BANGKOK -- The Bank of Thailand lowered its growth forecast for Southeast Asia's second largest economy, as the spread of the delta COVID variant is seen adversely affecting private consumption and tourist inflows.

"The Thai economy was projected to expand 0.7% and 3.7% in 2021 and 2022 respectively," said the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee in its policy statement released on Wednesday.

In the previous statement in June, the bank viewed the economy as growing 1

SINGAPORE -- The U.S. is pushing to raise its profile as a source of coronavirus vaccines for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, countering similar Chinese moves and courting a 10-member bloc that is vital to its Indo-Pacific strategy.

The U.S. and China were set to come face to face in the online East Asia Summit foreign ministers meeting Wednesday evening, with the two superpowers expected to lay out their positions on pressing issues including the COVID-19 recovery. Both sides telegraphed

TOKYO -- The Tokyo Olympics are well underway after a long journey filled with controversy, and an unprecedented one-year postponement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proceedings officially began with the opening ceremony at the National Stadium , a mostly subdued affair mixed with joyous moments like a high-tech drone show, and capped by tennis star Naomi Osaka lighting the Olympic cauldron.

We're tracking the latest medal count .

Read our breakdown of the events to watch .

Here are the latest developments:

Wednesday,

TOKYO -- Banks around the world have significantly scaled back their bricks-and-mortar infrastructure, as the growing popularity of low-cost online banking forces a rethink of their business model.

The number of physical bank branches in roughly 100 countries with comparable data has dropped by 56,000, or 14%, over the past 10 years, according to International Monetary Fund data on commercial banks. The U.S. shed 1,500 in 2020

TOKYO -- Rakuten Group has agreed to export its low-cost virtual 5G telecommunications technology to German wireless carrier 1&1, the Japanese tech conglomerate said Wednesday, in a deal believed to be worth more than $2 billion.

1&1, a relative newcomer in the telecom industry, represents the first client to fully adopt Rakuten's virtual network tech, which will support 5G communication. Rakuten won contracts to design, maintain and operate the network.

Rakuten will receive between 250 billion yen

DALIAN, China -- The worst coronavirus outbreak to rip through China since last year threatens to bring the nation's economy to another standstill, as Honda Motor is forced to suspend operations at a production hub.

Honda has temporarily shut down all three of its joint-venture assembly plants in Wuhan since Tuesday. Too many factory workers are unable to come to work due to lockdowns in surrounding areas, according to the Japanese automaker.

The plants have a combined annual capacity of 720,000 vehicles,

Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff writer and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He is the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize for international reporting.

TOKYO -- China does not relax its diplomatic muscles even during the celebratory mood of the Tokyo Olympics.

At issue are remarks by Zhao Lijian, a deputy director-general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Information Department and a known "wolf warrior

Lynn Kuok is Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Neglected by top U.S. officials since President Joe Biden took office in January, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's first official tour of Southeast Asia last week -- which included stops in Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines -- was closely watched.

Aimed at strengthening the U.S. network of allies and partners in the region, Austin struck the right tone. His biggest achievement was convincing Philippines

NEW YORK -- Lawyers for Meng Wanzhou argued that U.S. prosecutors have provided a litany of misstatements and misleading information to the Canadian authorities, as the extradition trial of Huawei's chief financial officer reached its final stretch on Wednesday.

After over two years of legal battles, Meng was back in court in Vancouver for a last round of hearings, which could continue until Aug. 20. The trial comes against a backdrop of intense pressure from China on the U.S. to drop the case,