Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO, Mar 21 (NNN-NHK) – Japan’s health ministry and local governments, said today that, the number of COVID-19 infections nationwide had risen to 1,016 cases as of 9:00 p.m. Friday local time.

The death toll currently stands at 43 people, according to the health ministry, with the figure including those from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship, that was quarantined in Yokohama, close to Tokyo.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Saturday fired two presumed short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, South Korea’s military said, as it continues to expand military capabilities amid deadlocked nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration and a crippling global health crisis.

Islamabad, Mar 20 (PTI) The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have committed to providing USD 588 million to Pakistan for its emergency response to fight the coronavirus and to address the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic, a media report said on Friday.

According to an official statement, the World Bank would provide USD 238 million and the Asian Develo pment Bank (ADB) USD 350 million to Pakistan in support for the COVID-19 emergency response and to tackle the socio-economic disruption associated with it.

Kuala Lumpur, Mar 20 (AFP/PTI) Malaysia will deploy the army to support police in enforcing tough restrictions to halt the spread of the coronavirus because many people are flouting isolation rules, a minister said Friday.

People have been told to stay at home and all schools and most businesses have closed, while Malaysians are barred from travelling overseas and foreigners from entering the country.

SINGAPORE, March 20. /TASS/: Russia’s embassy in Indonesia is considering sending charter flights to facilitate the evacuation of Russian nationals, the diplomatic mission told TASS on Friday.

"The embassy has sent a note to the local Foreign Ministry requesting it to urgently extend permission to stay in the country for Russians, who have been forced to remain there due to the cancellation of most flights to Russia," the mission said.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will speed up phased, targeted tax and fee cuts for firms to support employment amid the coronavirus outbreak, the cabinet said on Friday.

The government will return more unemployment insurance premiums to job-saving firms and subsidize small firms to hire college graduates with employment contracts longer than a year, the cabinet said in a statement.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets rose Friday after Wall Street gained on hopes government and central bank action can shield the world economy from a looming recession caused by the coronavirus.

Benchmarks in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Australia and Southeast Asia advanced. Tokyo was closed for a holiday. Oil gained again a day after U.S. benchmark crude soared by a record 23%.

Investors were encouraged after seeing more steps by the Federal Reserve and other central banks and governments to support credit markets and the economy.

Beijing, Mar 19 (PTI) For the first time after the deadly coronavirus broke out about three months ago in Wuhan, China on Thursday said that no new domestic cases of the COVID-19 were confirmed, including in the virus' epicentre, even as eight more fatalities have been reported, taking the death toll in the country to 3,245.

China's National Health Commission (NHC) in its daily report said that no new domestically transmitted cases of the novel coronavirus disease were reported on the Chinese mainland on Wednesday.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - World finance leaders tried to lift confidence with emergency measures to pour cash into panic-stricken markets on Thursday, as investors everywhere dumped assets, switching to dollars amid the escalating coronavirus pandemic.

Policymakers in the United States, Europe and Asia have slashed interest rates and opened liquidity taps to stabilise economies left almost comatose, with quarantined consumers, broken supply chains, paralysed transportation and depleted shops.

MAKASSAR, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia halted a mass congregation of nearly 9,000 Muslim pilgrims and began quarantining them and checking their health Thursday to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus amid a spike in cases.

The four-day gathering at a boarding school in a rural area in south Sulawesi province wasn’t approved by authorities and drew fears it could spread the virus widely in the world’s fourth most populous nation.