Briefly

JAPAN

Ruling party backs strike capability

Japan took a step closer to acquiring weapons able to strike foreign targets on Friday after a ruling party committee approved proposals to consider acquiring strike capability to halt ballistic missile attacks. Giving long-range munitions to Japan's Self Defense Forces is a controversial issue for a country that renounced the right to wage war after its defeat in World War II. The proposal is also likely to anger its Asian neighbors, which could fall within range of any new strike weapons. The proposals, crafted by senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers including former defense minister Itsunori Onodera, will be presented to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as early as next week.

INDIA

Record spike but curbs to be eased

India recorded the highest single-day spike in fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, the increase of 55,079 taking the total tally to 1,638,871, according to the Federal Health Ministry's latest data. It marked the second consecutive day that new cases had increased by more than 50,000. A night-time curfew will be lifted from Saturday and yoga institutes and gyms can reopen on Wednesday, according to the Home Ministry. The government also removed interstate restrictions on the movement of people and goods. India has the third-most cases of COVID-19, after the United States and Brazil, and is the worst-affected country in Asia.

Agencies - Xinhua