Saudi king seeks help on diversifying economy

TOKYO - King Salman and hundreds of business leaders from Saudi Arabia are in Japan for talks on Monday mainly focused on economic relations.

Park criticized over defiance, may face probe

SEOUL - Ousted South Korean leader Park Geun-hye faced criticism on Monday over a defiant vow that the truth of her impeachment would be revealed, with the main opposition party urging prosecutors to investigate her quickly.

Turkish-Dutch crisis deepens after bitter accusations traded

ISTANBUL - A diplomatic crisis between Turkey and the Netherlands deepened on Monday as both sides traded bitter accusations after Turkish ministers were blocked from holding rallies to win support for plans to expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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Turkey vows 'harshest' retaliation to Dutch ban

ANKARA/THE HAGUE - Turkey told the Netherlands on Sunday that it would retaliate in the "harshest ways" after Turkish ministers were barred from speaking in Rotterdam in a row over Ankara's political campaigning among Turkish emigres.

ROK liberals could bring softer stance on DPRK relations

SEOUL - The liberal politician expected to succeed disgraced Park Geun-hye as the Republic of Korea's next president could significantly soften Seoul's stance towards the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and possibly delay deployment of a US missile-defence system.

Assad says yet to see real steps on IS by US

BEIRUT - Syrian President Bashar Assad said he had yet to see "anything concrete" from US President Donald Trump over his vow to defeat the Islamic State group and called US forces in Syria "invaders" because they were there without government permission.

Intruder scales White House fence

WASHINGTON - An intruder carrying a backpack was arrested after scaling a fence around the White House and entering the grounds, the US Secret Service said on Saturday, in the latest breach of security at the president's official residence.

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E-licenses herald big biz reforms

In potentially far-reaching business reforms, China will digitalize the registration and licensing of new firms so they could start their businesses quickly; also, the deregistration process will be made quicker, simpler and cost-effective, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce said on Friday.

China urges caution in US dumping case

China on Friday urged the United States to act prudently in the antidumping case filed by a US industry body against Chinese aluminium foil product exporters, the first such case this year.

PPP infra to receive private money

The first public-private partnership securitization programs for infrastructure projects will go into operation soon, Zhang Xiaojun, spokesman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said on Friday.