Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, April 26. /TASS/. The North Atlantic Alliance bears direct responsibility for the Ukrainian crisis, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news briefing.

"NATO bears indisputable responsibility for this crisis. The alliance should give thought to its role, stop shifting the blame and effectively take practical action for the political settlement of the crisis," he said.

Wang added that China was not providing weapons to the conflicting parties and strictly controlled dual-use goods, including the export of drones.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 (Bernama) — Malaysia has expressed deep concern and disappointment after a veto was exercised to block the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) from admitting Palestine as a full member of the United Nations on April 18.

In a statement issued by Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry on Friday, this came despite a clarion call from an overwhelming majority of UN-member states.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia on Friday expressed its disappointment over a U.S. decision to use its veto to deny Palestine's full membership in the United Nations.

It also called into question the sincerity of the United States to realize the inalienable rights of the Palestinians, including their right to self-determination, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

GUIYANG, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016.

The number of new pulsars discovered by FAST is more than three times the total number of pulsars found by foreign telescopes during the same period, Han Jinlin, a scientist with the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), said on Wednesday.

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, calling on the two sides to carry forward the distinctive characteristics of mutual benefit and win-win outcomes and achieve mutual success.

SINGAPORE, April 16 (Bernama) — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will remain in the new Cabinet as a senior minister, local media reported, quoting Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday.

The Straits Times reported that Wong, who is set to assume the role of Singapore’s Prime Minister from Lee on May 15, will announce details of his new Cabinet in a press conference a few days before the swearing-in ceremony.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Bernama) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised the outlook for Malaysia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) by a notch to 4.4 per cent this year from its earlier prediction of 4.3 per cent.

Malaysia’s economy expanded by 3.7 per cent in 2023.

In its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) entitled “Steady but slow, resilience amid divergence”, IMF predicted the GDP growth to remain at 4.4 per cent in 2025.

It projected Malaysia’s current account balance at 2.4 per cent in 2024 and 2.7 per cent in 2025.

31 March 2024; MEMO: Police in Malaysia have arrested three people suspected of supplying firearms to an Israeli passport holder, who was detained earlier this week at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- China urges the Philippines to immediately stop violating China's sovereignty and its provocations on Ren'ai Jiao, and return to observing the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday.