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The European Union executive recommended on Sunday suspending some 7.5 billion euros in funding for Hungary over corruption, the first such case in the 27-nation bloc under a new sanction meant to better protect the rule of law.

The EU introduced the new financial sanction two years ago precisely in response to what it says amounts to the undermining of democracy in Poland and Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban subdued courts, media, NGOs and academia, as well as restricting the rights of migrants, gays and women during more than a decade in power.

"It's about breaches of the rule of law compromising the use and management of EU funds," said EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn. "We cannot conclude that the EU budget is sufficiently protected."

He highlighted systemic irregularities in Hungary's public procurement laws, insufficient safeguards against conflicts of interest, weaknesses in effective prosecution and shortcomings in other anti-graft measures.

Hahn said the Commission was recommending the suspension of about a third of cohesion funds envisaged for Hungary from the bloc's shared budget for 2021-27 worth a total of 1.1 trillion euros.

The 7.5 billion euros in question amounts to 5% of the country's estimated 2022 GDP. EU countries now have up to three months to decide on the proposal.

Hahn said Hungary's latest promise to address EU criticisms was a significant step in the right direction but must still be translated into new laws and practical actions before the bloc would be reassured.

Development Minister Tibor Navracsics, in charge of negotiations with the EU, said Hungary would meet all 17 of its commitments made to the European Commission to stave off the loss of any EU funding.

"Hungary did not make commitments to befuddle the Commission," Navracsics told a news conference. "We have made commitments that we know can be implemented ... therefore, we will not be facing a loss of funds."

CORRUPTION

Orban's government proposed creating a new anti-graft agency in recent weeks as Budapest came under pressure to secure money for the ailing economy and forint, the worst-performing currency in the EU's east.

Orban, who calls himself a "freedom fighter" against the world view of the liberal West, denies that Hungary - an ex-communist country of some 10 million people - is any more corrupt than others in the EU.

Navracsics said Orban's government would submit laws to parliament on Friday to establish a new independent anti-graft authority to monitor the public procurement of EU funds, with the body to be launched by the second half of November.

Hungary has also pledged to implement several other anti-corruption safeguards, including tighter rules on conflicts of interest, extending the scope of financial statements and broadening the power of judges to pursue suspected corruption.

Navracsics expressed hope that the Commission would be reassured by the implementation of the reforms and withdraw its proposed sanctions against Hungary by Nov. 19.

The Commission is already blocking some 6 billion euros in funds envisaged for Hungary in a separate COVID economic recovery stimulus over the same corruption concerns.

Reuters documented in 2018 how Orban channels EU development funds to his friends and family, a practice human rights organisations say has immensely enriched his inner circle and allowed the 59-year-old to entrench himself in power.

Hungary had irregularities in nearly 4% of EU funds spending in 2015-2019, according to the bloc's anti-fraud body OLAF, by far the worst result among the 27 EU countries.

Orban has also rubbed many in the bloc up the wrong way by cultivating continued close ties with President Vladimir Putin and threatening to deny EU unity needed to impose and preserve sanctions on Russia for waging war against Ukraine. (Reuters)

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan reported no major combat incidents on Saturday, indicating that a ceasefire they agreed after intense fighting on Friday remained in effect despite accusations of sporadic shelling by both sides.

The two former Soviet republics clashed over a border dispute this week, accusing each other of using tanks, mortars, rocket artillery and assault drones to attack outposts and nearby settlements, leaving at least 54 dead.

Central Asian border issues largely stem from the Soviet era when Moscow tried to divide the region between groups whose settlements were often located amidst those of other ethnicities.

Kyrgyzstan, which said 24 of its citizens had been killed and about 137,000 evacuated from the conflict area, accused Tajik forces of shelling its border outposts on several occasions on Saturday.

Tajikistan has not given any official casualty numbers, but security sources said 30 people have been killed this week, including 15 who were in a mosque that Tajikistan says was struck by a Kyrgyz drone.

The administration of Tajikistan's northern Sughd province - where the clashes erupted - said tensions were easing in the border area.

"As a result of meetings between Tajik and Kyrgyz delegations the situation on the border is stabilising, people are returning to normal life," it said in a statement.

Both countries host Russian military bases and are members of several Russia-led military and economic blocs.

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon and his Kyrgyz counterpart Sadyr Japarov were attending a meeting of a Russia- and China-led regional body this week when the border violence erupted.

On Saturday, Japarov said in an address to the nation that Kyrgyzstan would not give up any land in the disputed area.

"We will not stop even for a minute our efforts to settle the Kyrgyz-Tajik dispute as quickly as possible," he said. (Reuters)

 A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the sparsely populated southeastern part of Taiwan on Sunday, the island's weather bureau said, derailing train carriages, causing a convenience store to collapse and trapping hundreds on mountain roads.

The weather bureau said the epicentre was in Taitung county, and followed a 6.4 magnitude temblor on Saturday evening in the same area, which caused no casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Sunday's quake at a magnitude 7.2 and at a depth of 10 km (six miles).

Taiwan's fire department said all four people were rescued from a building housing a convenience store that collapsed in Yuli, while three people whose vehicle fell off a damaged bridge were rescued and taken to hospital.

The Taiwan Railways Administration said six carriages came off the rails at Dongli station in eastern Taiwan after part of the platform canopy collapsed, but the fire department said there were no injuries.

More than 600 people are trapped on the scenic Chike and Liushishi mountain areas by blocked roads, though there were no injuries and rescuers were working to reopen the roads, the department said.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Taiwan after the tremor but later lifted the alert. Japan's weather agency lifted a tsunami warning for part of Okinawa prefecture.

The quake could be felt across Taiwan, the weather bureau said. Buildings shook briefly in the capital Taipei, and aftershocks have continued to jolt the island.

Science parks in the southern cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung, home to major semiconductor factories, said there was no impact on operations.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) (2330.TW), , the world's largest contract chipmaker, said there was "no known significant impact for now".

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes.

More than 100 people were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016, while a 7.3 magnitude quake killed more than 2,000 people in 1999. (Reuters)

Pakistan's central bank on Sunday said the Saudi Fund for Development has confirmed it will extend for one-year a $3 billion deposit currently placed in the bank's accounts since 2021.

The deposit was to mature on Dec. 5, but that has now been extended to next year, the State Bank of Pakistan said on Twitter. (Reuters)