Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

(Reuters) - Myanmar’s military junta guaranteed on Tuesday that it would hold an election and hand over power, denied its ouster of an elected government was a coup or that its leaders were detained, and accused protesters of violence and intimidation.

The junta’s defence of its Feb. 1 seizure of power and arrest of government leader Aug San Suu Kyi and others came as protesters again took to the streets and as China dismissed rumours spreading on social media that it had helped with the coup.

(Reuters) - China’s ambassador to Myanmar said on Tuesday the current political situation was “absolutely not what China wants to see” and dismissed social media rumours of Chinese involvement in the Feb. 1 military coup as “completely nonsense”.

In an interview with local media posted on the Chinese embassy Facebook page, ambassador Chen Hai said China maintained “friendly relations” with both the army and the former ruling civilian government.

HONG KONG (AP) — Two former Hong Kong lawmakers pleaded guilty to illegal assembly charges Tuesday, as a trial opened for them and seven other prominent democracy activists in what is seen as a crackdown on dissent in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares advanced on Tuesday, lifted by the economic recovery, vaccine rollouts and signs that new coronavirus cases may be abating.

U.S. markets were closed Monday for Washington’s Birthday, a national holiday. Shanghai remains closed for the Lunar New Year, until Thursday.

France’s CAC 40 edged up nearly 0.2% to 5,795.86 in early trading, while Germany’s DAX added 0.1% to 14,126.81. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3% to 6,774.58. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures adding 0.6% to 31,600. S&P 500 futures rose 0.5% to 3,950.88.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Over half of Japanese firms believe the Tokyo Olympic Games should be cancelled or postponed, a survey by think tank Tokyo Shoko Research showed on Monday, casting further doubt over the fate of the troubled Games.

Japan is struggling to contain the coronavirus and lags behind western countries in rolling out vaccines, even as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga vowed to get conditions in place to host the once-postponed Summer Olympics from July 23.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibjo, a business partner of former U.S. president Donald Trump, launched on Monday construction on a movie studio as part of a tourism complex on Java island that is set to receive tax breaks.

Lido City is the umbrella project located around 60 km (37 miles) south of the capital Jakarta in the Bogor area, where the Trump Organization will operate luxury villas, a resort and a golf course.

MANILA (Reuters) - The United States is providing the Philippines with military aid that amounts to “loose change” compared to other Asian countries, a top official said on Monday, justifying demands by President Rodrigo Duterte for Washington to pay more.

Duterte last week said the United States should fork out more if it wants to maintain a two-decade old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which he unilaterally cancelled last year in an angry response to an ally being denied a U.S. visa.

BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's Tianwen-1 probe on Monday performed an orbital maneuver around Mars after it became the country's first spacecraft to explore an extraterrestrial planet.

A 3000N engine was ignited at 5 p.m. (Beijing time) to ensure the probe's trajectory passes the poles of Mars. The periareion, the point in the orbit that is closest to Mars, was adjusted to 265 km, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The spacecraft will perform several more orbital adjustments to enter a parking orbit, said the CNSA.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar’s military leaders have extended their detention of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose remand was set to expire Monday and whose freedom is a key demand of the crowds of people continuing to protest this month’s military coup.

Suu Kyi will now be remanded until Feb. 17, when she will likely appear in court by videoconference, according to Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer asked by Suu Kyi’s party to represent her. The Nobel laureate remains under house arrest on a minor charge of possessing unregistered imported walkie-talkies.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan on Sunday formally approved its first COVID-19 vaccine and said it would start nationwide inoculations within days, but months behind the U.S. and many other countries.

Japan’s health ministry said it had approved the vaccine co-developed and supplied by Pfizer Inc.

The announcement comes after a government panel on Friday confirmed that final results of clinical testing done in Japan showed that the vaccine had an efficacy similar to what overseas tests showed.