Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Friday her government will accept the recommendations made by the police watchdog in its review of the force’s handling of often violent pro-democracy protests since June last year.

Hours earlier, the Independent Police Complaints Council issued a 999-page report calling for a review of guidelines on the use of tear gas and training for officers in public order policing, among other recommendations.

MANILA, May 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Over 140,000 people were forced into cramped shelters as a powerful typhoon hammered the Philippines on Friday, compounding the nation’s battle with the coronavirus pandemic.

Typhoon Vongfong has dumped heavy rains since it roared ashore on Thursday, with hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in its path on the coast or in flimsy homes.

The storm hit as tens of millions of Filipinos are hunkered down at home against the coronavirus, but at least 141,700 have had to flee because of the powerful storm, disaster officials said.

SINGAPORE, May 15 (NNN-CNA) — A new COVID-19 test that can rapidly assess if a person has been previously infected with the coronavirus is now available to hospitals in Singapore.

Launched on Friday, the cPass serology test detects antibodies – formed by the body to fight off infections – in the blood or serum of patients.

BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Beijing 2022 is working to achieve environmental, regional and human development goals during the preparation and running of the Games, according to a sustainability plan released by the organizers on Friday.

The plan, aiming to "create a new example for staging events and regional sustainability," features three key themes: "positive environmental impact, new development for the region and better life for the people."

HONG KONG (AP) — Tear gas is among the new flavors at a Hong Kong ice cream shop.

The main ingredient is black peppercorns, a reminder of the pungent, peppery rounds fired by police on the streets of the semi-autonomous Chinese city during months of demonstrations last year.

14 May 2020; MEMO: A piece of a Chinese rocket launched as an experiment to send humans to the moon in the future has crash-landed in the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Mauritania.

The Long March 5B (CZ-5B) rocket was launched into space on 5 May before its core stage, which serves as the backbone and weighs almost 18 tonnes, made an uncontrolled descent back to Earth on Monday and crashed into the waters of Mauritania’s west coast.

BEIJING, May 14 (APP): China has condemned a series of terrorist attacks against civilians that left dozens dead, including two children, and many injured in Afghanistan.

“We noted the relevant report. We condemned the terrorist attacks against civilians,” Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson, Zhao Lijian said during his regular briefing held here.

Two newborn babies and 12 mothers and nurses were killed in a militant attack on a hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday morning.

PYONGYANG, May 14. /TASS/: North Korea has received 25,000 tonnes of high-quality wheat from Russia in humanitarian aid, the Russian embassy in Pyongyang said in a statement on Facebook on Thursday.

"On May 14, Ambassador Alexander Matsegora and Russian embassy diplomats visited the port of Nampo, where the Polina cargo ship flying the flag of Sierra Leone had arrived. It delivered 25,000 tonnes of high-quality grain from Novorossiysk," the statement reads.

GEORGE TOWN, May 14 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Penang expects to welcome tourists by third or fourth quarter of this year following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

Penang Tourism, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said despite Penang being a green zone state, the state is still working to rebuild the tourism industry.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is expected to lift a state of emergency across a large part of the country on Thursday but the capital Tokyo will likely remain under restrictions until there is a convincing containment of the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled to hold a news conference at 6 p.m. (0900 GMT) when he is expected to announce the lifting of the emergency in 39 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, but not in Tokyo.