HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported three new imported cases of COVID-19 on Friday, taking the total tally to 12,152.

A total of 41 cases have been reported in the past 14 days and all were imported, according to the CHP. (Hong Kong-COVID-19-Vaccination)

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TOKYO -- Campaigning for the leadership race of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to choose the successor to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga officially began on Friday, with four veteran lawmakers competing for the leader position.

The LDP election is set for Sept. 29 and is being contested by former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, former communications minister Sanae Takaichi, vaccination minister Taro Kono and Seiko Noda, executive acting secretary-general of the LDP. (Japan-LDP Campaign-Leadership Election)

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COLOMBO -- Sri Lanka's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the manufacturing and service sectors declined in August, local media citing a report from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) reported on Friday.

Sri Lanka's manufacturing PMI declined 12.7 index points, from 57.8 in July to 45.1 in August. The CBSL said this was driven by a decrease in sub-indices of new orders, production, employment, and stock of purchases. (Sri Lanka-PMI)

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CANBERRA -- Australia's coronavirus response has saved tens of thousands of lives, the government has claimed.

According to data released by the federal government, Australia has the second-lowest COVID-19 death rate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with 0.75 deaths per 100,000 people.

Canberra's lockdown, which started on Aug. 12, was due to end on Friday but was extended until Oct. 15 on Tuesday. (Australia-COVID-19)