VIENTIANE -- Laos is gearing up to welcome more Chinese tour groups in efforts to boost tourism sector recovery after three years of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Lao government and private sectors have been preparing for the arrival of large numbers of Chinese tourists after Laos was listed among countries greenlit by the Chinese government for outbound group tours. (Laos-China-Tourism)

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COLOMBO -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday approved a 350 million U.S. dollar special policy-based loan to provide budget support to Sri Lanka for economic stabilization, the ADB said in a press release.

The bank said that the program is part of a broader package of financial assistance anchored by the International Monetary Fund's Extended Fund Facility for the country, which aims to stabilize the economy and lay the foundation for economic recovery and sustained growth. (Sri Lanka-ADB-Loan)

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NEW DELHI -- Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman S. Somanath on Monday said the country's third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, will be launched in July this year.

Somanath made the remarks after the successful launch of the second-generation navigation satellite NSV-01 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, off the Bay of Bengal coast in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. (India-Space-Moon mission)

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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's son will step down as executive secretary to his father on June 1, the government said on Monday, amid continued criticism for holding a party in the prime minister's official residence.

Kishida told reporters that his eldest son Shotaro Kishida would step down as his secretary on Thursday, saying that the change was due to "inappropriate" behavior at the official residence. (Japan-PM's son-Step down)