Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

YANGON, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar confirmed 19 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 633,137, according to the Ministry of Health on Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that health authorities tested 6,883 people for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate was 0.28 percent.

The death toll from COVID-19 in the country remained unchanged at 19,488 on Friday as no new deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.

TOKYO, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Japan's space agency admitted on Friday that one of its research teams "fabricated" and "altered large amounts of data" related to an experiment simulating life on the International Space Station (ISS).

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) told a press conference that the research team, headed by Satoshi Furukawa, "fabricated" as well as "altered large amounts of data" related to the mental health of the participants in the experiment simulating life on the space station.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — More than two decades after his dramatic ouster from government and imprisonment, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim finally has his day.

Anwar was named Malaysia’s 10th prime minister by the nation’s king and sworn in Thursday, trumping a Malay nationalist leader to clinch the top job after divisive general elections led to a hung Parliament.

HONG KONG (AP) — A 90-year-old Roman Catholic cardinal and five others in Hong Kong were fined after being found guilty Friday of failing to register a now-defunct fund that aimed to help people arrested in the widespread protests three years ago.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese prosecutors raided the headquarters of major advertising company Dentsu on Friday, as the investigation into corruption related to the Tokyo Olympics widened.

Major local TV broadcasters showed Tokyo District Prosecutors and Japan Fair Trade Commission officials entering Dentsu headquarters.

Dentsu dominates event organizing, marketing and public relations in Japan. It helped land the 2020 Games for Tokyo, and then lined up record domestic sponsorships.

BEIJING (AP) — A fire in an apartment building in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region has killed 10 people and injured nine, authorities said Friday, in the second major fire accident in the country this week, which left a total of 48 dead.

The fire broke out Thursday night in the regional capital of Urumqi, where temperatures have dropped to below freezing after dark.

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mixed Friday as worries deepened about the regional economy and Japan reported higher-than-expected inflation.

France’s CAC 40 was little changed, inching down less than 0.1% to 6,704.00. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.1% to 14,524.48. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.1% to 7,473.46. The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.2% while that for the Dow industrials was up 0.1%.

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese court on Friday sentenced Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu to 13 years in prison on charges including rape.

Beijing’s Chaoyang District Court said Wu was given 11 years and 6 months for a 2020 rape, and 1 year and 10 months for the “crime of assembling a crowd to engage in sexual promiscuity” in a 2018 event in which he and others allegedly assaulted two women they had gotten drunk.

The court said the three victims in the rape case had also been drunk and were unable to consent.

BEIJING, Nov 24 (APP): China is willing to work with the Pakistani side to deepen cooperation in military training, joint exercises and military technology between the two militaries and contribute new strength to maintaining regional peace and stability, Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesman, Wu Qian said on Thursday.

BEIJING, Nov 24 (Reuters) - China reported record high COVID-19 infections on Thursday, with cities nationwide imposing localised lockdowns, mass testing and other curbs that are fuelling frustration and darkening the outlook for the world's second largest economy.

The resurgence of infections, nearly three years after the pandemic emerged in the central city of Wuhan, casts doubt on investor hopes for China to ease its rigid zero-COVID policy soon, despite recent more targeted measures.