Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING (AP) — China and U.S. had a “very good year” for collaboration on dealing with climate change, but Washington is still pushing Beijing to adopt more ambitious carbon reduction goals, the top U.S. diplomat in China said.

David Meale, the American Embassy’s No. 2 official, said that what China does on burning coal will be crucial to whether the world can meet its target of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, as set by the 2015 Paris climate accord.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets rose Monday after Wall Street hit a new high and China promised support for entrepreneurs to shore up economic growth.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong and Sydney advanced ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting this week at which higher U.S. inflation might influence a decision on when to start rolling back stimulus that is boosting stock markets.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index closed Friday up 3.8% for the week in a rally led by tech companies.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Too young. Too weak. Too inexperienced.

Since taking power following his father’s sudden death 10 years ago, Kim Jong Un has erased the widespread doubts that greeted his early attempts to extend his family’s brutal dynastic grip over North Korea.

BEIJING, Dec 11 (APP): China’s inclusion in the World Trade Organization (WTO) has not only helped China to open up and promote free and inclusive trade liberalization, but also the other countries, especially the developing world.

Many developing nations had benefited since China’s inclusion in the WTO, he told CGTN on 20th anniversary of China’s entry into WTO. Ambassador Haque said Pakistan was a close ally of China and China was its top trading partner and hit back at claims that China has undermined WTO rules.

HANOI, Dec 11 (NNN-VNA) – The Vietnamese government approved the resumption of regular commercial flights between Vietnam and international destinations, which are highly safe from COVID-19, from Jan 1, 2022.

According to the latest notice by the Vietnamese government, the destinations included those in China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia and the United States.

MANILA, Dec 11 (NNN-PNA) – The World Bank today approved a 600 million U.S. dollar loan, to support the Philippine government’s reform programme, to position the country for a competitive and resilient economic recovery.

The World Bank said, the loan will support ongoing government reforms for promoting private investment, reducing the cost of doing business, and expanding broadband services, to encourage investments in information and communications technology.

SEOUL, Dec 11 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea reported 6,977 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight, compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 510,583.

The daily caseload was slightly down from 7,022 the previous day, but it stayed around 7,000 after topping 7,000 for the past three days.

The recent resurgence was attributable to small cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area.

TOKYO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed on Saturday on the need to fortify their countries' alliance amid a tougher regional security environment, a Japanese government official said.

Hayashi and Blinken held talks on the sidelines of a meeting of Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers in the English city of Liverpool.

BEIJING, Dec 11 (Reuters) - China has ordered some border cities to beef up vigilance against COVID-19 with measures such as mandatory testing for travellers, in its effort to prevent clusters caused by viruses arriving from abroad.

Since mid-October, locally-transmitted symptomatic cases have risen to more than 2,000, with several small northern towns on the borders with Russia or Mongolia, among the hardest-hit, as health resources there are sparser than in major cities.

BEIJING, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Over 1.16 billion Chinese people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission said at a press conference Saturday.

A total of 2.59 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered as of Friday, said Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the commission.