Briefly

SOUTH KOREA

Daily cases top 100,000 ahead of election

South Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases topped 100,000 for the first time amid its Omicron outbreak, with authorities saying social distancing measures would only be slightly eased ahead of the March 9 presidential election. Authorities announced on Friday to move a curfew on restaurants and cafes, a nod to increasing criticism from business owners."The situation for small business owners and the self-employed is desperate,"President Moon Jae-in said on Friday, calling for the parliament to quickly pass a supplemental budget with measures for "resolving the difficulties of the people's livelihood".

AFGHANISTAN

Industrialists call for return of assets

The Afghanistan Chamber of Industries and Mines has described the recent decision of US President Joe Biden on Afghanistan's frozen assets as unjust, and called for the return of the assets."On behalf of 5,000 factories and hundreds of mine extracting companies, I today describe the recent decision of President Biden as unjust and stealing our national assets, and we denounce it," said Al-Hajj Sakhi Ahmad Paiman, acting chairman of the chamber.

Agencies - Xinhua