Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

GUANGZHOU, June 27 (Xinhua) -- China's top epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said in an interview with Xinhua that building an immune barrier is urgently needed to combat the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19.

Zhong said the resurgence of the virus in Guangzhou, capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, was the first time that China had to cope with the delta variant spreading in the community.

The variant, which was first identified in India, has a shorter incubation period than other variants and the infected individuals experience longer recovery periods.

Beijing, Jun 27 (AP-PTI) Tesla is recalling about 285,000 electric vehicles in China because the cruise-control function can be activated accidentally and cause cars to accelerate suddenly, creating a safety hazard, Chinese authorities have said.

In a message to customers on the Chinese social media platform Weibo on Saturday, Tesla said, There are potential safety hazards in extreme cases.

BANGKOK (AP) — Faced with a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, the Thai capital on Sunday announced a ban on indoor dining and gatherings of more than 20 people, in addition to the closure of construction sites and the sealing off of workers’ quarters in Bangkok and nine other provinces.

The measures will remain for 30 days.

Thailand reported 3,995 confirmed cases and 42 dead in the last 24 hours. The numbers have doubled recently, and health officials blame a lack of cooperation from migrant workers employed in construction and in factories.

BEIJING, June 26 (APP): As Pakistan is a key partner in the current $400 billion global medical device industries, some Chinese homegrown medical device companies are developing the market and seeking cooperation in Pakistan, and they say CPEC has promoted cooperation between the two countries in this area.

JAKARTA, June 26 (Reuters) - Indonesia and the United States have broken ground on a new $3.5 million maritime training centre in the strategic area of Batam, in the Riau Islands, Indonesia's maritime security agency said.

Attending the ceremony virtually on Friday, the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, Sung Kim, said the maritime centre would be part of ongoing efforts between the two countries to bolster security in the region.

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday said that China will continue to make all-out efforts in participating in UN affairs, safeguard the status of the UN, and promote the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

Wang made the remarks when attending the Lanting Forum on China and the UN: Cooperation in 50 Years and Beyond held on Friday in Beijing.

GUANGZHOU, June 25 (Xinhua) -- China's top epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said on Friday that Chinese vaccines are effective against the COVID-19 Delta variant, and he urged more people to be vaccinated.

Zhong said the epidemic resurgence in Guangzhou, the capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, was the first time that China had to cope with the Delta variant spreading in communities. The variant, which was first identified in India, has a shorter incubation period and those who are infected take a longer time to recover.

MANILA, Jun 25 (NNN-PNA) – The World Bank today approved a 400-million-U.S. dollar loan, to support reforms that will assist the Philippine government in achieving a resilient financial sector, and help ensure a more inclusive recovery from the COVID-19.

The bank said, the Philippines First Financial Sector Reform Development Policy Financing loan, is the first of two programmes supporting three reform areas, including strengthening financial sector stability, integrity, and resilience.

HONG KONG, June 24 (Reuters) - China's foreign ministry on Friday rejected comments by U.S. President Joe Biden that the closure of Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper signaled intensifying repression by Beijing in the semi-autonomous city.

Also on Friday, China approved the promotions of two officials in a move that critics said would further tighten Beijing's grip.

Hong Kong's security secretary John Lee was appointed chief

SHANGHAI, June 25 (Reuters) - The virus that causes COVID-19 could have started spreading in China as early as October 2019, two months before the first case was identified in the central city of Wuhan, a new study showed on Friday.

Researchers from Britain's University of Kent used methods from conservation science to estimate that SARS-CoV-2 first appeared from early October to mid-November 2019, according to a paper published in the PLOS Pathogens journal.