中泰"The DPRK knows well that China opposes its development of nuclear weapons and nuclear tests, Lu said

月起永"We deem the Belt and Road Initiative as positive," Lee said Saturday in an interview with Xinhuanet, Xinhua's official website, noting that China's continuous economic growth has made China an increasingly larger and more important part in the international system久互免SINGAPORE -- Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that the Belt and Road Initiative of China is positive to the world since it can help further integrate China into regional and international economic systems while boosting growth in other countries

本國" In his opinion, the Initiative can help China make more and better contributions to global economic and trade cooperation as well as the international relations民簽證One option is to hold a snap election on Oct 22, when three by-elections are scheduled, the sources said中泰TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering calling a snap election for as early as next month to take advantage of his improved approval ratings and disarray in the main opposition party, government and ruling party sources said on Sunday月起永Other possibilities are later in October or after an expected visit by US President Donald Trump in early November久互免"Until now, it appeared the election would be next autumn, but

本國Abe's ratings have recovered to 50 percent in some polls民簽證we must always be ready for battle," domestic media quoted Komeito party chief Natsuo Yamaguchi as telling reporters on Saturday during a visit to Russia中泰The prime minister cited the need to seek a fresh mandate to overcome "a national crisis" caused by "the biggest challenge facing Japan, which is the population aging and low birthrate," as well as security challenges

月起永Abe has been under fire for his connection with nationalist private school operator Moritomo Gakuen, which purchased a piece of state-owned land in Osaka for only a fraction of the market price久互免He said that he would seek mandate from the people for shifting the usage of part of the revenue generated by a consumption tax hike that has been delayed until 2019 from paying debt to welfare policies本國He added that the reason Abe cited for dissolving the lower house is not convincing, and that the prime minister is just trying to avoid further grilling on favoritism scandals民簽證He also said that he would seek public support for a tougher stance over the Korea Peninsula issue

He has also been accused of using his influence to make the government choose Kake Educational Institution, run by a close friend of Abe's, to open a new department in a government- designated special economic zoneAbe's decision to call for a snap election, however, has drawn staunch criticism from opposition parties, which argued that there is no reason to dissolve the lower house of parliament before its current term expires in December 2018

The college, with a transitional campus at Hainan University, will relocate to its permanent campus, which is under construction in Mission Hill in Haikou"Even the teaching building of HAITC is the same as in Arizona State University in order to enhance students sense of belonging," he saidAbout one-third of the college's teachers are from Arizona State University and one-third from global recruitment, with others from Hainan University, according to WangLi Jianbao, president of Hainan University，said that HAITC is the first domestic Sino-foreign cooperative tourist institution formally approved by the Ministry of Education in May 2017

"Through this partnership, we leverage our two institutions' expertise, resources and passion for community development and public service," Jonathan GS Koppell, dean of ASU College of Public Service and Community Solutions, saidHAITC is an international and innovative joint college established by Hainan University and American top-ranking public research institution, Arizona State University, the first of its kind in ChinaA total of 268 students majoring in hotel management, human geography and urban/rural planning and administrative management attended the opening ceremonyHainan University and Arizona State University Joint International Tourism College, which is affiliated with Hainan University, opened its first-ever session in Haikou, capital of China's southern Hainan province, on Monday

The college is aiming to cultivate management personnel with a global vision and international competitiveness of tourism"This new college is an incredibly exciting and innovative initiative," Koppell said when addressing the opening ceremony on Monday

The students also will have access to the quality teaching, research resources and electronic library resources with ASU, she addedThat means that the students can enjoy American top university teaching resources without going abroad, said Wang Lin, head of the new college

With the professional courses taught in English, students will get double degrees, one from Hainan University and another from Arizona State University, if they successfully graduate from the collegeTuition is about 60,000 yuan for each semester, which is much less than that in ASU's US headquarters, while excellent students have the same access to various scholarships4 magnitude earthquake recorded on Saturday near the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's most recent nuclear test site was "natural"The test prompted global condemnation, leading the United Nations Security Council to unanimously adopt new sanctions that include restricting the DPRK's oil shipmentsThe report said the analysis of seismic waves and the lack of sound waves clearly showed the quake was not caused by an artificial explosion, citing an unnamed weather agency official from the ROKThe center previously issued a notice saying it suspected another test because the epicenter was located on the surface

4 magnitude quake would be much smaller than the quakes caused by previous DPRK nuclear tests, the report saidAfter the incident, the center quickly organized seismological bureaus and geological institutions to evaluate the situation, it said

Seismologists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of California Santa Cruz also published a joint report on Saturday that said tests had shown the quake "clearly falls in the natural phenomena category" and was similar to the last natural earthquake in the region, which was recorded in December 20043 magnitude quake, while the strongest, this month, resulted in a 6

"The incident was not a nuclear explosion, but had the characteristics of a natural quake," the China Earthquake Networks Center said late Saturday in a statement released online"What the concerned parties should do now is to strictly and comprehensively implement UN Security Council resolutions and make positive efforts to resolve the issue through dialogue," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a news briefing on Friday

The official Korean Central News Agency claimed it was a hydrogen bombDPRK conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date on Sept 3Saturday's earthquake is likely to be a "delayed collapse earthquake", the joint report said, without elaborating on the cause of the quakeThe earthquake took place around 4:30 pm near the area of Kilju in the northeastern DPRK, just around 6 kilometers from the Punggye-ri facility where the country held its latest test

The Republic of Korea's weather agency also assessed the quake as natural, The Associated Press reported on SundayKim was the first among the surviving "comfort women", a euphemism for the hundreds of thousands of girls and women in 13 Asia-Pacific countries or regions who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army from 1930 to 1954, to go public in front of television cameras about her story in August 1991

"Julie Tang and Lillian Sing, both judges of the Superior Court of San Francisco County who retired two years ago and co-chair the CWJC, vowed to erect more memorials around the United StatesHowever, those who deny history in Japan denigrate them as "paid prostitutes" or "willing volunteers

She had spoken before in front of local and national legislative bodies as well as national and international human rights committees, and to reporters, about presumably the largest-scale crime specifically targeting women in human historyThe memorial is a gift from the "Comfort Women" Justice Coalition, or CWJC, a local grassroots advocacy group consisting of more than 30 multi-ethnic community organizations

"It is my soul, it is your soul, and it should be the soul of everybody," she saidIt was not the first time for Lee, aged 89, to make such a statementIt was not the first time for Lee, now an activist, to travel around the world to tell people what it means for her to seek justice, especially for those who did not survive to hear a formal apology from the Japanese governmentMary Square in San Francisco, the United States, on Sept 22, 2017

The face of the sculpture depicted Kim Haksoon, a Korean woman forcefully taken at the age of 17 by Japanese soldiers and confined to a "comfort station"Historians believe that as many as 200,000 women, mostly from the Korean Peninsula as well as from China and Southeast Asian nations, were forced into sex enslavement for Japanese soldiers during the devastating war

Lee followed in June 1992, telling about her sufferings which started at the age of 16Mary's Square Annex in the city on the US West Coast, Lee witnessed the unveiling of a memorial called the "Comfort Women" Column of Strength on Friday

Mike Honda, a former member of the US House of Representatives, who as the chief sponsor of a July 2007 House resolution urged Japan to acknowledge and accept responsibility for the sexual exploitation of "comfort women," joined elected officials at the event to greet Lee and denounce those who deny historyAt the unveiling ceremony, Eric Mar, a former board member who initiated the process, choked back tears when he said that he has a 17-year-old daughter and that Lee's courage to stand up against sexual violence and historical crimes is an inspiration for people fighting for justice