Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Protesters in Myanmar on Thursday marked two months since the military seized power by again defying the threat of lethal violence and demonstrating against its toppling of the country’s democratically elected government.

Security forces have escalated violence and routinely shot protesters but have been unable to crush the massive public resistance to the Feb. 1 coup. International condemnation and sanctions imposed by Western nations on the military regime have failed to restore peace.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will visit Washington for talks with President Joe Biden on April 16, the government announced Friday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters that Suga will be the first foreign leader to meet Biden in person since he took office in January.

“That by itself is proof that the United States places importance on Japan,(asterisk) he said. ”It is also significant as we demonstrate the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance and the U.S. commitment to engage in the Indo-Pacific region.(asterisk)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A passenger train smashed into a truck on its tracks and partially derailed outside a rail tunnel along Taiwan’s east coast Friday, killing 34 people and injuring dozens, local police said. Survivors were climbing out windows and onto roofs to reach safety.

Officials in Hualien county said rescue efforts were continuing.

The crash occurred near the Toroko Gorge scenic area around 9 a.m. on a public holiday.

Media reported 350 passengers were on board.

BEIJING, Apr 1 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan’s letter to Indian counterpart Narendra Modi showed Pakistan’s good wishes and unremitting efforts aimed at enabling durable peace and stability in South Asia.

“This letter depicted the wisdom and vision of PM Khan”, these views were expressed by Cheng Xizhong, Visiting Professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law and former military diplomat in South Asian countries on Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 (NNN-Bernama) — A total of 215,395 individuals in the first phase of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme have completed receiving both doses of their vaccine shots as of Wednesday.

Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said 482,808 individuals had received the first dose during the same period, bringing the total number of doses administered so far to 698,203.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia continues to dominate global sukuk markets in 2020 with a market share of 39.2 per cent despite the impact of the pandemic on the global economy and economic sentiment.

RAM Rating Services Bhd (RAM Ratings) revealed that global sukuk issuance rose 16.8 per cent to US$152.6 billion (US$1=RM4.14) last year compared with US$130.6 billion in 2019.

MANILA, Apr 1 (NNN-PNA) – The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) reported today, 8,920 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 756,199.

The death toll climbed to 13,303, after six more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH added.

The Philippines, which has about 110 million population, tested over 9.5 million people, since the outbreak in Jan, 2020. This country kicked off its vaccination programme on Mar 1, a day after the delivery of the first batch of Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine, donated by China.

PUTRAJAYA, April 1 (NNN-Bernama) – Malaysia will receive a supply of 3.5 million doses of CanSino COVID-19 vaccine from China in stages, starting this month, said Health Minister Dr Adham Baba.

He said the procurement of the vaccine is being made in two categories, namely finished product of 500,000 doses, and the rest delivery in bulk to be filled and packaged by local company Solutions Biologics Sdn Bhd (SolBio).

(Reuters) -Myanmar activists burned copies of a military-framed constitution on Thursday two months after the junta seized power, as a U.N. special envoy warned of the risk of a bloodbath because of an intensified crackdown on anti-coup protesters.

Myanmar has been rocked by protests since the army overthrew the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1 citing unsubstantiated claims of fraud in a November election.

Suu Kyi and other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) have been detained.

BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- A report on the global tracing of COVID-19 origins released Tuesday by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that the novel coronavirus might have spread in many countries before the first case was detected in China, according to media reports.

The team of the WHO report reviewed data from published studies from different countries suggesting early circulation of SARS-CoV-2, reported Sputnik news agency.