Asia Philippines The country has accused China of shining a 'military-style' laser light to scuttle a supply mission in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea; the laser glare temporarily blinded the crew of the Philippine coast guard vessel, forcing it to retreat
Asia Sri Lanka Single-use plastic will be banned after a series of deaths of elephants and wild deer from plastic poisoning; the measure was recommended by a working group appointed 18 months ago to study the impact of plastic waste on environment and wildlife
Asia Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides won the presidential election, promising a unity government tasked with advancing peace talks with estranged Turkish Cypriots; Christodoulides, 49, took 51,9% of the vote, runoff independent rival Mavroyiannis, 66, took 48,1%
Asia Taiwan The promotional poster for Pool A of the World Baseball Classic, to be held in Taichung, has been updated to include photos of players from all competing teams, after the event organiser, Major League Baseball, protested the absence of Taiwanese players
Asia Mongolia Mongolia and Poland cooperate on film production: as the opportunity has opened up with recently passed law to promote film production in Mongolia, the two sides discussed political support for joint film productions
Asia Qatar Amir Al-Thani, on a working visit, has met with Turkish President Erdogan in Istanbul, becoming the first leader to visit Turkey after last week’s earthquakes; mobile homes donated by Qatar have been deployed in Turkey and Syria
Asia Singapore Over 20.000 citizens crowded the area of Sri Mariamman Temple for its sixth consecration ceremony, known as the Maha Kumbabishegam; a national monument, the oldest Hindu temple has 200 years of history and was unveiled after a year-long restoration
Asia Kyrgyzstan The Bishkek City Council approved an increase in tariffs for the collection and burying of household solid waste, to be applied from March
Asia Georgia Around 2000 guests rom 42 countries of the world are expected at the FIS World Freestyle Ski and Snowboard Championship, a milestone event in Bakuriani from February 16 to March 5, 2023; overall, 30 tournaments in 7 disciplines will be held
Asia China Wu Yibing became the first Chinese player to win ATP Tour final, rallying for a three-set victory over American Isner in the Dallas Open
Asia Vietnam Local officials and experts are discussing the creation of the national database centre, emphasising that the right approach will make it a driving force for the country's development
Asia United Arab Emirates As part of the UAE government's directives to make the UAE the best security country in the world, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior recently launched the MoI strategy for the period 2023-2026
Asia South Korea Apple Pay digital payment service will finally be launched in South Korea; the announcement made official the collaboration with local partner Hyundai Cars, who also released a statement saying it is ‘looking forward’ to the event