Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SEOUL, April 22 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has thanked South Korea's outgoing president for trying to improve relations, a rare gesture of goodwill but one that analysts said may not be enough to head off growing tension between the two Koreas.

The warm words from North Korea to President Moon Jae-in came in an exchange of letters less than three weeks before Moon leaves office to be replaced by a conservative leader who has already signalled a tougher line on North Korea

MANILA, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The global tourism industry is expected to create almost 126 million jobs worldwide within 10 years, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said in a report released on Thursday in the Philippine capital.

The WTTC's latest Economic Impact Report (EIR) says the travel and tourism sector will be a driving force of the global economic recovery from the two-year pandemic.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly fell Friday, tracking losses on Wall Street after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated increases in interest rates must be faster to fight inflation.

Major indexes cascaded downward in Asia. Japan’s consumer price index data showed an increase for the seventh consecutive month, although the results were within market expectations.

BANGKOK (AP) — Visitors to Thailand who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will no longer need to undergo any test or quarantine on arrival starting May 1, a measure the authorities hope will help rejuvenate the country’s lucrative tourism industry.

“Many countries have already eased their restrictions,” Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Friday. “We are a country that relies on the tourism industry, especially during these times. This will help move the economy forward.”

BEIJING (AP) — Officials in Shanghai promised Friday to ease anti-virus controls on truck drivers that are hampering food supplies and trade, while city streets were still largely empty after millions of people were allowed out of their homes.

A deputy mayor, Zhang Wei, promised “every effort” to resolve problems that prompted complaints about lack of food and fears that the shutdown, which barred most of Shanghai’s 25 million people from going outdoors, might disrupt global trade.

BEIJING, April 21 (APP): The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has entered its second phase, with a focus on industry, agriculture, technology, tourism thus contributing to overall socio-economic development in the country, said Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque.

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), April 21 (NNN-Bernama) — Brunei’s Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan Mohd Yusof is currently on a three-day working visit to Malaysia.

During his visit here from 20 to 22 April, he is scheduled to meet his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah and discuss further on bilateral cooperation following Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s official visit to Brunei on Feb 14-15 this year.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia recorded a total of 8,267 recovered cases Wednesday, bringing the cumulative number of recoveries to 4,283,013, according to Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said new cases reported Wednesday were also below the 10,000 mark at 6,968 cases, bringing the cumulative number of positive cases in the country to 4,409,202.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday said his government supports talks to resolve international disputes and opposes “wanton use” of sanctions.

Xi’s remarks confirm that China is sticking to its stance of refusing to criticize Russia’s invasion of Ukraine despite the conflict’s toll on the Ukrainian population and global security.

Beijing has refused to call the conflict an invasion and said Russia was provoked by NATO’s expansion.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia on Thursday reduced the required quarantine period from two weeks to one for arriving travelers who are not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, acting after recording consistently low numbers of new infections in recent days.