Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

Beijing, Feb 14 (PTI) China on Friday rejected US allegations that it is not transparent enough in sharing the details about the coronavirus outbreak, saying it was working with the international community in an "open and highly responsible manner" to contain the global crisis.

China's comments came after Larry Kudlow, the director of President Donald Trump's Economic Council, said that the US is little disappointed over not being invited in the medical operations and the lack of transparency coming from the Chinese over coronavirus outbreak.

BEIJING, Feb 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll from China’s virus epidemic neared 1,400 on Friday, as the United States complained of a “lack of transparency” from Beijing over its handling of a crisis that has fuelled global panic.

Nearly 64,000 people are now recorded as having been made ill by the virus in China, with the last two days showing a steep rise after a change in diagnostic methods.

MANILA, Feb 14 (NNN-Xinhua) — Philippines volcanologists on Friday further lowered the alert level to 2 at Taal Volcano, nearly five weeks since it began spewing ash and steam.

In its latest bulletin, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the condition in the volcano in Batangas province, about 66 km south of Manila, “in the succeeding three weeks has been characterized by less frequent volcanic earthquake activity, stabilizing ground deformation of the Taal Caldera and Taal Volcano Island edifices and weak steam or gas emissions at the main crater.”

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s foreign ministry said on Friday it urges the United States to immediately stop suppressing Chinese companies without reason, after U.S. prosecutors unveiled a new indictment against Huawei Technologies.

Such actions by the United States seriously damage the country’s credibility and image, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a daily press briefing.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher Friday, on track for their first weekly gain in six weeks, backed by expectations that major producers will implement deeper output cuts to offset slowing demand in China caused by the coronavirus epidemic.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 13 cents at $56.47 a barrel by 0731 GMT, after gaining 1% the previous session. Brent is 3.7% higher for the week, the first increase since the week of Jan. 3.

BANGKOK, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Thai police have arrested a gunman who opened fire from a shophouse in downtown Bangkok on Friday morning.

The gunman fired more than 40 gunshots from a shophouse in Pathumwan district of Thai capital Bangkok, but nobody was reportedly killed or injured, according to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Pol. Lt. Gen. Phakkhaphong Phongphetra.

BEIJING (AP) — In the middle of a phone call with a customer, an important visitor knocks on Michael Xiong’s door: his 3-year-old son.

Xiong, a salesman in Chibi, a city near the center of a virus outbreak, is one of millions of people in China who are obeying government orders to work from home as part of the most sweeping anti-disease measures ever imposed.

JAKARTA, Feb 13 (NNN-ANTARA) – The most active volcano in Indonesia, Mount Merapi, on Java Island, erupted on Thursday (this) morning, and a warning over the risks of hot clouds and volcanic materials was issued, the volcanology agency said.

The 2,930-metre-high volcano, spewed a column of ash by up to 2,000 metres into the sky, the agency said.

Mount Merapi is located about 28 kilometres north of Indonesia’s province of Yogyakarta, which has a 2.4 million population, and thousands of people living on the flanks of the volcano.

BEIJING, February 13. /TASS/: The COVID-19 death toll in China has passed 1,368, while 5,963 patients have recovered. The number of infected people has exceeded 59,800, the Wangyi news outlet reported on Thursday, citing data provided by regional authorities.

According to updated data, the death rate from the novel coronavirus in China stands at 2.28%.

More than 185,000 people in China who had direct contacts with those infected remain under medical observation, and about 16,000 are going through quarantine.

TOKYO, Feb 13 (NNN-NHK) – Nissan Motor Co., said that, the company has filed a civil lawsuit in Japan, against former boss, Carlos Ghosn, who has fled the country last year, seeking 10 billion yen (90 million U.S. dollars) in damages, for “his corrupt practices over many years.”

Nissan intensified its campaign to recover damages from the former chief. According to Nissan, the financial damages it is claiming are linked to “Ghosn’s breach of fiduciary duty as a company director, and his misappropriation of Nissan’s resources and assets.”