Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

JAKARTA, April 5 (NNN-Bernama) — The proposal for Malay to be made an official language of ASEAN requires further study and discussion, said Indonesia’s Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, Nadiem Anwar Makarim.

He said his ministry is responsible for expanding, building and protecting Indonesian language and literature, as well as enhancing the function of Indonesian language as an international language.

IPOH (Malaysia), April 5 (NNN-Bernama) — The government is in talks with big countries to recognise its COVID-19 vaccination and test certificates, as done by the European Union (EU), to facilitate the movement of Malaysian travellers abroad.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the decision of the European Commission on the recognition effective Monday would allow travellers from Malaysia to venture abroad without too much hassle.

BEIJING (AP) — The COVID-19 outbreak in China’s largest metropolis of Shanghai remains “extremely grim” amid an ongoing lockdown confining around 26 million people to their homes, a city official said Tuesday.

Director of Shanghai’s working group on epidemic control, Gu Honghui, was quoted by state media as saying that the outbreak in the city was “still running at a high level.”

“The situation is extremely grim,” Gu said.

Bandung, Apr 5 (AP) An Indonesian high court granted an appeal from prosecutors and sentenced an Islamic boarding school principal to death for raping at least 13 students over five years and impregnating some of them.

Herry Wirawan had been convicted by a three-judge panel at Bandung District Court in February and sentenced to life in prison.

BEIJING, Apr 4 (APP): Pakistan is the only all-weather strategic cooperative partner of China with the time-honored history and solid foundation of friendship, and just celebrated the 70th anniversary of the establishment of formal diplomatic ties.

The two countries are confident enough to maintain and shape the steady development of bilateral ties that have been friendly for generations, regardless of the international and domestic political changes.

KUALA LUMPUR, 4 April (NNN-Bernama) — Asian refining margins will remain buoyant in 2022 as easing movement restrictions boosts demand for transportation fuels, while uptake for Asian fuels from Europe has increased due to international sanctions on Russia, according to Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) Monday.

It noted that at the same time, supply has fallen due to significant refinery closures last year, coupled with decreased fuel exports from China.

BANGKOK (AP) — Global shares were mixed Monday, with European stocks mostly lower after a day of gains in Asia.

Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Hong Kong rose. London was little changed. Shanghai was closed for a holiday.

Oil prices advanced while U.S. futures slipped.

BEIJING (AP) — China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from around the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 from the military, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading outbreak in its largest city under its zero-COVID strategy.

Shanghai was conducting a mass testing of its 25 million residents Monday as what was announced as a two-phase lockdown entered its second week. Most of eastern Shanghai, which was supposed to re-open last Friday, remained locked down along with the western half of the city.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Monday she wouldn’t seek a second term after a rocky five years marked by huge protests calling for her resignation, a security crackdown that has quashed dissent and most recently a COVID-19 wave that overwhelmed the health system.

Her successor will be picked in May and the city’s security chief during the 2019 protests is among the possible choices.

HONG KONG, April 3 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 hit 51 km ENE of La Paz, the Philippines at 10:24:56 GMT on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 28.72 km, was initially determined to be at 9.2256 degrees north latitude and 126.6692 degrees east longitude.