The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the Supreme Court to shut down the Philippines's largest television network, ABS-CBN, in a move described as a "sign of dictatorship".

China's consumer inflation hit a more than eight-year high in January as government restrictions on movement to stem the spread of the new coronavirus drove residents to stock up on essentials.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that the government would prevent large-scale layoffs resulting from the coronavirus outbreak, Chinese state television reported, as Xi appeared among the public for the first time since the epidemic erupted in January.