Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

HANOI, Jan 27 (NNN-VNA) – As many as 152 traffic accidents occurred during the Lunar New Year holiday in Vietnam, killing 89 people and injuring 111 others, according to the country’s Traffic Police Department, yesterday.

The number of traffic accidents and deaths during the seven-day holiday decreased seven percent and three percent respectively, while the number of injuries increased by nearly eight percent, compared with the same period last year, according to the department.

BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Thailand sentenced a 27-year-old political activist to 28 years in prison on Thursday for posting messages on Facebook that it said defamed the country’s monarchy, while two young women charged with the same offense continued a hunger strike after being hospitalized.

The court in the northern province of Chiang Rai found that Mongkhon Thirakot violated the lese majeste law in 14 of 27 posts for which he was arrested last August. The law covers the current king, his queen and heirs, and any regent.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s government said Friday it will promote civilian efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea in hopes of softening a diplomatic freeze deepened by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s growing nuclear ambitions.

South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Youngse didn’t specify the type of aid he sees as conceivable or whether it was realistic to expect those exchanges to induce meaningful diplomatic breakthroughs.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong will ban CBD starting Wednesday, categorizing it as a “dangerous drug” and mandating harsh penalties for its smuggling, production and possession, customs authorities announced Friday.

Supporters say CBD can treat a range of ailments including anxiety and that, unlike its more famous cousin THC — which is already illegal in Hong Kong — CBD doesn’t get users high. Cannabidiol, derived from the cannabis plant, was previously legal in Hong Kong, where bars and shops sold products containing it.

TOKYO, Jan 25 (NNN-NHK) – Heavy snow and powerful winds are continuing to affect many parts of Japan today, with the stormy conditions disrupting a number of transportation systems.

As wide swathes of the country are in the grip of the coldest seasonal front in a decade, railway operators on major lines have cut back on services or suspended operations, all together.

East Japan Railway Company said, it will halt operations between some stations on the Yamagata Shinkansen line, throughout today, and part of Tohoku Shinkansen services will also be suspended.

SINGAPORE, Jan 25 (NNN-Bernama) — Singapore’s core inflation came in at 5.1 per cent a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis in December, unchanged from November, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the republic’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

“Smaller price increases for retail and other goods and electricity and gas were offset by higher inflation for food and services,” MAS and MTI said in a joint statement Wednesday.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Jan 25 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hoped that the Malaysia Brunei Annual Leaders’ Consultation (ALC) this year will finalise several matters of mutual interest.

He said this includes cooperation in the fields of youth and sports, Syariah judiciary, and education, which have been discussed at length by both sides.

TOKYO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Heavy snow blanketed wide swathes of Japan on Wednesday, snarling traffic, forcing hundreds of flight cancellations, disrupting train travel and leaving at least one person dead.

An unusually cold weather front and extreme low pressure systems set snow falling and strong winds blowing across Japan from Tuesday after causing havoc in other Asia countries earlier this week.

SEOUL, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Authorities in the North Korean capital Pyongyang have ordered a five-day lockdown due to rising cases of an unspecified respiratory illness, the Russian embassy and Seoul-based NK News reported on Wednesday, citing a government notice.

The notice, shared by the embassy on its Facebook page, said that a "a special anti-epidemic period has been established" and it called on foreign delegations to keep employees inside. The order also called for individuals to measure their temperatures four times a day and report the results to a hospital by phone.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia seeks to explore trade and investment opportunities as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim caps off his official visit to neighboring Brunei on Wednesday.

Anwar, who is making a two-day visit to the neighboring country, also had an audience with Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah followed by a four-eyed meeting in the sultan's official residence.