Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SINGAPORE (AP) — Chinese telecoms equipment and smartphone maker Huawei’s sales fell 14% in January-March from a year earlier as it pumped money into research and development while grappling with U.S. sanctions, according to figures released by the company Thursday.

Huawei Technologies said its revenue was 131 billion yuan ($19.8 billion) in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 152.2 billion yuan a year earlier.

Its net profit margin for the quarter was 4.3%, down from 11.1% in the same quarter of 2021.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan, which had been living mostly free of COVID-19, is now facing its worst outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic with over 11,000 new cases reported Thursday.

Cases have been on the upswing since late March. In April, the island’s central authorities announced that they would no longer maintain a “zero-COVID” policy like the Chinese government’s in which they would centrally quarantine positive cases.

Instead, the government is asking people to quarantine at home if they test positive, unless they show moderate to severe symptoms.

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing shifted more classes online Thursday in a further tightening of COVID-19 restrictions, as China’s capital seeks to prevent a wider outbreak.

The city of 21 million has already ordered three rounds of mass testing this week for the virus, with the third due to take place on Friday, and closed down some communities where cases were found.

BANGKOK, April 27 (NNN-Bernama) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Energy Absolute Public Company Ltd. (Energy Absolute) had inked a 160 million baht loan agreement to finance an electric ferry fleet for mass rapid transport in Bangkok, Thailand. 

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), April 27 (NNN-Bernama) — Effective May 1, the wearing of face masks in outdoor settings and open areas will no longer be compulsory in Malaysia, but optional, said Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin.

However, it will remain compulsory in indoor settings and in public transport, including e-hailing vehicles, he said when announcing the relaxation of the preventive and control measures of  COVID-19 in line with the transition to the endemic phase in Malaysia, here Wednesday.

BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has described Tuesday's terrorist attack in Karachi, Pakistan, as very vile, adding that China will work with Pakistan to hunt down the perpetrators, bring them to justice and make them pay a heavy price.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks on Wednesday at a regular news briefing in response to the terrorist attack on a van of the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi.

BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The one-China principle is what underpins peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday.

It was reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said at a congressional hearing that the U.S. government is determined to make sure that Taiwan has all necessary means to defend itself against any potential aggression.

"We deplore and reject Secretary Blinken's statement," spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing.

TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo’s Shibuya is famed for its Scramble Crossing, where crowds of people crisscross the intersection in a scene symbolizing urban Japan’s congestion and anonymity. It may have added another boasting right.

Tokyu Railways’ trains running through Shibuya and other stations were switched to power generated only by solar and other renewable sources starting April 1.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore on Wednesday executed a Malaysian man convicted of drug smuggling after a court dismissed a last-minute challenge from his mother and international pleas to spare him on grounds he was mentally disabled.

Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, 34, had been on death row for over a decade after he was found guilty of trafficking about 43 grams (1.5 ounces) of heroin into Singapore. The city-state’s government has said its use of the death penalty for drug crimes is made clear at the borders.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Shanghai city authorities said Wednesday they will start rounds of COVID-19 testing over the next few days to determine which neighborhoods can safely be allowed a limited amount of freedom of movement, as residents in Beijing watch carefully on word for whether the capital city will lock down.

On Wednesday, China reported 14,222 new cases, the vast majority of which were asymptomatic. The country is battling its largest outbreak since the pandemic was first reported in Wuhan in late December 2019.