Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (NNN-BERNAMA) — ADT Biotech Sdn Bhd has received the Health Ministry’s (MoH) approval to supply the LyteStar 2019-nCoV RT-PCR test kit to MoH facilities which have been tasked to run tests for the COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2.

Managing director Dr Finn Zedler said the test kit has been certified by the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) as its results were consistent with the IMR’s tests and is in line with the World Health Organisation’s guidelines.

PYONGYANG, Mar 30 (NNN-KCNA) – The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), successfully test-fired super-large multiple rocket launchers on Sunday, it was reported on Monday morning.

The report said, the test was conducted by the Academy of Defence Science, to verify the tactical and technological specifications of the launch system “to be delivered to units of the Korean People’s Army.”

The South Korean military, said that, it observed, two short-range missiles were fired from DPRK’s eastern coastal city of Wonsan, flying 230 km with a maximum altitude of 30 km.

TOKYO, Mar 30 (NNN-NHK) – Japan will step up its efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, by banning the entry of foreign citizens travelling from the United States, China, South Korea and most of Europe.

Non-Japanese citizens, who have been in any of these areas in the past two weeks, will be barred, the paper said. Tokyo may also ban travel to and from some countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, it said, citing unidentified government sources.

YANGON, Mar 30 (NNN-MNA) – Myanmar’s Yangon International Airport announced that, the landing of all international commercial passenger flights will not be allowed, at all Myanmar airports, with effect from today, Mar 30 to Apr 13, to contain COVID-19 spread, according to a notice from the Ministry of Health and the Department of Civil Aviation.

MANILA, Mar 30 (NNN-XINHUA) – A small plane bound for Japan, crashed on take-off, Sunday night, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, killing all eight people on board, the airport authority said.

“This is to confirm an accident that happened on or about 8:00 p.m. today (yesterday), Mar 29, involving a West Wind 24 aircraft, bound for Haneda, with eight passengers on board,” Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said, in a statement.

The statement said, the accident happened at the end of runway 24, while the aircraft was taking off.

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares started the week with fresh losses as countries reported surging numbers of infections from the coronavirus that has prompted shutdowns of travel and business in many parts of the world.

Japan’s benchmark dropped almost 4% and other regional markets were mostly lower. Shares in Australia rose after the government promised more recession-fighting stimulus.

U.S. futures fell slightly more than 1% and oil prices also were lower.

TOKYO (AP) — Before the Olympics were postponed, Japan looked like it had coronavirus infections contained, even as they spread in neighboring countries. Now that the games have been pushed to next year, Tokyo’s cases are spiking, and the city’s governor is requesting that people stay home, even hinting at a possible lockdown.

29 March 2020; AFP: Digital surveillance and smartphone technology may prove helpful in containing the coronavirus pandemic -- but some activists fear this could mean lasting harm to privacy and digital rights.

From China to Singapore to Israel, governments have ordered electronic monitoring of their citizens' movements in an effort to limit contagion. In Europe and the United States, technology firms have begun sharing "anonymized" smartphone data to better track the outbreak.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) is closely following the development of the coronavirus in Taiwan and is learning lessons from how they are fighting it, the body said on Sunday, after complaints from Taiwan it was being intentionally ignored.

Taiwan is not a member of the WHO due to the objections of China, which claims the democratic and separately-ruled island as its own.

TOKYO, Mar 29 (NNN-IBNS) – Tokyo 2020 chief, Yoshiro Mori, said that, the new dates for the postponed Olympic Games, could be decided by the end of next week.

The Olympic Games, which will be held in the summer of 2021, at the latest, is most likely to be held between Jun and Sept, Mori said, during a programme, broadcast by Nippon Television.

“I want to offer some conclusions by the end of next week, after we’ve mulled it over,” Mori said.

“The games are meant to be in summer, so we should be thinking of a time between Jun and Sept,” Kyodo News Agency said.