Briefly

ASIA PACIFIC

Region tops global GDP contributions

The Asia and Pacific region has become the biggest contributor to global GDP, reaching a 34.9 percent share in 2019 from 26.3 percent in 2000, according to an Asian Development Bank report released on Thursday."The Asia and Pacific region has made tremendous development progress over the last two decades, becoming the biggest contributor to global GDP while lifting millions of people out of poverty," ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada said in a statement. The report says the region's economies received more than one-third of total global direct investment in 2019, while the region's global export share increased to 36.5 percent in 2019 from 28.4 percent in 2000.

JAPAN

Opposition unites as poll rumors swirl

Japan's two major opposition parties merged on Thursday and elected a new leader as they try to strengthen their standing ahead of a possible snap national election. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party will pick a successor to outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next week, and several top political figures have suggested the next leader may call a quick election. The opposition parties and several independent lawmakers formally cemented an alliance in response, becoming the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and elected vocal Abe critic Yukio Edano as their new leader. The new bloc commands 149 seats in the national Diet, compared with the dominant LDP's 394 lawmakers.

INDIA

French-made fighter jets enter service

The Indian air force inducted into service five French-made Rafale fighter jets on Thursday. In a ceremony at a northern airbase, India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the induction of fighter aircraft was very significant given the security situation at India's borders. Indian troops regularly clash with Pakistani soldiers along their de facto frontier in Kashmir, which is also claimed by Pakistan and divided between them. The fighter jets are part of a $8.78 billion deal signed with France in 2016 as India seeks to modernize its military. All the 36 planes are scheduled to be delivered by 2022 after being made in France.

IRAN

Teheran holds drill near strategic strait

Iran's military launched an annual drill in the Persian Gulf region near the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway, Iranian state TV reported on Thursday, at a time of high tension between Teheran and Washington. The three-day exercise in the eastern side of the strait in the Gulf of Oman is aimed at improving Teheran's military might to confront "foreign threats and any possible invasion", said the commander of the maneuver, Admiral Habibollah Sardari. Naval, air and ground forces, including submarines and drones, were participating in the drill, the report said. The spokesman for the drill, Admiral Shahram Irani, said the United States had withdrawn drones from the area of the exercise after a warning from Iran.

GREECE

New blaze adds to migrant camp woes

Fire struck again on Wednesday night in the overcrowded refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, a day after a blaze swept through it and left thousands in need of emergency shelter. The fires caused no injuries, but they renewed criticism of Europe's migration policy. Wednesday night's fires broke out inside the parts of the Moria camp that had not burned in the first blaze, sending people streaming from the camp with their belongings, according to an Associated Press photographer in the area.

Xinhua - Agencies