Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Apple sold fewer than half a million smartphones in China in February, government data showed on Monday, as the coronavirus outbreak halved demand for all such devices.

China placed curbs on travel and asked residents to avoid public places in late January, just ahead of the Lunar New Year festival, a major gift-giving holiday. Those restrictions stayed largely in place through most of February.

BEIJING (AP) — As the rest of the world grapples with a burgeoning virus outbreak, China’s ruling Communist Party has deployed its propaganda playbook to portray its leader as firmly in charge, leading an army of health workers in a “people’s war” against the disease.

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets and oil prices plunged Monday after a squabble among crude producers jolted investors who already were on edge about the surging costs of a virus outbreak.

The main stock indexes in London and Frankfurt dropped by more 8% at the opening. Tokyo closed down 5.1% while Sydney lost 7.3% and Shanghai was off 3%.

The benchmark U.S. crude price fell as much as 30%, deepening a rout that began when Saudi Arabia, Russia and other major producers failed to agree on how much to cut output to prop up prices.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economy contracted at a dismal 7.1% annual rate during the October-December period, worse than the initial estimate, raising fears the world’s third largest economy could be headed to a recession.

The contraction was the first for Japan in more than a year and followed an Oct. 1 increase in the sales tax, which hit retail spending. The Cabinet Office data, released Monday, were a revision from last month’s estimate of a 6.3% decline.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A special North Korean flight carrying presumably dozens of diplomats and other foreigners arrived in Russia’s Far East on Monday as the country tightens its lockdown intended to fend off the coronavirus.

North Korea has not publicly confirmed a single case of the COVID-19 illness, but its state media have reported thousands of people have been quarantined as part of strict prevention measures.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired three short-range projectiles off its east coast on Monday, South Korea’s military said, two days after the North threatened to take “momentous” action to protest outside condemnation over its earlier live-fire exercises.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the three launches were made from an eastern coastal town in the North’s South Hamgyong province. It said the multiple kinds of projectiles flew as far as 200 kilometers (125 miles) at a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers (30 miles).

BEIJING, March 8 (APP): China will dispatch the first batch of supplies to Karachi to assist the Pakistani authorities in controlling the locust disaster.

The first batch of the aid materials, to be dispatched on Monday will include 50,000 liters of pesticides and 14 air-powered high-efficiency remote sprayers, according to China Economic Net here on Sunday.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Dozens of Thai lawmakers from a prominent opposition party that was dissolved last month said on Sunday they will join a new party together to keep their parliamentary seats.

Thailand’s constitutional court dissolved the high-profile Future Forward Party last month, banning its executive members and leaving the rest of its lawmakers to find a new party to join within 60 days or they would lose their status.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia’s palace on Sunday denied allegations of a “royal coup” in appointing the country’s prime minister after veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad resigned, saying the king used his discretionary powers prescribed in the constitution.

The palace was responding to an editorial in the UK daily Guardian this week that said Malaysia’s king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, had overturned a democratic election result by naming Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister despite the opposite camp claiming a majority.

FUZHOU, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The death toll has risen to 10 as of 4:00 p.m. Sunday after a hotel building collapsed in east China's Fujian Province Saturday evening, local authorities said.

Forty-eight people had been rescued and 23 others remain trapped.

The Xinjia Hotel collapsed at around 7:05 p.m. in Licheng District of the city of Quanzhou, trapping 71 people.

A preliminary investigation showed the hotel building was being decorated when the accident occurred and the owner of the building has been put under police control.