Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SEOUL, Apr 11 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea reported 90,928 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight, compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 15,424,598, the health authorities said today.

The daily caseload was down from 164,481 the previous day, falling below 100,000 in 48 days, due to fewer virus tests over the weekend, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), April 11 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Consul-General of Malaysia in Dubai have been recalled by the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) for failing to coordinate administrative and logistical matters during Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s visit to the UAE late last month.

According to a statement from Wisma Putra on Monday, the failure had forced the Prime Minister to wait long at the arrival hall for passport and Immigration clearance by the Dubai Immigration.

TOKYO, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Japan (BOJ) lowered its assessment for the majority of regional economies in the country on Monday, with its governor warning of uncertainty over the situation in Ukraine amid surging commodity prices, as well as COVID-19-related weakness.

BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told a meeting of the bank's branch managers that higher inflation could be caused by rising costs for energy supplies and raw materials, and the core consumer price index excluding volatile fresh food items is likely to "clearly" rise.

WENCHANG, Hainan, April 11 (Xinhua) -- China's Long March-7 Y5 rocket, which will launch the new cargo craft for the country's space station, arrived at the launch site in the southern island province of Hainan on Monday.

The rocket, alongside the Tianzhou-4 cargo craft that has already been transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, will be assembled and tested at the launch site, announced the China Manned Space Agency.

BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday said it will maintain its policy of friendly ties with Pakistan no matter how the political situation in Pakistan changes.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing when answering a query concerning the National Assembly of Pakistan passing a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan on April 10.

HONG KONG (AP) — Lawyers for Hong Kong media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai are asking the United Nations to investigate his imprisonment and multiple criminal charges as “legal harassment” that punish him for speaking out.

The publisher of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper was one of the most prominent activists arrested in Hong Kong’s crackdown on virtually all political criticism since mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets and Wall Street futures sank Monday after the Federal Reserve indicated it might raise interest rates more aggressively to cool U.S. inflation and President Emmanuel Macron emerged from the first round of France’s election facing a challenge from the far right.

London and Frankfurt opened lower. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong retreated. Oil fell more than $2 per barrel on concern global economic growth might weaken.

BEIJING (AP) — The manufacturing hub of Guangzhou closed itself to most arrivals Monday as China battles a major COVID-19 surge in its big eastern cities.

Shanghai has taken the brunt of the surge, with another 26,087 cases announced on Monday, only 914 of which showed symptoms. The city of 26 million is under a tight lockdown, with many residents confined to their homes for up to three weeks.

TOKYO, April 10. /TASS/: Takeda Pharmaceutical has suspended new clinical trials of drugs in Russia due to the situation around Ukraine, Nikkei newspaper reports on Sunday.

The company will also halt new investments in Russia. Supplies of drugs and clinical trials will continue. Sanctions against Russia linked to its special military operation in Ukraine do not apply to the pharmaceutical business but introduced restrictions made logistics and transactions more challenging.

ULAN BATOR, Apr 10 (NNN-XINHUA) – Strong winds and yellow dust storms, are hitting large parts of Mongolia, the country’s National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring said, yesterday.

The storms swept through the southern provinces of Umnugovi and Dundgovi, the western provinces of Govi-Altai and Bayankhongor, and central areas, such as, the capital city, Ulan Bator and provinces of Uvurkhangai and Tuv, as well as, the eastern provinces of Khentii and Sukhbaatar, the agency said in a statement.