JAKARTA: Indonesia's central bank held its benchmark interest rate at a record low on Thursday as it tries to support the economy's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic without adding downward pressure on the rupiah currency.

The Bank of Thailand plans to test its retail digital currency for the public in the second quarter of 2022 as an alternative payment option, an assistant governor said on Thursday.

PORT-AU-PRINCE: The death toll from a massive earthquake in Haiti soared past 2,000 on Wednesday as relief workers warned of challenges to aid efforts five days after thousands of people were left homeless.

SINGAPORE: A British man was sentenced to six weeks' jail in Singapore for not wearing a mask and harassing police, officials confirmed on Thursday.

LONDON: Britain's legal cannabis market has boomed during the coronavirus pandemic to become the second biggest after the United States, as consumers rushed to alleviate Covid-linked symptoms, industry experts say.

HONG KONG: South Korean music producer Pdogg is one of the highest earning individuals in South Korea in 2021 so far, a financial report revealed this week.

There were 301 new Covid-19 fatalities and 20,902 new cases over the past 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry reported on Thursday morning.

TOKYO: A first coronavirus case has been detected in the Paralympic Village, days before the Games open, organisers said Thursday as Japan battles a record wave of infections.

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: There were 396 new cases of Covid-19 and three more fatalities reported by provincial authorities on Thursday.

Interest rates have become less effective managing the flagging economy, with financial measures and fiscal policy currently better tools, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said, playing down the prospect of rate cuts.