HONG KONG -- Embattled Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily will cease to operate on Friday unless authorities unfreeze assets linked to the arrest of its top editors and executives, according to a decision by the board of its parent company announced to employees.

According to the internal memo seen by Nikkei Asia, parent company Next Digital has appealed to Hong Kong's Security Bureau to release 18 million Hong Kong dollars ($2.32 million) of assets of three group companies that were frozen last week after

TOKYO -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei Stock Average fell sharply on Monday after indications that the U.S. Federal Reserve could move away from ultra-easy monetary policies sooner than expected.

The Nikkei index dropped over 1,100 points, or 4%, at one point to its lowest level since May 17, before closing the day down 3.3%. The benchmark recorded the biggest percentage drop in nearly four months, with shares in 96% of the index's 22

NEW DELHI -- The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday began no-cost COVID-19 vaccinations for all citizens over 18 years old -- about 940 million people. It also took over vaccine procurement from the states, which had been struggling to arrange doses for their own vaccination programs.

"From today, people aged 18 and above will get free vaccine under the Indian government campaign and the speed of the vaccination will also increase," Home Minister Amit Shah said during his visit

SINGAPORE -- Shares in Sea, Southeast Asia's biggest tech group, are hitting historic highs as the company extends its reach into Latin America.

The New York-listed company's share price closed at $282.49 on Friday, reaching a new high in only four months on a weekly close basis. Its $148 billion market capitalization as of last week's close has now topped that of Japan's SoftBank Group at $122 billion.

SoftBank, one

SHIZUOKA, Japan/NAGOYA, Japan/TOKYO -- A Japanese governor whose environmental concerns have held up construction on a segment of ultrahigh-speed-rail project worth more than $60 billion won reelection Sunday, securing a fourth term.

Heita Kawakatsu, who ran as an independent, defeated a challenger backed by Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Shizuoka Prefecture, home to the most-photographed face of Mount Fuji southwest of Tokyo.

Kawakatsu, 72, framed his reelection campaign around Central Japan Railway'

TOKYO -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei Stock Average fell sharply on Monday after indications that the U.S. Federal Reserve could move away from ultra-easy monetary policies sooner than expected.

The Nikkei index dropped over 1,100 points, or 4%, at one point to its lowest level since May 17. The benchmark declined below the 28,000 mark, with shares in 97% of the index's 225 companies trading lower. The broader Topix index

HONG KONG -- China's first batch of publicly traded real estate investment trusts debuted with strong initial gains on Monday as the government launched a new channel for local governments to raise infrastructure funds.

In Shenzhen, the Bosera CMSK Industrial Park Closed-end Infrastructure Securities Investment Fund jumped 15.6% in morning trade while the AVIC Shougang Biomass Close-end Infrastructure Securities Investment Fund climbed 12.3%.

In Shanghai, the Zheshang Securities Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Expressway Closed-end Infrastructure Securities Investment Fund

TOKYO -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei Stock Average dropped to a one-month low on Monday morning after indications that the U.S. Federal Reserve could move away from ultra-easy monetary policies sooner than expected.

The Nikkei index at one point fell over 1,000 points, or 3.5%, to reach its lowest level since May 20. The benchmark declined below the 28,000 mark with shares in 97% of the index's 225

NEW DELHI -- The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday is slated to begin no-cost COVID-19 vaccinations for all citizens over 18 years old -- about 940 million people. This takes over procurement of vaccines from the states, which had been struggling to arrange doses on their own.

India, a country of over 1.3 billion people, has set a target of vaccinating all of its adult population by the end of December. It is using two locally made vaccines -