TOKYO -- The Japanese government has shelved a bill that would have changed the country's immigration laws, in response to a parliamentary and public outcry over certain provisions seen as unfriendly toward refugees and asylum seekers.

A lower house committee was due to vote on the amendment bill this week, pushing it toward final passage. But opposition gained ground after the death in March of Wishma Sandamali, a 33-year-old Sri Lankan woman. Advocates say detention officials in the city of Nagoya failed to provide Sandamali appropriate

TOKYO -- Yahoo Japan has begun providing to clients, and even its rivals, a free service that uses artificial intelligence to determine if comments posted in Japanese on online forums are appropriate to its clients.

The service will then allow the client companies to delete the posts or warn writers if they are deemed to be defamatory. Three companies, including social media-based news website NewsPicks, are the first since Yahoo launched the service in September to adopt the cutting-edge technology that can make those analyses within a second.

MANILA -- The Philippines is seeking a 170 billion pesos ($3.6 billion) pandemic stimulus program to boost its economic recovery this year, officials said on Tuesday, as they temper growth targets following disappointing first-quarter results.

President Rodrigo Duterte's economic team now expects gross domestic product to expand by 6% to 7% in 2021, slightly lower than the previous target of between 6.5% and 7.5%, as the country wrestles with new COVID-

TAIPEI -- Foxconn on Tuesday announced a joint venture with Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest auto group, to develop software for connected cars.

The Taiwanese iPhone assembler is seeking new revenue streams as the global smartphone market matures, and has made high-tech and connected cars one of its focuses.

Calvin Chih, CEO of FIH Mobile, Foxconn's Android smartphone affiliate, said the new venture will focus on the development of "smart cockpit" technologies including infotainment systems. The key engineering development team will

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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SINGAPORE -- Southeast Asia's most valuable listed company Sea reported on Tuesday a net loss of $422 million for the three months ended in March, widening from a net loss of $281 million in the same quarter a year ago, as the Singapore-based tech group continued aggressive marketing to capture growing demand amid the pandemic.

Sea's announcement comes a day after its regional peers Gojek and Tokopedia announced a merger that would create a big Indonesian group, which is expected to go public

SYDNEY -- China will provide financial assistance to upgrade an airstrip in the South Pacific island nation of Kiribati, at a site once used during wartime by the U.S.

The runway renovation on Kanton, a remote island near the equator, is part of a plan by Kiribati to develop the isle into a high-end resort, according to a statement provided by a Kiribati press officer.

The airstrip will be used solely for civilian purposes, and the project carries no military aspects, the statement said.

Beijing initially

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor will suspend operations on three production lines at two Japanese factories next month due to a chip shortage, the automaker said Tuesday.

The halts at two plants operated by wholly owned subsidiary Toyota Motor East Japan will reduce output by about 20,000 vehicles, equivalent to less than 1% of its domestic output of 2.91 million Toyota and Lexus autos for the fiscal year ended in March.

One production line for the C-HR compact sport utility vehicle at Toyota's

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON/BEIJING -- The top U.S. and Russian diplomats will meet for the Arctic Council this week amid growing alarm in Washington over Moscow's ramped-up military activity and Beijing's pursuit of shipping lanes in the strategically important region.

"We've seen Russia advance unlawful maritime claims, particularly its regulation of foreign vessels transiting the Northern Sea Route," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Tuesday in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik.

"We have concerns about