Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

PHNOM PENH, Jan 2 (NNN-AKP) – The number of people arrested in Cambodia for allegedly involving in illicit drugs increased in 2020, and the amount of drugs seized rose sharply, according to the Anti-Drug Police Department report today.

The authorities nabbed 20,913 drug-related suspects, in 10,193 cases last year, up four and six percent, respectively, compared to a year earlier.

Some 12,245 people were arrested for drug trafficking and 8,668 were caught for drug use, it said, adding that, 355 of them were foreigners in 14 nationalities.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo reported 816 new daily coronavirus cases on Sunday, a day after governors from the capital and neighboring prefectures called on the Japanese government to announce a state of emergency to combat a recent surge in cases.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has resisted calls for a second national state of emergency; the government first introduced that measure in April during an earlier wave of the pandemic. Suga is scheduled to speak publicly on Jan. 4.

BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 has traveled more than 400 million km by Sunday morning and is expected to enter Mars orbit next month, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

As of 6 a.m. on Sunday (Beijing Time), the Mars probe had flown in space for 163 days. It was about 130 million km from Earth and about 8.3 million km from Mars.

According to the CNSA, the probe is functioning stably and is scheduled to slow down before entering Mars orbit in more than a month and preparing itself to land on the red planet.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China will take “necessary measures” to safeguard the interests of its companies after the New York Stock Exchange began delisting three Chinese telecom firms accused of having military ties, the country’s commerce ministry said on Saturday.

The NYSE said on Thursday that it would begin delisting China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom in response to a decision by President Donald Trump to bar U.S. investment in firms owned or controlled by the Chinese military.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has rebuffed the latest offer of talks from Taiwan, saying the government was engaging in a “cheap trick” and provocation by seeking confrontation with China at every turn.

Taiwan is ready to have “meaningful” talks with China as equals as long as they are willing to put aside confrontation, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday, offering another olive branch to Beijing in her New Year’s speech.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China’s relationship with the United States has reached a “new crossroads” and could get back on the right track following a period of “unprecedented difficulty”, senior diplomat Wang Yi said in official comments published on Saturday.

Relations between the world’s two biggest economies have come under increasing strain amid a series of disputes over trade, human rights and the origins of COVID-19. In its latest move, the United States blacklisted dozens of Chinese companies it said had ties to the military.

TOKYO (Reuters) -The governors of Tokyo and three other Japanese prefectures urged the government on Saturday to declare a state of emergency following a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.

Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters at a briefing after meeting the governors that the government would need to hear from experts before deciding on whether to make an emergency declaration.

New COVID-19 infections in Tokyo hit a record 1,337 on Dec. 31, and on Friday numbered 783. A nationwide record was also set on Dec. 31 with 4,520 new cases.

HONG KONG, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 jolted 187 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea at 08:34:18 GMT on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10.0 km, was initially determined to be at 5.811 degrees south latitude and 153.1132 degrees east longitude. 

SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korea decided on Saturday to extend its tightened social-distancing rules for two more weeks amid a continued COVID-19 resurgence.

The Seoul metropolitan area will be placed under the second-highest Level 2.5 social-distancing guidelines for two more weeks until Jan. 17, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.

TOKYO, Jan 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tokyo posted 1,337 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, the highest daily count ever, local media reported, as Japan is in the midst of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The figure was far larger than the previous single-day record of 949 new cases on Saturday, when Japan reported a national record of 3,851 new infections, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The Japanese capital has been battered by a third wave of “unprecedented scale,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told a news conference.