Flights cancelled, some production suspended in Japan as typhoon nears - CNA

TOKYO: Japan on Monday (Sep 5) braced for the impact of a strong approaching typhoon, with airlines cancelling flights and some companies suspending production at factories in the western part of the country.

Typhoon Hinnamnor was already pounding parts of the westernmost main island of Kyushu with heavy rain on Monday, with both rain and winds expected to worsen as the storm brushes by on Tuesday and heads towards Korea, which raised its typhoon alert level to the highest.

Parts of Kyushu were expected to be hit by about 300 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours to noon on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, also warning of strong winds and storm surges.

About 70 flights were cancelled on Monday, Japanese media said.

Toyota said it will suspend Monday night shift production starting at 9pm local time and cancel Tuesday morning production at three factories in the western prefecture of Fukuoka.

The automaker expects to resume production on the Tuesday night shift, it said on its website.

Nissan Motor and Nissan Shatai subsidiaries in Fukuoka prefecture were expected to suspend production for Monday night and Tuesday daylight shifts.

Some businesses in South Korea are also contemplating temporary suspensions of operations as typhoon Hinnamnor approaches.

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2022-09-05 07:53:00Z
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Jailed Malaysian ex-PM Najib seeks royal pardon - Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has applied for a royal pardon, the speaker of parliament said on Monday, less than two weeks after he was sent to jail for 12 years for corruption.

Malaysia's top court on Aug. 23 had rejected an appeal by Najib, 69, to set aside his conviction on graft and money laundering charges in a case linked to a multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). read more

Najib, who has also been fined nearly $50 million, has consistently denied wrongdoing.

According to Malaysia's constitution, any lawmaker sentenced to more than a year in prison will automatically lose their seat in parliament, unless they apply for a pardon from the monarch within 14 days.

Parliament Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun said on Monday Najib will remain a legislator until his petition for a pardon, filed on Friday, was decided on.

Najib would lose his seat "only if the petition was rejected" Azhar said in a statement.

A lawyer for Najib confirmed the petition had been filed but declined to provide further details.

The petition is expected to be reviewed by a pardons board headed by the king, which could also consider advice from the the prime minister.

A son of Malay nobility, Najib is believed to be close to some of Malaysia's sultans - the country's traditional rulers who take turns to be the monarch in a unique rotational system.

A full pardon would allow him to return to active politics and even make a comeback as premier, as some of his supporters have called for.

Najib however still faces four other cases, all of which carry jail terms and heavy financial penalties.

Najib was hospitalised on Sunday but local media said he was back in court on Monday.

He was stable and undergoing routine medical checks, his aide told Reuters on Sunday, without elaborating on why he was admitted.

Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Martin Petty

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2022-09-05 05:45:00Z
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No Stream: EU gas markets brace for price surge after latest Russia gas cut - CNA

LONDON: European gas buyers already grappling with record-high prices face further pain when the markets open on Monday (Sep 5) after Russia said one of its main supply pipelines to Europe would remain shut indefinitely, sparking fears over energy rationing.

Lower gas flows from Russia ahead of and following its February invasion of Ukraine have already pushed up European prices by nearly 400 per cent over the past year, sending electricity costs soaring.

Europe has accused Russia of weaponising energy supplies in what Moscow has called an "economic war" with the West over the fallout from the Ukraine conflict, while Moscow blames Western sanctions and technical issues for supply disruptions.

The Nord Stream pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, historically supplied around a third of the gas exported from Russia to Europe, but was already running at just 20 per cent of capacity before flows were halted last week for maintenance.

Expectations were high Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom would restart flows at 20 per cent after the latest stoppage, leading benchmark Dutch TTF gas prices to fall back around 40 per cent from Aug 26's record high to close at just over €200 (US$199) per megawatt hour on Friday.

But after Russia scrapped a Saturday deadline for flows to resume, saying it had discovered a fault during maintenance, prices are likely to surge again, analysts said.

"On Friday... the market was already pricing in Nord Stream 1 (NS1) flows coming back," Energy Aspects gas analyst Leon Izbicki said. "We expect a significantly stronger open for the TTF on Monday."

Sky-high power costs linked to surging gas prices have already forced some energy-hungry industries, including fertiliser and aluminium makers, to scale back production, and led EU governments to pump billions into schemes to help households.

The impact of the latest cut would depend on Europe’s ability to attract gas from other sources, Jacob Mandel, senior associate for commodities at Aurora Energy Research, said.

"Supply is hard to come by, and it becomes harder and harder to replace every bit of gas that doesn’t come from Russia," he said.

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2022-09-04 12:45:35Z
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CanSino's inhaled COVID-19 vaccine gets emergency use approval in China - CNA

HONG KONG: China's CanSino Biologics Inc said on Sunday (Sep 4) that its recently developed COVID-19 vaccine has been approved by the country's drug regulator for emergency use as a booster, potentially benefiting its business.

The inhaled version of CanSino's adenovirus-vectored COVID-19 vaccine has obtained the green light from the National Medical Products Administration, the company said in a filing on Sunday.

"The approval will have a positive impact on the company's performance if the vaccine is subsequently purchased and used by relevant government agencies," CanSino said.

The company cautioned, however, that it will face fierce competition from other vaccines in China that have also obtained government approval or are in clinical trials.

China granted emergency use authorisation to Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Inc's COVID-19 vaccine as a booster, Livzon said on Friday, one of just two new products against the disease the country had cleared in more than a year.

CanSino also said it was uncertain when its vaccine would be able to go to market, since additional administrative approvals are still needed, while sales would depend on the COVID-19 situation at home and abroad, as well as China's vaccination rate.

China has seen a recent flare-up in COVID-19 outbreaks. The southern tech hub of Shenzhen imposed a weekend lockdown in most parts of the city on Saturday, while the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu put its 21 million people under lockdown on Thursday.

Mainland China reported 1,848 new coronavirus cases on Sep 3, including both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections, compared with 1,988 new cases a day earlier.

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2022-09-04 09:19:52Z
CBMicGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS9jYW5zaW5vcy1pbmhhbGVkLWNvdmlkLTE5LXZhY2NpbmUtZ2V0cy1lbWVyZ2VuY3ktdXNlLWFwcHJvdmFsLWNoaW5hLTI5MjAxMzHSAQA

Japan’s Digital Chief Vows to Purge Floppy Disks From Government - Bloomberg

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1. Japan’s Digital Chief Vows to Purge Floppy Disks From Government  Bloomberg
2. Japan declares war on floppy disks for government use  Ars Technica
3. Japan to change laws that require use of floppy disks  The Register
4. Japanese Government Will Finally Stop Using Floppy Disks and CD-ROMs  Tom's Hardware
5. Over a decade after their demise, Japan's government declares "war" on floppy disks  TechSpot
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2022-08-31 04:53:00Z
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China imposes COVID-19 lockdowns for millions around Beijing - CNA

The world's biggest electronics market in Huaqiangbei has also been closed - despite just 35 daily cases being reported in the city of over 18 million.

"The notice to close came abruptly, we only had a few hours to put our stock into warehouses and lock up," a trader at the Huaqiangbei tech market, who only offered his last name Chen, told AFP.

In Futian, where the city government is located, cinemas, karaoke bars and parks are closed until Friday and large public events have been cancelled.

Officials also sealed off Wanxia neighbourhood on the city's outskirts, which offers affordable housing for delivery drivers and migrant workers, although no cases were reported there. 

In the northern city of Shijiazhuang, about three-and-a-half hours' drive from the capital Beijing, four big districts have ordered more than 3 million residents to work from home, excluding essential workers, until Wednesday afternoon.

China reported 1,717 domestically transmitted COVID-19 infections for Aug 29, including 349 symptomatic ones and 1,368 asymptomatic infections, official data showed on Tuesday.

Among over 20 provinces, regions and municipalities that reported cases, the region of Tibet, the province of Sichuan, of which Chengdu is the capital, and the province of Qinghai contributed the most daily cases for Monday.

Qinghai's provincial capital, Xining, with 2.5 million residents, has ordered a lockdown for its main urban areas, halting public transport and restricting movement outside residential compounds. The lockdown, which started on Monday, was scheduled to be lifted on Thursday morning.

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2022-08-30 05:59:35Z
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China imposes COVID-19 lockdowns for millions - CNA

The world's biggest electronics market in Huaqiangbei has also been closed - despite just 35 daily cases being reported in the city of over 18 million.

"The notice to close came abruptly, we only had a few hours to put our stock into warehouses and lock up," a trader at the Huaqiangbei tech market, who only offered his last name Chen, told AFP.

In Futian, where the city government is located, cinemas, karaoke bars and parks are closed until Friday and large public events have been cancelled.

Officials also sealed off Wanxia neighbourhood on the city's outskirts, which offers affordable housing for delivery drivers and migrant workers, although no cases were reported there. 

In the northern city of Shijiazhuang, about three-and-a-half hours' drive from the capital Beijing, four big districts have ordered more than 3 million residents to work from home, excluding essential workers, until Wednesday afternoon.

China reported 1,717 domestically transmitted COVID-19 infections for Aug 29, including 349 symptomatic ones and 1,368 asymptomatic infections, official data showed on Tuesday.

Among over 20 provinces, regions and municipalities that reported cases, the region of Tibet, the province of Sichuan, of which Chengdu is the capital, and the province of Qinghai contributed the most daily cases for Monday.

Qinghai's provincial capital, Xining, with 2.5 million residents, has ordered a lockdown for its main urban areas, halting public transport and restricting movement outside residential compounds. The lockdown, which started on Monday, was scheduled to be lifted on Thursday morning.

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2022-08-30 05:59:00Z
1547878159