Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s commerce ministry on Thursday welcomed the removal of Xiaomi Corp. from a U.S. government blacklist, a day after the U.S. reversed a ban on U.S. investments in the smartphone maker that was imposed under former President Donald Trump.

“China has always believed that removing sanctions and restrictions and stopping suppression of Chinese companies will benefit China, the United States, and the world,” Gao Feng, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce, said at a news briefing Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia is facing a more challenging third wave of COVID-19 following the emergence of several new variants that have increased the infectivity rate of the pandemic in the country, said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said the country has been recording a surge in cases over the last few weeks, with COVID-19 positive cases exceeding 4,000 a day over the past few days.

(Reuters) --- A new law that tightens patriotic loyalty tests for Hong Kong politicians will take effect later this month after being passed by the city's legislature on Wednesday, local media reported.

The law is widely expected to further stifle democratic opposition in the global financial hub, extending oath-taking requirements to community level district councils that are dominated by pro-democracy politicians following a landslide win in November 2019. 

TOKYO (AP) — An American lawyer on trial in Japan on charges related to reporting of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s compensation asserted his innocence Wednesday, testifying he acted legally and in Nissan’s best interests.

Greg Kelly, a former executive vice president at Nissan Motor Co., told the Tokyo District Court he was worried Ghosn might job-hop after taking a big pay cut in 2010, when Japan began requiring disclosures of high executive pay.

“He became a retention risk,” Kelly said in response to questioning by his chief defense lawyer, Yoichi Kitamura.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (NNN-Bernama) — The decision to place Malaysia again under a Movement Control Order (MCO) starting Wednesday until June 7 has been deemed the right move to curb the growing spread of COVID-19 in the country.

World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative in Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore Dr Ying-Ru Jacqueline Lo said the measure was important as the capacity of hospital utilisation had reached a critical level with the increase in daily cases.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (NNN-Bernama) — The Pilgrims Fund Board or Tabung Haji (TH) has advised prospective Malaysian pilgrims to be prepared as the Saudi Arabian government may allow foreign pilgrims to perform the Haj this year.

Its executive director Syed Saleh Syed Abdul Rahman said all prospective pilgrims should be physically, spiritually and financially prepared as well as equipped with the required knowledge.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia strongly condemns the airstrikes launched by the Israeli regime on the Gaza Strip Monday which have resulted in deaths and injuries to Palestinians, including children.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the attacks in the last days of the holy month of Ramadan were despicable and disrespectful not only to Muslims around the world, but mankind as a whole.

“This brutal, extreme, and outrageous attack by Israel blatantly violates international law.

BEIJING (AP) — Two amateur computer coders pleaded guilty Tuesday to “stirring up trouble and picking quarrels” in a case that highlighted a growing Chinese government crackdown on online activity.

Chen Mei, 28, and Cai Wei, 27, created an online archive that stored articles that had been censored from the Chinese internet, and an accompanying forum that allowed people to discuss them anonymously.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong officials dropped a plan to mandate foreign domestic workers be vaccinated against the coronavirus, after hearing international criticism the move would be discriminatory.

Most of Hong Kong’s approximately 370,000 domestic workers come from Indonesia and the Philippines, both severely impacted by the pandemic.

BANGKOK (AP) — After Myanmar’s military seized power by ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, they couldn’t even make the trains run on time: State railway workers were among the earliest organized opponents of the February takeover, and they went on strike.