The latest news on what's happening in the region on Friday, December 9, 2022

ANN news highlights
Bringing Asia Closer

Covid-19 China
Li vows to better balance growth, response to virus - China Daily

China's economic growth will steadily pick up with the implementation of the 10 newly adopted measures on further optimizing the Covid-19 response, Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday, vowing to better coordinate the country's epidemic response and socioeconomic development.

Covid quarantine made voluntary - China Daily

Centralized quarantine for Covid-19 patients has been made voluntary and the rule requiring a negative nucleic acid test result for domestic travel and entry to public venues has been scrapped, as the country takes "small, yet continuous steps" to adjust to the disease.

HK cuts Covid-19 isolation period to 5 days | China Daily

The isolation period for people infected with Covid-19 and their close contacts will be cut to five days starting Friday, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government announced Thursday.

Diplomacy China-Saudi I
China, Saudi Arabia deepen ties - China Daily

Beijing and Riyadh agreed on Thursday to scale up Belt and Road cooperation, expand bilateral trade and investment and boost coordination on international and regional affairs during President Xi Jinping's state visit to Saudi Arabia.

Diplomacy China-Saudi II
Chinese and Saudi think tanks join hands in petroleum studies | China Daily

A leading advisory think tank in Saudi Arabia signed on Dec 6 a memorandum of understanding to promote cross-regional cooperation in energy research between the country and China.

Military Japan-Philippines
Japan fighters in PH; first since World War II | Inquirer

Japan sent two fighter jets to the Philippines for the first time as part of a bilateral air force exchange program, as the two US allies seek to reinforce military alliances amid regional tensions.

Tensions Japan-China
China to be described as ‘greatest strategic challenge’ in Japan’s latest National Security Strategy - The Japan News

China’s hegemonic moves are described as “the greatest strategic challenge” Japan faces in a draft of the National Security Strategy (NSS), which is set to be revised in mid-December.

Kudo Vietnam
Young scientist becomes first Vietnamese awarded by UK Royal Aeronautical Society - Vietnam News

With the Young Persons’ Achievement Award, Dr Nguyen Huyen Duc has become the first Vietnamese scientist to receive the prize from the United Kingdom's Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS).

G20 India
Opinion, India’s G20 presidency and South Asia - Kathmandu Post

India assumed the presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) on December 1 for a one-year term with the theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One earth, one family, one future”. The theme underlines the interconnectedness of the world that we are living in as the issues are global.
 

Society Indonesia
Editorial: Outlaws now - The Statesman

Four years ago, the Supreme Court struck down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalised adultery. At the time, the apex court had noted that few nations had laws penalising adultery, although many retained some form of a legal injunction against the practise as part of divorce laws. The court took note of the fact that several countries had removed adultery from the list of crimes. Among these are China, Japan, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, and most European countries. At that time, it was countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in our neighbourhood and others such as Morocco and the United Arab Emirates that criminalised adultery.

Digital SE Asia
Opinion: Preparing for the next evolution of Southeast Asia’s digital consumers - Jakarta Post

Southeast Asia is adjusting to a new normal with the welcome return of travel and in-person gatherings, be it at work, with family and friends, while shopping, or for play. While it’s easy to slip back into old routines, some habits adopted during the pandemic—such as a heavier reliance on e-commerce—are here to stay.

Finance HK-Singapore
HK and Singapore spar for green finance supremacy - Bloomberg for The Star

Hong Kong and Singapore have long squared off to be the preeminent finance hub for Asia. That battleground is now shifting to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) space, with potentially trillions of dollars at stake.

Agriculture Philippines
PH farms getting empty: Agriculture job loss a worrying trend | Inquirer

The country’s agriculture and forestry industry continues to suffer as it had the largest employment drop in the third quarter of 2022, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
 

Startup India
Samsung invites Indian startups to build wallet, health solutions for its products - The Statesman

Samsung on Thursday invited local startups to collaborate on technologies around the ‘Digital India’ stack, including unified payments interface (UPI), Digilocker, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Open Credit Enablement Network (OCEN) and Unified Health Interface (UHI), among others.

Business S Korea
Korea vows to ease regulatory hurdles for foreign firms - Korea Herald

The South Korean government pledged to make pan-governmental efforts to lift some of the regulations on businesses as part of its drive to draw more foreign-invested companies, the Trade Ministry said Thursday.