Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BANGI, Malaysia (Reuters) - Malaysian researchers have developed a method to transform the fibre found in normally discarded pineapple leaves to make a strong material that can be used to build the frames for unmanned aircraft, or drones.

The project, headed by Professor Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan at Malaysia’s Putra University, has been trying to find sustainable uses for pineapple waste generated by farmers in Hulu Langat, an area about 65 km (40 miles) from Kuala Lumpur.

BEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- With surging new cases and strict restrictions back in place, the global fight against COVID-19 has grown tougher after the Christmas and New Year holidays.

BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Premier Li Keqiang heard a report on the third-party assessment of the implementation of the Regulation on Improving the Business Environment while chairing the State Council Executive Meeting on Monday, and urged greater efforts to remove barriers and provide stronger legal underpinning for the business environment.

As entrusted by the State Council, third-party assessment of the implementation of the Regulation on Improving the Business Environment has been conducted in nine provinces.

TOKYO, Jan 4 (NNN-NHK) – Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, said here today that, he is determined to host the Tokyo Olympic Games, although the COVID-19 pandemic situation is worsening in his country.

Suga told a press conference that, he will prepare for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games with “determination,” and take all possible measures against the infection and deliver “hope and courage” to the whole world.

BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand’s prime minister on Monday urged the public to stay at home to help contain its biggest coronavirus outbreak and avoid a strict lockdown, as authorities confirmed a daily record of 745 new infections.

The government has declared 28 provinces, including Bangkok, as high-risk zones and asked people to work from home and avoid gathering or travelling beyond provincial borders, as infection numbers climb after an outbreak was detected last month at a seafood market near the capital.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Monday it firmly opposes the United States government’s behaviour of politicizing trade issues after the New York Stock Exchange began delisting three Chinese telecom firms that Washington says have military ties.

Beijing will adopt the necessary measures to safeguard the legal rights of Chinese companies, foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, told a regular news briefing.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Monday it would consider declaring a state of emergency for the Greater Tokyo metropolitan area as coronavirus cases climb, casting fresh doubt over whether it can push ahead with the Olympics and keep economic damage to a minimum.

HANOI, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam has placed an order to buy some 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine made by the British company AstraZeneca, a Vietnamese health official said on Monday, while also seeking to purchase vaccines from other sources.

"We have signed an agreement to guarantee the vaccine for 15 million people, which is equivalent to some 30 million doses," Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong was quoted by Vietnam News Agency as saying at a press briefing on Monday.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian coroner ruled Monday that the death of a French-Irish teen whose body was found near a Malaysian jungle resort where she vanished while on vacation was most likely a misadventure that didn’t involve other people.

Coroner Maimoonah Aid ruled out homicide, natural death and suicide and said Nora Anne Quoirin likely got lost after leaving her family’s cottage on her own.

BEIJING, Jan 3 (APP): Pakistan’s exports which grew for the fourth consecutive month in December 2020 to US$2.357 billion, up 18. per cent from US.1.993 in the corresponding month of the previous year, is a vindication of the government’s policy to keep the wheels of economy running during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This was stated by Cheng Xizhong, visiting professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law in an article here on Sunday.