Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

Feb 4 (Reuters) - A court in military-run Myanmar postponed a hearing in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi this week, a source with knowledge of proceedings said on Friday, after media reported the ousted leader had not been feeling well.

Suu Kyi had been due in court on Thursday and Friday for hearings on corruption charges related to the leasing and purchase of a helicopter while in office.

U.S.-funded RFA (Radio Free Asia) reported that Suu Kyi was allowed to miss the hearings at the request of her doctor because she was suffering from dizziness and nausea.

BANGKOK, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Friday that it has approved the use of China's Sinovac and Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines for people 6 years of age and older.

Previously, the FDA only permitted the two vaccines to be used on people aged 18 and above.

The FDA announcement came as the Southeast Asian country has been accelerating vaccine roll-out to step up protection against COVID-19.

TOKYO, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and new U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel held a brief meeting on Friday, local media reported.

In the meeting, the pair affirmed the importance of the alliance between their two countries, among other matters.

Kishida was quoted as saying that Emanuel, who arrived in Japan on Jan. 23 to fill William Hagerty's post who stepped down in July 2019, is trusted by U.S. President Joe Biden and his appointment reflects the solidarity between both countries.

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The motto of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, "Together for a Shared Future," reflects the common aspiration of the human society to jointly overcome global challenges, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni said in a written interview with Xinhua on Wednesday.

"The words reflect the necessity for the world to work together towards a better tomorrow, especially given the difficulties faced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic," he said in the interview ahead of his attendance at the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Friday after a historic plunge in the stock price of Facebook’s parent company helped yank other tech stocks lower on Wall Street.

Hong Kong jumped 2.6% after reopening from Lunar New Year holidays. Shanghai remained closed. Tokyo and Seoul advanced while Sydney was lower. Other regional markets were higher.

Thursday’s retreat in New York ended a four-day winning streak for the market.

BEIJING (AP) — The leaders of Russia and China pushed back against U.S. pressure on Friday, declaring their opposition to any expansion of NATO and affirming that the island of Taiwan is a part of China, as they met hours before the Winter Olympics kicked off in Beijing.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping issued a joint statement highlighting what it called “interference in the internal affairs” of other states, as both leaders face criticism from Washington over their foreign and domestic policies.

BEIJING, Feb 3 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday arrived here on a four-day official visit where he would join other world leaders attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics scheduled to be held Friday.

Accompanied by a high-level delegation including federal cabinet members, the prime minister would also meet the Chinese leadership.

BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games will be the start of a new era for winter sports worldwide with over 300 million Chinese taking up winter sports, said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach on Thursday, as he opened the 139th IOC Session in the Chinese capital on the eve of the Opening Ceremony.

The IOC President added that Beijing will officially become the first city ever to host both summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games on Friday.

BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes the United States' generalization of the concept of national security, its abuse of state power, and its unreasonable suppression of Chinese enterprises in the absence of facts, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a statement on Thursday.

The ministry made the statement in response to the decision by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke China Unicom Americas' authority to provide telecom services in the United States late last month.

TOKYO (AP) — More than a year ago Sebastian Bressa finished his paperwork to become a language teacher in Tokyo and made plans to quit his job in Sydney. His life has been in limbo ever since.

Japan has kept its door closed to most foreigners during the pandemic, and the 26-year-old Australian is one of hundreds of thousands denied entry to study, work or see their families.