Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

PUTRAJAYA, May 28 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Foreigners whose visa or social passes expired during the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) will not face any legal action, said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said they had two options, namely, the first one, for those who wanted to return to their countries of origin, they could do so by showing their flight tickets at the airport.

BANGKOK, May 29 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) estimates that about 8.4 million workers in the kingdom may lose their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a report on Thailand’s social situation and outlook for the first quarter of 2020 (Q1 2020), the state planning agency said 2.5 million workers in tourism sector, 1.5 million industrial workers and 4.4 million in the services sector (other than tourism) face the risk of losing their jobs.

YANGON, May 29 (NNN-Xinhua) — A police outpost in Myanmar’s Rakhine state was attacked by Arakan Army (AA) rebel, leaving 10 police personnel and three family members missing early Friday, an official from the Military True News Information Team said.

“All of the missing ones can’t be seized by the group. Some may be killed in the attack and some may be taken away by them,” said Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, secretary of the team, adding that more reinforcement troops have been sent to the scene.

SEOUL, May 29 (NNN-YONHAP) — South Korea’s government will carry out across-the-board inspections of logistics centers and toughen guidelines on limiting the number of students taking in-person classes at schools in the Seoul metropolitan area, officials said Friday, amid growing alarm over the new coronavirus in the greater Seoul area.

In a precautionary move to stem community transmission, the education ministry said it plans to limit the number of students at schools in the capital area.

BEIJING, May 27 (APP): China’s position on border related issues with India was clear and consistent and it was committed to safeguarding national territorial sovereignty and security as well as safeguarding peace and stability in the China-India border areas, a Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson said on Wednesday.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will strive for positive economic growth to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic this year, despite not setting a growth target, Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday, promising more support if the economy faced further disruption.

“We have reserved policy room. Be it fiscal, finance, or social security,” Li said during his once-a-year news conference following the close of the annual meeting of parliament.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysia successfully chaired the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Virtual Extraordinary Senior Officials’ Meeting (VESOM) on COVID-19, in a four-hour meeting which began 7 pm Malaysian time Wednesday.

The VESOM brought together 21 APEC Economies from eight different time zones, into a single virtual platform.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is “seriously concerned” about the move by China’s parliament to go forward with national security legislation for Hong Kong that observers fear could endanger its special autonomy and freedoms, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

In a rare statement issued minutes after the security bill was approved, Japan also called Hong Kong an “extremely important partner”, underscoring close economic ties and people-to-people exchanges.

“Japan is seriously concerned about the (Chinese parliament’s) decision...,” the ministry statement said.

BEIJING, May 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — China’s parliament on Thursday approved Hong Kong’s national security Bill that has caused uproar in the city about concerns over freedoms in the financial hub.

The National People’s Congress of more than 2,800 delegates voted in favour of the proposal to draft the law, which would punish secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and acts that endanger national security.

BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lawmakers Thursday voted to adopt the country's long-expected Civil Code at the third session of the 13th National People's Congress, the top legislature.

The Civil Code will take effect on Jan. 1, 2021.

In addition to general provisions and supplementary provisions, the Civil Code, the world's latest modern-day civil law, has six parts on real rights, contracts, personality rights, marriage and family, succession, and tort liabilities.