VIENTIANE -- The Lao government will step up human resource development and cooperation with development partners to ensure Laos is able to graduate from the Least Developed Country Category in 2026.

Local daily Vientiane Times on Tuesday quoted Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith as saying that during a recent triennial review of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Laos was recommended for graduation with an extended 5-year preparatory period, effectively setting graduation in 2026. (Laos-Development)

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NEW DELHI -- India's COVID-19 tally rose to 11,124,527 on Tuesday, as 12,286 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, according to the latest data from the federal health ministry.

The official data shows that the death toll mounted to 157,248 as 91 COVID-19 patients died since Monday morning.

There are still 168,358 active cases in the country, while 10,798,921 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment. There was a decrease of 269 active cases during the previous 24 hours. (India-COVID-19)

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MANILA -- The Philippines has detected its first six cases of a more contagious COVID-19 variant found in South Africa, its health ministry said on Tuesday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire expressed concern about the detection of the variant, which can spread more readily like the variant found in Britain, adding that the variant could evade immune responses and reduce vaccine efficacy. (Philippines-COVID-19)

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SEOUL -- South Korea reported 344 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Monday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 90,372.

The daily caseload stayed below 400 for three straight days, but it hovered above 100 since Nov. 8 owing to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases.

Of the new cases, 120 were Seoul residents and 111 were people residing in Gyeonggi province. (South Korea-COVID-19)