BEIJING – China and the United States should address trade frictions by respecting each other’s core interests and major concerns and resolving disputes through equal-footed dialogue, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said. The US should work in the same direction as China to jointly maintain the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations, Wang said during a meeting with a delegation of US business representatives in Beijing on Monday. Wang emphasized that China’s economic growth provides stability and certainty in an increasingly turbulent global landscape. China will focus on promoting high-quality development, steadfastly advance high-level opening-up,…
Author: Asia News Network
KATHMANDU – A case has been filed against 32 individuals in connection with a fake rescue scam, while charges against Rajendra Bahadur Singh, former vice-president of the Airlines Operators Association, have been dropped. The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police had recommended prosecuting 33 individuals, submitting a 1,243-page report to the government attorney’s office. However, the case filed at the Kathmandu District Court does not include Rajendra Bahadur Singh. Investigating officers have expressed dissatisfaction after the government attorney’s office decided not to proceed against him. The charge sheet states that there is no evidence so far to establish Singh’s involvement…
MANILA – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared a state of national energy emergency to address issues caused by the conflict in the Middle East. This announcement, made through Executive Order (EO) 110 and shared with reporters on Tuesday evening, came 24 hours after Palace Press Officer Claire Castro insisted that the country is not yet experiencing an oil crisis but is instead facing a “price disruption.” “A state of national energy emergency is hereby declared in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the resulting imminent danger posed upon the availability and stability of the country’s…
BEIJING – The ongoing war in Iran “should never have happened”, Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy on the Middle East issue, said on Monday, urging relevant parties to immediately halt military operations in the region while calling on the international community to uphold its commitment to peace through diplomatic means. Speaking at a news briefing in Beijing after recently completing a round of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, Zhai said the war, which is now in its fourth week with casualties exceeding 21,000, has already surpassed last year’s 12-day conflict in terms of scale, intensity and duration. From early…
KATHMANDU – Nepal’s anti-graft body on Sunday filed a corruption case at the Special Court against 21 individuals, including two Chinese officials, alleging the misappropriation of Rs461.5 million during the construction of Pokhara International Airport. This marks the third corruption case linked to the Chinese-funded airport project in Pokhara. According to the charge sheet filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), a provisional sum of $2.8 million allocated under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for consultancy services was supposed to be used strictly for that purpose, with any unspent amount deducted from the…
MOSCOW – Việt Nam and Russia have agreed to deepen cooperation in energy and oil and gas, reinforcing a longstanding pillar of their partnership and setting the stage for new joint projects in the years ahead. The agreement was reached on Monday during talks between Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Mishustin, following an official welcome ceremony in Moscow for the Vietnamese leader and his high-level delegation, who were on a visit at the invitation of the Russian Government. The visit is seen as an effort to consolidate the long-standing friendship between the two countries and…
SHANGHAI – On the occasion of World Sleep Day, a sleep-in-forest competition kicked off on Saturday at Dongping National Forest Park on Shanghai’s Chongming Island, with a first batch of 50 participants immersed in fresh air and greenery for a good sleep and a cash prize. The competition will be regularly held from 9 am to 7:20 pm on Saturdays through April 26, as well as on May 2 and 3. Competitors’ sleep conditions will be objectively recorded by professional sleep monitoring devices, which will comprehensively evaluate each one’s sleep quality and decide the winners. Data metrics include sleep latency,…
NEW DELHI – Amid a global energy crunch triggered by the ongoing Middle East conflict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to review the situation. The meeting was attended by senior cabinet ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal among others. During the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary gave a detailed presentation on the global situation and measures taken so far and being planned by all concerned Ministries and Departments of Government of…
SEOUL – The wait was finally over. “BTS Comeback Live: Arirang,” the group’s first full-group performance in three years, set a new record, making BTS the first K-pop group to host an exclusive live performance at the historic Gwanghwamun Square. Lasting an hour, the performance was livestreamed worldwide on Netflix as the platform’s first-ever broadcast of a single act’s concert. Throughout the day, fans were seen dressed in the fandom’s signature purple and traditional hanbok with Korean traditional accessories in homage to the historic venue. Fans chanted “BTS! BTS!” minutes before the show, as well as the members’ names, before…
NEW DELHI/MANILA – In little over 24 hours after bombs began raining down in West Asia on Feb 28, tragedy struck two homes in different corners of India. “How can a mother and father accept that their child is dead as long as they haven’t seen the body?” said Mr Devendra Singh, cousin of Mr Dalip, who lives in the same village. “The government should find out where he is. If he is alive, he should be brought back; if not, then his body,” he added. This tragic story mirrors a far wider crisis that has unfolded in the Persian…