SEOUL -- A South Korean district court fined Samsung Electronics' billionaire Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong 70 million won ($60,000) on Tuesday over the tycoon's repeated use of an anesthetic.

The Seoul Central District Court ordered Lee to pay the money as the drug, known as propofol, is an addictive controlled substance and its abuse can result in social problems.

"Considering the social influence of the accused, his crime is not small because he received considerable doses" of the

TOKYO -- The coronavirus erased about $1.7 trillion from the combined gross domestic product of Asia's largest economies in 2020, according to a report by the Japan Center for Economic Research.

JCER has estimated economic losses from the coronavirus in 15 Asian countries and regions by comparing GDP forecasts made before the pandemic and with GDP growth rates recorded afterward.

Based on forecasts by the International Monetary Fund in October 2019, JCER calculated nominal GDP the countries and regions would have achieved if

TOKYO -- As Japan slowly opens up its economy after a lengthy emergency declaration, the restaurant and tourism industries are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"We can finally stay open until late at night," said Kazunari Maguchi, the proprietor of the Rockfish bar in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district. On Monday, the Japanese capital and Osaka stopped asking restaurants to shorten operating hours.

Since the state of emergency was lifted this month, Rockfish has served drinks until 8 p.m.

HONG KONG -- Modern Land China has become the latest developer from Asia's largest economy to miss a dollar bond payment, underscoring the stress spreading across the sector.

The company failed to pay interest and principal due on a $250 million bond, according to a filing on Tuesday with the Singapore stock exchange, where the bond is listed. The company said it is working with its legal counsel Sidley Austin and expects to engage financial advisors soon to help it through the crisis.

The repayment was not met

SINGAPORE -- Top leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations began a series of virtual summits on Tuesday, with multiple challenges hanging over the region's premier diplomatic events of the year.

The meetings -- which run until Thursday and include regionwide discussions as well as talks with key individual partners like the U.S., China, Japan and India -- come amid prolonged political unrest in Myanmar that has cast doubt on the bloc's international relevance. At the same time, the intensifying security rivalry between

TOKYO -- Over 100 companies and business groups, including Ford Motor, BMW and Denso, have agreed on common standards for evaluating and pricing used electric vehicle batteries.

The move marks a potential milestone in the drive to create vibrant secondhand markets for EV batteries. In turn, those markets could help encourage more people to buy electric cars, knowing that they can sell on used batteries.

Until now, there have been no global standards on how to evaluate the condition of secondhand batteries.

The Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's Princess Mako married her commoner boyfriend, Kei Komuro, on Tuesday, the Imperial Household Agency said, after years of controversy over a financial dispute involving his mother leading the couple to forgo traditional ceremonies associated with a royal marriage.

The agency submitted legal paperwork to register the couple's marriage on their behalf, four years since their relationship was made public.

SEOUL (Reuters) -- South Korea's economic growth slowed in the third quarter, as subdued private consumption and weak construction and facility investment offset robust exports.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in the third quarter, central bank data showed on Tuesday, the slowest in five and following a 0.8% rise in the preceding quarter. It also missed 0.6% growth tipped in a Reuters survey.

Private consumption, which generates nearly half of South Korean GDP

SYDNEY -- Australia's Crown Resorts will retain control of its flagship Melbourne casino despite an official state inquiry finding the company "unsuitable" as a licensed operator.

The inquiry, led by former judge Ray Finkelstein, concluded that Crown's conduct had been "illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative" and said the scale of the wrongdoing was so widespread and egregious that "no other finding was open."

In spite of unearthing repeated breaches of law, the inquiry concluded it would not be appropriate to immediately cancel