

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (APP): As 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a report titled Perceptions on CPEC in Pakistan, was revealed in the 8th CPEC Media Forum, hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and organized by China Economic Net and Pakistan-China Institute.

Data from the report indicate that there is widespread agreement among Pakistanis that CPEC will help revive economic activity in Pakistan.

TOKYO, Dec 21 (NNN-NHK) – Japan’s Toshiba Corporation, yesterday, was delisted from the Japanese stock exchanges, ending its 74-year-long history as a publicly traded company.

The electronics giant saw its common shares delisted from the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Premier Market of the Nagoya Stock Exchange, on the trading day.

On their last trading day on Tuesday, shares of Toshiba closed at 4,590 yen (about 31.98 U.S. dollars), down 0.1 percent from the previous day.

SEOUL, Dec 21 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Pyongyang would not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if an enemy provokes it with nuclear weapons, state media reported on Thursday.

Kim made the remark as he met with soldiers working for the military's missile bureau and congratulated them over Pyongyang's recent launching drill of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), KCNA news agency said.