Japan dived into its first recession since 2015, according to official data on Monday, with the world's third-largest economy shrinking by 0.9 per cent in the first quarter as it wrestles with the fallout from the coronavirus.

Over 140,000 people were forced into cramped shelters as a powerful typhoon hammered the Philippines on Friday, compounding the nation's battle with the coronavirus pandemic.

Chinese police have seized counterfeit notes with a face value of 422 million yuan ($59 million) in the largest haul since the 1949 founding of the People's Republic of China.

Japan's government said Thursday it wants to lift a state of emergency declared over the coronavirus in most of the country, though not yet the capital Tokyo and other urban centres.

Fighting broke out Monday between pro-government troops and separatists in southern Yemen, leaving 10 dead, security and medical officials said, in the first major clash since separatists declared self-rule in the south.

Laos has submitted plans to build a new hydropower dam on the Mekong River, with construction expected to start later this year, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said on Monday.

South Korea announced its highest number of new coronavirus cases for more than a month Monday, driven by an infection cluster in a Seoul nightlife district just as the country loosens restrictions.

Iran said Sunday it had expressed readiness for a full prisoner exchange with the United States "with no preconditions" but said that Washington was yet to respond.

Engineers battled Friday to prevent more toxic gas escaping at a chemical plant on India's east coast, a day after a pre-dawn leak killed 12 people and knocked locals unconscious in the street.

Iraqi premier Mustafa Kadhemi formally took office early on Thursday after parliament approved his cabinet line-up, taking the reins amid a staggering economic crisis, a health pandemic and the spectre of renewed protests.