Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - State investor Temasek Holdings and others put together a funding package of up to S$19 billion ($13.27 billion) for Singapore Airlines (SIA) (SIAL.SI) in the single biggest rescue for an airline slammed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The massive financing plan, which drove SIA shares down as much as 10.5% on Friday, underscores the depth of financial trouble for the global airline industry, with nearly one-third of the world’s aircraft already grounded because of the pandemic, according to data provider Cirium.

MANILA, March 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nine doctors have died in the Philippines from the coronavirus, the country’s top medical association said, as hospitals were overwhelmed and medics complained about a lack of protection on the frontlines.

The announcement of the doctors’ deaths heightened fears that the scale of the health crisis in the Philippines is much worse than is being officially reported, with the confirmed virus death toll at just 38.

ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee has detained a man suspected of planning a bomb attack in the capital, Nur-Sultan, on behalf of Islamic State, the security body said on Thursday.

The man had an improvised explosive device, it said in a statement without providing any other details. Hundreds of Kazakhs joined the radical Islamist group at the time when it controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The ringgit extended its gains against the US dollar at the opening session Thursday as the government and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) or Central Bank of Malaysia stepped in to cushion the economic impact of Covid-19 on the country due to the extended Movement Control Order (MCO) announced Wednesday.    

At 9.00 am, the local note stood at 4.3800/3950 against the greenback compared with Wednesday’s closing of 4.3838/3670.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysia’s King Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Queen Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah are observing a 14-day quarantine after seven staff from the royal palace, Istana Negara, tested positive for COVID-19.

Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, in a statement, said Their Majesties had also undergone the COVID-19 tests, but their results came out negative.

BEIJING, March 26 (Xinhua) -- China has provided assistance to 89 countries and four international organizations to fight against the novel coronavirus, the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) said Thursday.

A new round of aid implementation programs is currently being prepared, Deng Boqing, deputy head of the CIDCA, said at a press conference held in Beijing.

"China's anti-virus external assistance is the most intensive and wide-ranging emergency humanitarian operation since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949," Deng said.

TOKYO, Mar 26 (NNN-NHK) – Japan will set up a new COVID-19 task force, the government said today, as it warned of a high risk of a widespread of the virus, but the economy minister said, the government was not thinking of declaring a state of emergency now.

Japan had 1,313 domestic cases of COVID_19, as of Thursday morning, separate from 712 from a cruise ship that was moored near Tokyo last month. There have been 45 domestic deaths and 10 from the cruise ship.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed Thursday after Wall Street gained as U.S. lawmakers wrangled over a proposed $2 trillion virus aid package.

Market benchmarks in Tokyo and Shanghai declined. Australia and Southeast Asian markets gained. Jakarta jumped 10%.

New York futures were lower, with the contract for the S&P 500 down 0.7%, while that for the Dow fell 0.2%.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index rose 1.2% on Wednesday but is down nearly 27% from its peak a month ago.

BEIJING, March 25 (APP): China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has donated 380,000 medical masks to eight countries including Pakistan to help with the global fight against the novel coronavirus.

The masks were delivered to Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Tunisia and Algeria, according to local media here on Wednesday.

The regional government has organized local enterprises to increase production while Customs and China Post were coordinated to ensure the timely delivery of the materials.

MANILA, Mar 25 (NNN-PNA) – Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, signed a law that authorises him to exercise “stand-by powers,” necessary to carry out urgent measures, to deal with COVID-19, Senator Christopher Go said, early on Wednesday.

The act, entitled the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, was passed by the Congress, following a marathon special session, on Monday.