After the 2021 military coup, tens of thousands of public workers, including doctors and government administrators, left their posts in a surge of civil disobedience.

The resumption of access is being processed on "a conditional basis and under strict supervision", according to a government statement.

The focus is on structural reforms, particularly in manufacturing, building a robust financial sector and stepping up investments in cutting-edge technologies such as AI, India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday (Feb 1).

The Japanese yen has hovered at 18-month lows against the US dollar, contributing to inflation that has raised the prospect of interest rate hikes by the central bank.

Record-high gold prices have turned a Shanghai shopping mall into a magnet for sellers, with crowds gathering around an automated recycler to melt down inherited jewellery for cash.