Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO (AP) — The Tokyo Olympics, already delayed by the pandemic, are not looking like much fun: Not for athletes. Not for fans. And not for the Japanese public. They are caught between concerns about the coronavirus at a time when few are vaccinated on one side and politicians who hope to save face by holding the games and the International Olympic Committee with billions of dollars on the line on the other.

Japan is famous for running on consensus. But the decision to proceed with the Olympics — and this week to permit some fans, if only locals — has shredded it.

BEIJING, June 22 (Reuters) - China's longest-serving ambassador to Washington, Cui Tiankai, announced on Tuesday that he will be leaving his post after eight years, departing at a time of strained relations between the world's two largest economies.

Cui, who is 68 and past the retirement age of 65 for senior Chinese diplomats, was known for keeping his cool during the often heated disagreements between Beijing and the administration of former President Donald Trump.

June 22 (Reuters) - Myanmar security forces backed by armoured vehicles clashed on Tuesday with a newly formed militia group in the second-biggest city of Mandalay resulting in at least two casualties, according to members of the group and media reports.

Since the army seized power on Feb. 1 and removed the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, the security forces have put down protests opposing military rule. In response, groups of opponents of the coup known as people's defence forces have sprung up across Myanmar.

HONG KONG, June 22 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's High Court on Tuesday approved bail for a pro-democracy activist who is among 47 charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under a sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on its freest city last year, the city's public broadcaster RTHK reported.

Owen Chow, 24, who has been in jail for nearly four months, was ordered to pay HK$50,000 and follow a list of bail conditions, including not threatening national security, reporting to police every day and surrendering all travel documents, according to RTHK.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president has threatened to order the arrest of Filipinos who refuse COVID-19 vaccination and told them to leave the country if they would not cooperate with the efforts to contain the pandemic.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who is known for his public outbursts and brash rhetoric, said in televised remarks Monday night that he has become exasperated with people who refuse to get immunized then help spread the coronavirus.

HONG KONG (AP) — Foreign governments are “beautifying” acts that endanger national security in Hong Kong when they criticize the recent crackdown on a pro-democracy newspaper, the leader of the semiautonomous Chinese territory said Tuesday.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s comments come as some countries including the U.S. condemn the arrest of editors and executives at Apple Daily and the freezing of its assets as the latest examples of eroding freedoms in the former British colony.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed prospects for early resumption of diplomacy with the United States, saying Tuesday the U.S. expectations for talks would “plunge them into a greater disappointment.”

Kim Yo Jong issued the statement after U.S. National Security adviser Jake Sullivan described as an “interesting signal” her brother’s recent statement that North Korea must be ready for both dialogue and confrontation, but more for confrontation.

BEIJING, June 21 (APP): The international community should all act up and stop India from doubling down on its illegal actions in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir ( IIOJK) so as to maintain peace and stability in South Asia, Cheng Xizhong, visiting professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law and former Defense Attache in South Asian countries said on Monday.

JAKARTA, June 21 (Reuters) - After not securing a COVID-19 vaccination at home, Indonesian Muhammad Risqy Putra booked a trip to the United States to get inoculated there on his first overseas trip since the pandemic.

With rich nations like the United States rolling out vaccinations far more quickly, wealthier residents in developing countries - from Indonesia to Thailand to Mexico - are prepared to head abroad to get a shot more quickly.

HONG KONG, June 21 (Reuters) - Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily will be forced to shut "in a matter of days" after authorities froze the company's assets under a national security law, an adviser to jailed owner Jimmy Lai told Reuters on Monday.

The closure of Apple Daily would undermine the former British colony's reputation as an open and free society and send a warning to other companies that could be accused of colluding with a foreign country, media advocacy groups said.