Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Facts have already proved that sanctions cannot bring peace but only make the world economy worse, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Thursday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian also said that the United States, as the world's largest economy, should do more that is conducive to the recovery of the global economy and the stability of the global supply chain.

Zhao made the remarks when asked to comment on report that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently downgraded its 2022 global economic growth forecast to 3.6 percent.

BEIJING (AP) — The death toll jumped Thursday to 26 from the collapse last week of a residential and commercial building in central China, state media reported.

Ten other people have been rescued from the wreckage in the city of Changsha, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The 10th survivor, an unidentified woman, was pulled out shortly after midnight on Thursday, nearly six days after the building suddenly caved in on April 29, Xinhua said. Rescue teams with search dogs have been searching through the rubble since then.

SEOUL, May 4 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea reported 49,064 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight, compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 17,395,791, the health authorities said today.

The daily caseload was down from 51,131 the previous day and lower than 76,775 tallied a week earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The health authorities believed that the daily caseload has been on the decline following the Omicron variant-driven resurgence, which may have peaked in the middle of March.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 (NNN-Bernama) — The Russia-Ukraine war and the Omicron variant of COVID-19 continued to weigh on air cargo, with global demand measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), falling 5.2 per cent in March 2022 compared to the same month last year.

Citing its March 2022 data for global air cargo markets, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said air cargo capacity was 1.2 per cent above that of March 2021.

PHNOM PENH, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand are due to host three important leaders' meetings in the Southeast Asia region this year, according to a joint statement released by the foreign ministries of the three countries on Wednesday.

Cambodia will host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Related Summits on Nov. 11-13; Indonesia will host the Group of 20 (G20) Summit on Nov. 15-16, and Thailand will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting on Nov. 18-19, the statement said.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Wednesday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster his nuclear arsenal “at the fastest possible pace” and threatened to use them against rivals.

The launch, the North’s 14th round of weapons firing this year, also came six days before a new conservative South Korean president takes office for a single five-year term.

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing on Wednesday closed around 10% of the stations in its vast subway system as an additional measure against the spread of coronavirus.

The subway authority in a brief message said only that the measure to shut 40 mostly downtown stations was being taken as part of epidemic control measures. No date for resumption of service was given.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 (NNN-Bernama) —  A special task force has been formed to monitor and assist in the recovery process of Malaysian national cycling ace Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, who successfully underwent heart surgery on April 21, said National Sports Institute (NSI) chief executive officer Ahmad Faedzal Md Ramli.

He said the task force, which comprises specialists from NSI and the National Heart Institute (IJN), would be keeping a close watch on the progress of Mohd Azizulhasni throughout his rehabilitation process.

KUALA LUMPUR,  May 3 (NNN-Bernama) —  A total of  868,859 children aged five to 11 or 24.5 per cent of the child population in Malaysia have been fully vaccinated under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) as of Monday. 

Based on the COVIDNOW website, a total of 1,536,766 children, or 43.3 per cent of the group, have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

TAIPEI, May 3 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Defence Ministry on Tuesday said deliveries of shoulder-fired Stinger anti-aircraft missiles could be delayed, saying they were pressing the United States to deliver on schedule as the war in Ukraine pressures supplies.

The missiles are in hot demand in Ukraine, where they have successfully kept Russian aircraft at bay, but U.S. supplies have shrunk and producing more of the anti-aircraft weapons faces significant hurdles.