Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) has been extended until June 9, which means interstate travel for Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration is not allowed, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today.

The prime minister said the four-week extension was made on the advice of the Health Ministry (MOH) and the National Security Council (NSC) to curb the spread of COVID-19.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Sunday the government is looking to lift the state of emergency in “many of 34 prefectures” that are not among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic before the nationwide deadline of May 31.

“Lifting the state of emergency in many of 34 prefectures that exclude those under specific cautions will likely come in sight as many prefectures have been seeing no fresh infections lately,” Nishimura said in a debate on public broadcaster NHK.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s National Health Commission reported 14 new confirmed coronavirus cases on May 9, the highest number since April 28, including the first for more than a month in the city of Wuhan where the outbreak was first detected late last year.

While China had officially designated all areas of the country as low-risk last Thursday, the new cases according to data published on Sunday represent a jump from the single case reported for the day before. The number was lifted by a cluster of 11 in Shulan city in northeastern Jilin province.

BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been discussing how it might help international sport federations overcome financial losses linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization revealed on its website.

"We are conscious of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the International Federations (IFs) and have already started discussions with them on a case-by-case basis as the needs of each IF are different," the IOC said in a Q&A release.

BEIJING, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority said Sunday that it received report of 14 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Saturday, of which two were imported cases reported in Shanghai.

Twelve cases were domestically transmitted, with 11 reported in Jilin Province and the other one in Hubei Province, the National Health Commission said in a daily report.

One new suspected case imported from abroad was reported in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

No deaths were reported Saturday on the mainland, according to the commission.

Beijing, May 9 (PTI) China has reported 15 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases, taking their total to 836 while one new imported COVID-19 infection was confirmed, health officials said on Saturday.

According to China's National Health Commission (NHC), as for Friday 836 asymptomatic cases, including 63 from overseas, were still under medical observation.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will reform its disease prevention and control system to address weaknesses exposed by the coronavirus outbreak, a senior health official said on Saturday.

China has been criticised domestically and abroad as being initially slow to react to the epidemic, which first broke out on a large scale in Wuhan. The virus has since spread across the world, infecting almost 4 million people and killing almost a quarter-million from the COVID-19 disease it causes.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Saturday it would extend anti-dumping duties on certain alloy steel seamless tubes and pipes from the United States and European Union for five years starting May 10.

The decision is part of a final review of anti-dumping duties for the products that had been in place from 2014 to May 2019. Last June, it hiked the tariffs by as much as ten times while the review was underway and those levels of duties now remain in place.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is willing to offer support to North Korea within its ability against the coronavirus epidemic, state television said on Saturday, quoting President Xi Jinping as saying in a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Xi said he was very concerned about the situation in North Korea and the health of its people, and said he was pleased that its efforts to control the respiratory illness had achieved positive results, state television said.

BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) -- China's support for the United Nations (UN) is concrete as it has fully paid its membership and peacekeeping assessments this year, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said Friday.