Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Coronavirus restrictions that have significantly limited his public appearances. Warning signals for an economy battered by pandemic-related border closings and natural disasters. The impending departure of a U.S. president who said he “fell in love” with him.

As North Korean leader Kim Jong Un grapples with the toughest challenges of his nine-year rule, he’s set to open a massive ruling Workers’ Party congress next month to try to muster stronger public loyalty to him and lay out new economic and foreign policies.

BEIJING, Dec. 27 (APP): The construction of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has entered a new stage of high-quality development, which will continue to play an important role in the revitalization of Pakistan, said Cheng Xizhong, a visiting professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law.

BEIJING, Dec 27 (APP): The Two Sessions, a key event in China’s political calendar of 2021, will start on March 4 and 5.

The 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature will open its fourth annual session in Beijing on March 5, according to a decision made by the NPC Standing Committee on Saturday.

The decision was adopted via a vote at the end of the NPC Standing Committee session held from Tuesday to Saturday, the Chinese media reported.

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam’s economic growth slowed this year to its weakest in at least three decades, buffeted by the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and a sluggish global economy, government data showed on Sunday.

The economy expanded 2.91% this year after having posted gross domestic product growth above 7% for two consecutive years, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said in a statement.

The country likely posted a trade surplus of $19.06 billion in the year the GSO said. Average consumer prices rose 3.23%.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - An expert committee convened by Singapore’s health ministry has recommended all residents medically eligible for COVID-19 vaccination to take shots as they become available, although it said vaccination should remain a voluntary option.

The recommendation comes as Singapore’s success in controlling the virus makes some question whether they should take the jabs. The city-state has been reporting almost zero new local cases daily over the last few weeks.

BEIJING (Reuters) -Beijing has tightened COVID-19 curbs over concerns that China’s mass travel during the holiday period could cause cases to spike in the capital, as it reported locally transmitted cases for a fourth straight day on Sunday.

A meeting led by the capital’s Communist party boss, Cai Qi, urged all districts in Beijing to enter an “emergency” mode, sealing off residential compounds and villages where infections are found.

HONG KONG, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Legal professionals in Hong Kong said that a local court, which granted instigator of Hong Kong riots Jimmy Lai Chee-ying bail, has seriously misunderstood the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and undermined its authority.

Seoul, Dec 26 (AP-PTI) South Korea had seemed to be winning the fight against the coronavirus: Quickly ramping up its testing, contact-tracing and quarantine efforts paid off when it weathered an early outbreak without the economic pain of a lockdown. But a deadly resurgence has reached new heights during Christmas week, prompting soul-searching on how the nation sleepwalked into a crisis.

The 1,241 infections on Christmas Day were the largest daily increase. Another 1,132 cases were reported Saturday, bringing South Korea's caseload to 55,902.

BEIJING, Dec. 26 (APP): Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque visited China Tourism Academy (CTA) to discuss China-Pakistan tourism cooperation.

CTA President Dai Bin warmly welcomed Ambassador Haque and his delegation, and said that the Academy is willing to fully communicate with Pakistan on all topics related to tourism.

“Both China and Pakistan are ancient civilizations and shared profound traditional friendship.

BEIJING, Dec 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — China’s ruling Communist Party leaders have congratulated themselves on their “extremely extraordinary” success in handling the Covid-19 outbreak domestically, ahead of a World Health Organization probe into the disease’s origins.

China faced a barrage of criticism at home and abroad over its initial handling of the virus, which emerged in the central city of Wuhan last December.