HONG KONG -- The pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper printed its final edition on Wednesday evening, following the arrest earlier in the day of one of its editorial writers and an eviction warning from its government-owned landlord.

The board of directors of Next Digital, Apple's parent company, said in a statement that "due to current circumstances prevailing in Hong Kong," the newspaper would cease both print and online publication. Apple's website cited concerns over employee safety and a manpower shortage. Staff said that

MANILA -- Philippine former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino has died at the age of 61, ABS-CBN News Channel is reporting, citing multiple sources close to his family.

The cause of death is not immediately clear, though local media has reported he was rushed to Capitol Medical Center in Metro Manila on Thursday. The former president, a bachelor, was known to be a chain smoker, which raised concerns about his health while he was in the office.

Aquino, son of democracy icons former Senator Benigno

NAGOYA -- As chipmakers struggle to secure staffers to keep pace with soaring demand, maintenance service provider Japan Material has launched its own staffing agency so that clients can tap experts trained in the gamut of support operations.

Based in Japan's Mie Prefecture, Japan Material provides chipmakers a wide range of services, from managing gas supply equipment and air conditioning to supplying chemicals and water. It stations hundreds of support staffers full-time at Kioxia and other companies' factories.

Enlisting social media and other channels, the company this

HONG KONG -- Embattled Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily confirmed Wednesday that it will cease publication following the arrest earlier in the day of one of its editorial writers.

The board of directors of Next Digital, Apple's parent company, said in a statement that "due to current circumstances prevailing in Hong Kong," the newspaper would cease both print and online publication no later than Saturday.

Apple's website, however, reported that Thursday's morning edition would be the paper's last,

TOKYO -- Japan is sitting on 30 trillion yen ($271 billion) of coronavirus relief funding, underscoring the struggles the government faces in delivering financial support in a timely fashion.

The government has budgeted 73 trillion yen since spring of last year to combat the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The outlays include 100,000-yen stimulus payments per person and funding for Go To Travel programs that seek to lift the battered tourism industry.

However, with more than

YANGON/BANGKOK -- Myanmar's military on Feb. 1 detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the country's first coup since 1988, bringing an end to a decade of civilian rule.

The Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy had won a landslide in a general election in November . But the military has claimed the election was marred by fraud.

For all our coverage, visit our Myanmar Coup page.

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BANGKOK -- The Bank of Thailand on Wednesday lowered its economic forecast for Southeast Asia's second largest economy due to a third wave of COVID-19 infections, and kept its policy rate at 0.5%.

The bank revised its growth forecast for Thailand in 2021 and 2022 to 1.8% and 3.9%, respectively. Those figures are 1.2 percentage points lower for 2021 and 0.8 point lower for 2022

NEW DELHI -- Around 40 cases of the 'delta plus' strain -- a mutated version of the highly contagious delta variant that drove the much of the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India -- have been detected in the country, the health ministry said Wednesday, amid concerns over a possible resurgence of infections in the South Asian nation.

Three Indian states -- Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, where the delta plus variant, also known as AY.1, has been

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -- Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC will invest 750 million ringgit ($180 million) in Sunway Berhad's health care business, the Malaysian conglomerate said on Wednesday.

GIC will buy a 16% stake in an agreement that values Sunway Healthcare at about 4.69 billion ringgit ($1.13 billion), it said, more than half of Sunway's 8.78 billion ringgit market value.

"The foreign direct investment by GIC