Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

Beijing, Apr 3 (PTI) China will observe a national day of mourning on Saturday for martyrs, including the "whistleblower" doctor Li Wenliang, who sacrificed their lives in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak and the over 3,300 people who died of the COVID-19 in the country.

During the commemoration, national flags will fly at half-mast across the country and in all Chinese embassies and consulates abroad, and public recreational activities will be suspended across the country, official media reported on Friday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese ruling party executive Fumio Kishida said on Friday he has agreed with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to offer 300,000 yen ($2,800) in cash payments per household that suffers a certain degree of income declines from the coronavirus pandemic.

Kishida, policy chief of the Liberal Democratic Party, also told reporters that he will work with the government over the weekend on details of a stimulus package to be rolled out next week to combat the fallout from the pandemic.

TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices shed some of their massive gains on Friday taking stocks in Asia lower, as doubts grew over an oil price deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia that U.S. President Donald Trump said he had brokered.

With the coronavirus pandemic raising the risk of a prolonged global downturn, investors continued to seek the safety of the U.S. dollar and government bonds, pushing U.S. Treasury yields near their lowest in three weeks.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea is struggling to retain its lead in global next-generation 5G telecom services, as the coronavirus pandemic further cools sentiment of consumers whose interest in the technology has waned due to cost and quality concerns.

The Asian nation’s telecom operators, led by SK Telecom and KT Corp, launched the world’s first 5G services exactly a year ago. And Samsung Electronics, its dominant mobile phone manufacturer, stole a march on equipment makers globally by launching the first 5G phone around the same time.

BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday refuted several United States intelligence officials' accusations that China concealed the extent of the coronavirus epidemic and under-reported the number of the COVID-19 cases and deaths, and noted that such remarks were "shameless and immoral."

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the comments at a news briefing when answering a relevant question.

WUHAN, China (AP) — After two months in locked-down Wuhan, Wei Lei was eager to get back to work on a railway construction site. Instead, the 22-year-old found himself stranded at an expressway toll plaza where police decided who was allowed in and out of the city where the coronavirus pandemic started.

The authorities wanted a letter from his bosses saying he was needed, but Wei said he didn’t have one because employees who would prepare it had yet to return to work.

“It was boring staying at home and I was embarrassed to be fed by my parents,” Wei said Thursday.

BEIJING, Apr 2 (APP): Recent hyping of anti-China sentiment on India’s social media networks may risk sabotaging potential cooperation between the two neighbors in the global pandemic fight.

Last week, senior Indian politician Manish Tewari tweeted that the coronavirus “should be called China Virus” and COVID-19 “is a misnomer.” Tewari is among those who repeatedly use the terms “China virus” or “Wuhan virus,” and alleged that China should take the blame for the global spread of the coronavirus, according to an article published by Global Times here on Thursday.

(TASS): China's Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, partly lifted the lockdown allowing people to enter the city after more than two months. Chinese authorities eased the quarantine measures as cases of COVID-19 disease across China have plummeted, according to Chinese government figures. 

KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (NNN-BERNAMA) —  A special cabinet committee has been established to develop strategic measures to safeguard Malaysia’s economy and labour market impacted by COVID-19 with the aim of striking a balance between the nation’s economic priorities and the effective enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

BANGKOK, April 1 (NNN-XINHUA) — Thailand’s Ministry of Finance on Wednesday said the Treasury Department will release new coins and collect old ones for a thorough cleanup to help stem the spread of COVID-19.

“In Thailand, cash is the main source of transactions. People still carry cash with them to buy food and items,” said Yuttana Yimgarund, director-general of the department.