Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING (AP) — As countries consider how to restart their virus-halted economies, the early experiences in China and parts of Europe show it will be no easy task.

Workers back on the job are wary of spending much or going out. Shoppers are staying away from the few stores reopening. Masks and social distancing measures are not fading. And pervasive is the fear the coronavirus could return if lockdowns meant to stop its spread are eased too much, too quickly.

BEIJING (AP) — China, where the coronavirus pandemic started in December, is cautiously trying to get back to business, but it’s not easy when many millions of workers are wary of spending much or even going out.

Factories and shops nationwide shut down starting in late January. Millions of families were told to stay home under unprecedented controls that have been copied by the United States, Europe and India.

BEIJING, Apr 15 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan appealed to the international community to launch a debt relief initiative for highly indebted developing nations in order to help them prevent negative impact on their people as a subsequent humanitarian consequence of the Covid-19 crisis.

The South Asian leader’s video message was posted on Twitter over the weekend and serves as a rallying call for the world to unite in pursuit of this noble cause that would help everyone if it comes to be, according to China Global Television Network (CGTN) here on Wednesday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s coronavirus emergency economic stimulus should boost the country’s real gross domestic product by 3.8%, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday at the end of a meeting of the government’s top economic advisory council.

The government last week approved an emergency economic stimulus package worth 108.2 trillion yen ($1.01 trillion), with fiscal spending of 39.5 trillion yen, aimed at battling the fallout from the coronavirus.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan urged its citizens on Wednesday to stay home, as media reports warned that as many as 400,000 of them could die of the coronavirus without urgent action, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came under pressure to hand out more cash.

Japan, which tests only people with symptoms of the coronavirus, has so far recorded more than 8,000 infections with nearly 200 deaths.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 (NNN-BERNAMA) — It is imperative for ASEAN to work closely with its Plus Three partners to ensure that Asia Pacific recovers from the economic impact of COVID-19 together, said Muhyiddin Yassin.

In a Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19 conducted via a video conference Tuesday, the Prime Minister said Malaysia has proposed that ASEAN formulates an economic recovery plan post-COVID-19 that focuses not only on the financial aspects but also on social safety nets, food security and education.

BEIJING (AP) — China is facing a new coronavirus flare-up along its remote northern border with Russia, far from the epicenter of Wuhan, where it has all but declared victory in the battle against the pandemic.

The frontier has been sealed and emergency medical units rushed to the area to prevent travelers from bringing the virus back from overseas. The virus originated in China, which is now striving to keep it out while the U.S. and other countries struggle to bring their own epidemics under control.

(AP) --- Asian stocks edged lower Wednesday after the International Monetary Fund said the global economy will suffer its worst year since the Great Depression of the 1930s due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Benchmarks in Tokyo and Hong Kong were flat while Shanghai and Sydney declined despite Wall Street’s overnight gain driven by buying of technology stocks.

(AP) --- In the six days after top Chinese officials secretly determined they likely were facing a pandemic from a new coronavirus, the city of Wuhan at the epicenter of the disease hosted a mass banquet for tens of thousands of people; millions began traveling through for Lunar New Year celebrations.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean voters wore masks and moved slowly between lines of tape at polling stations on Wednesday to elect lawmakers in the shadows of the spreading coronavirus.

The government resisted calls to postpone the parliamentary elections billed as a midterm referendum for President Moon Jae-in, who enters the final years of his term grappling with a historic public health crisis that is unleashing massive economic shock.