Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

WUHAN, China (Reuters) - A World Health Organization-led team investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic left its quarantine hotel in Wuhan on Thursday to begin field work, two weeks after arriving in the Chinese city where the virus emerged in late 2019.

The mission has been plagued by delays, concern over access and bickering between China and the United States, which has accused China of hiding the extent of the initial outbreak and criticised the terms of the visit, under which Chinese experts conducted the first phase of research.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Authorities in Singapore have detained without trial a 16-year-old student who made detailed plans and preparations to carry out “terrorist attacks” on two mosques with a machete.

The Singaporean teen was inspired by an Australian white supremacist who killed 51 worshippers at two mosques in New Zealand in 2019, the Internal Security Department said Wednesday.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares skidded on Thursday as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October.

Benchmarks in Japan, South Korea, Australia and China declined Thursday. The region is looking ahead to earnings season for a read on how companies are faring amid COVID-19 infections, which have been relatively low in some nations such as New Zealand, compared to other global regions.

BEIJING, Jan 27 (APP): At a time when Indian media was relieved by high rate of coronavirus antibodies found in the New Delhi population, Chinese experts believed it did indicate the country’s inadequate virus control capacity, warning that India may even become a global ‘base camp’ for the virus if the situation continues after the borders reopen.

MANILA, Jan 27 (NNN-PNA) – Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, named Army chief, Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, as the new chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), presidential spokesperson, Harry Roque, said today.

Roque expressed confidence that Sobejana “will continue to modernise our military and undertake reform initiatives, to make the AFP truly professional in its mandate as protector of the people and state.”

HANOI (Reuters) - Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party chief, has been nominated for a rare third term, a Party official said, according to several state media articles that were published on Wednesday then subsequently amended, removing the comments.

On Monday, more than 1,600 delegates began nine days of mostly closed-doors meetings at the Party’s five-yearly Congress, during which a new leadership team will be picked to bolster Vietnam’s ongoing economic success - and the legitimacy of the Party’s rule.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga apologised on Wednesday after lawmakers from his ruling coalition visited night clubs despite his government’s call for people to avoid unnecessary outings to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The news is another headache for Suga whose approval rating has tumbled because of dissatisfaction with his handling of the pandemic, which critics have called too slow and inconsistent.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday it was seeking details about 25 of its nationals who were among 61 crew on two supertankers seized by Indonesia on suspicion of illegally transferring oil.

Indonesia said on Sunday it had seized the vessels after they were detected making the transfer from Iranian-flagged MT Horse to Panamanian-flagged MT Freya, causing an oil spill.

The Indonesian authorities said the seizure was not related to U.S. sanctions, which Washington imposed in a bid to shut off Iran’s oil exports in a dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Beijing, Jan 27 (AP-PTI) The Chinese government said Wednesday that actions like its warplanes flying near Taiwan last weekend are a warning against both foreign interference in Taiwan and any independence moves by the island.

Asked about the flights, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said China's military drills are to show the nation's resolution to protect its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

TOKYO (AP) — Remember the word: Playbook.

This is the rule book that the IOC and Tokyo organizers are set to roll out next week to explain how 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes and tens of thousands of others will try to safely enter Japan when the Olympics open in just under six months.

Organizers and the International Olympic Committee are finally going public with their planning, hoping to push back against reports the Olympics will be canceled with Tokyo and much of Japan still under a state of emergency with COVID-19 cases rising.