The latest news on what's happening in the region on Monday, December 5, 2022
Check out what’s hot in the region as The Nation puts together headlines from members of Asia News Network (ANN). Click to read more: Mon, Dec 5, 2022
ANN news highlights
Bringing Asia Closer
Energy Japan
Power-saving winter starts for households, businesses - The Japan News
A power-saving period started Dec. 1, with the government asking households and businesses across the nation to conserve electricity during the winter. The period is set to end in March next year.
Vocano Indonesia
Indonesia’s Mount Semeru volcano erupts, top alert status triggered | AFP for Borneo Bulletin
Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupted yesterday spewing hot ash clouds a mile into the sky and sending rivers of lava down its side, sparking the evacuation of nearly 2,000 people exactly one year after its last major eruption killed dozens.
Covid-19 China
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China further relaxes Covid-19 rules despite high infection numbers - Straits Times
Some Chinese cities further eased Covid-19 measures over the weekend, including scrapping test result checks at some places, in yet another sign that China is setting the stage for moving towards co-existing with the virus.
Urumqi lifts more COVID-19 restrictions - China Daily
The Grand Bazaar pedestrian street in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and skiing resorts will open from Sunday as the city's COVID-19 outbreak has been further contained, local government said.
China's Xi unwilling to accept vaccines despite threat from protests | Reuters for Inquirer
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is unwilling to accept Western vaccines despite the challenges China is facing with COVID-19, and while recent protests there are not a threat to Communist Party rule, they could affect his personal standing, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said on Saturday.
Myanmar Crisis
7 students sentenced to death: UN | AFP for The Daily Star
The Myanmar junta handed out at least seven more death sentences this week, taking the tally of those on death row to 139, according to the United Nations.
A video clip on social media showed a young woman who was beaten, forced to confess to being a “military informant,” and later shot dead on a pavement spread.
Drones being deployed to monitor Bangladesh-Myanmar border | The Daily Star
The home ministry has decided to use drones to monitor the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Indo-Pacific
Calls for more US economic engagement in Indo-Pacific region at US security forum - Straits Times
Defence leaders at a security forum on Saturday lamented the United States’ lagging economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, noting that it failed to keep up with China and even risked undermining America’s security presence in Asia.
Taiwan
Japan-China joint poll: Half see Taiwan contingency as likely - The Japan News
Some 44.5% of respondents in Japan and 56.7% in China believe a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait is likely “within a few years” or “in the future,” a recent Japan-China joint public opinion poll has found.
Diplomacy Laos-China
Lao, Chinese presidents hold talks in Beijing, witness signing of cooperation deals - Vientiane Times
Secretary General of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party’s (LPRP) Central Committee and President Thongloun Sisoulith held talks with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on November 30.
Asia Media Forum
Opinion: Lights, camera, action – on the world’s stage - The Star/ANN
The global spotlight wouldn’t be anything new for Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister.
Islam
Opinion: World Cup host Qatar seeks to change minds on Islam - Dawn
A professor of Sharia law at Qatar University says the World Cup should be used to counter Islamophobia.
World
Opinion: The end of the world? (2) | Inquirer
The worst polluters paying the most susceptible, poorer countries to adjust to a higher temperature world, called “the loss and damage agreement” was the only positive outcome of the conference, achieved after a tumultuous two-day extension. But, desirable as that is, it does little to reduce the pollution of the atmosphere. What is particularly worrying is that the rich countries had tried to keep this funding off the agenda, but they were forced into it.
City Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City tasked to become Southeast Asia’s economic hub by 2030 - Vietnam News
Ho Chi Minh City is tasked to become a modern city that leads the country in digital economy and an economic hub of Southeast Asia by 2030.
Business S Korea
LG Chem to supply plant-based plastic first to Mattel - Korea Herald
LG Chem, South Korea’s leading chemical firm, said Sunday that it will launch a new acrylonitrile butadiene styrene product using plant-based raw materials, with the first batch being supplied to US toy manufacturer Mattel.
