Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Monday, after Saudi Arabia and Russia delayed a meeting to discuss output cuts that could partly alleviate oversupply in global markets as the coronavirus pandemic pummels demand.

Brent crude LCoc1 slipped close to $30 a barrel in early trade and was at $33.45 by 0532 GMT, down 66 cents, or 1.9%. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 fell 98 cents, or 3.5%, to $27.36 a barrel, after earlier touching a low of $25.28.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government is considering a period of six months for the state of emergency that it is preparing to call in response to the coronavirus pandemic, broadcaster TBS reported on Monday.

The move would cover Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures as well as Osaka, TBS said, citing unidentified sources. Within the six-month period, these prefectures would decide the length of time for their individual measures, TBS said.

The government is preparing to announce a state of emergency as early as Tuesday, the broadcaster said.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore unveiled S$5.1 billion ($3.55 billion) in additional economic spending such as wage support, waiver of levies and one-off payments to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is an unprecedented budget for extraordinary times,” Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat told parliament on Monday, just over a week after the city-state unveiled more than $30 billion in new support measures as it braces for its worst recession. [L4N2BJ020]

($1 = 1.4356 Singapore dollars)

BEIJING (Reuters) - Mainland China reported 39 new coronavirus cases as of Sunday, up from 30 a day earlier, and the number of asymptomatic cases also surged, as Beijing continued to struggle to extinguish the outbreak despite drastic containment efforts.

The National Health Commission said in a statement on Monday that 78 new asymptomatic cases had been identified as of the end of the day on Sunday, compared with 47 the day before.

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares and U.S. futures rebounded on Monday as investors grasped at threads of hope that the battle against the coronavirus pandemic may be making some progress in some hard-hit areas.

Markets in Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney gained more than 2% in early trading and Hong Kong was up nearly 1%. New York futures were about 3% higher.

Beijing, Apr 5 (PTI) China has reported 30 new cases of the novel coronavirus, including five locally transmitted infections, even as nine of the 13 administrative districts of virus-hit Wuhan city were declared low-risk areas' signifying a gradual return to normalcy, officials said on Sunday.

China's National Health Commission (NHC) in its daily report said other than the 30 new confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in the mainland on Saturday, 47 new asymptomatic cases were also reported.

5 April 2020; AFP: A leading Chinese human rights lawyer has been released from prison after almost five years behind bars, his wife said Sunday.

Wang Quanzhang, 44, was first detained in 2015 in a sweeping crackdown on more than 200 lawyers and government critics in China as President Xi Jinping tightened his grip on power.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian authorities said on Sunday they had intercepted a boat ferrying a group of 202 people believed to be ethnic Rohingya.

Malaysia, which does not recognize refugee status, is a favored destination for ethnic Rohingya fleeing a military-led crackdown in Myanmar and squalid conditions at refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The boat was found adrift around one nautical mile from a luxury beachside resort on the holiday island of Langkawi, off the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula, the Malaysian maritime enforcement agency said in a statement.

BEIJING, Apr 3 (APP): While welcoming dialogue between the Afghan government and Taliban on release of prisoners, a Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Friday hoped that all important items in the US-Taliban peace agreement could be steadily implemented.

“China welcomes the meaningful and fruitful dialogues between the Afghan government and the Taliban,” Hua Chunying said while responding to a question about a discussion between technical teams from the Afghan government and Taliban on release of prisoners in Kabul.

BANGKOK, Apr 4 (NNN-TNA) – Thailand’s state pharmaceutical enterprise told the media that, it is expecting 400,000 sets of N95 masks and 400,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) suits, to arrive from China next week, to assist Thai medical workers in fighting the COVID-19.

“These products are urgent and we will have an airline to fly to China to pick them up,” said Dr. Withoon Danwiboon, managing director of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO).