Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Japan plans to postpone a tax rise intended to fund a planned increase in the nation's defense spending, local media reported Sunday.

After Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for raising defense spending to 2 percent of the country's gross domestic product in fiscal 2027 from the current 1 percent, the government will further deliberate on measures to secure a stable source of revenue, according to Kyodo News.

SINGAPORE, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Singaporeans should expect a new wave of COVID-19 infections with more people traveling and due to the upcoming year-end festivities, the Straits Times website quoted Health Minister Ong Ye Kung as saying on Sunday.

"There is bound to be more infections but it is not something we have not seen before. This year alone, we have already seen three infection waves," he said.

JAKARTA, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Semeru volcano on Indonesia's Java island erupted on Sunday, spewing a 1.5-km high ash column, authorities said.

As of Sunday afternoon, the country's Volcano Disaster Mitigation of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) has raised its volcanic alert level for Semeru volcano to level 4, the highest level of a four-tier volcanic alert system.

BEIJING (AP) — Three Chinese astronauts landed in a northern desert on Sunday after six months working to complete construction of the Tiangong station, a symbol of the country’s ambitious space program, state TV reported.

A capsule carrying commander Chen Dong and astronauts Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe touched down at a landing site in the Gobi Desert in northern China at approximately 8:10 p.m. (1210 GMT), China Central Television reported.

HONG KONG (AP) — China on Sunday reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 as some cities move cautiously to ease anti-pandemic restrictions amid increasingly vocal public frustration over the measures.

The National Health Commission said one death was reported each in the provinces of Shandong and Sichuan. No information was given about the ages of the victims or whether they had been fully vaccinated.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia’s two deputy prime ministers and 25 members of Cabinet were sworn in before the King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara (national palace) here Saturday.

Also present at the presentation of Instruments of Appointment and the taking of the Oath of Office, Loyalty and Secrecy to the new Cabinet line-up was Queen Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.

JAKARTA, Dec 3 (NNN-Bernama) — The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) will carry out food and agriculture development support programmes in Indonesia for the next four years.

The programmes were launched during a Country Programming Framework (CPF) workshop in Bogor recently, according to a specialised agency of the United Nations to defeat hunger.

In a statement, FAO’s representative in Indonesia, Rajendra Aryal said the CPF sets out four strategic priorities to guide the agency’s partnership and support.

JAKARTA, Dec 3 (NNN-Bernama) — A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Garut in West Java province on Saturday, according to Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG).

No tsunami warning was immediately issued, but BMKG warned the public to brace for possible aftershocks.

The quake occurred at 4.49 pm Western Indonesian time, centered at 52 kilometers (km) southwest of Garut at a depth of 118 km.

SHANGHAI, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Beijing residents on Saturday cheered the removal of COVID-19 testing booths while Shenzhen said it would no longer require commuters to present test results to travel, as an easing of China's virus curbs gathered pace.

Although daily cases are near all-time highs, some cities are taking steps to loosen COVID testing requirements and quarantine rules as China looks to make its zero-COVID policy more targeted amid a sharp economic slowdown and public frustration that has boiled over into unrest.

VIENTIANE, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Lao Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone on Saturday hailed the Laos-China railway as a pride of Laos.

When addressing a gathering to review the operation of the railway that went optional on Dec. 3, 2021, Sonexay said the cross-border railway, a landmark project of Laos-China friendship, is a strategic project to convert Laos from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub, synergizing with the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.