Good morning and welcome to a new week of Asia Links
Mainland China reports first covid deaths in more than a year (WSJ)
Beijing digs in to avoid repeating Hong Kong’s covid mistakes (FT)
As omicron surges, China tweaks ‘zero covid’ (NY Times)
Hong Kong outbreak may have peaked (Bloomberg)
Hong Kong to review covid restrictions today as cases ease (Reuters, AP)
Hong Kong economy will contract in the first quarter, finance chief says (SCMP)
HK finance chief says monitoring markets to ensure stability (Bloomberg)
China signals discontent with strength of the yuan (Caixin)
China says housing prices are stable, but developers see significant falls (WSJ)
Japanese PM Kishida announces $42 billion investment in India (Reuters, AP)
US says China has fully militarized at least three of the islands it has built in the South China Sea (AP)
Falling out of love with marriage: fewer couples in China got married last year than at any time since 1986 (SCMP)
Saudi Arabia to ramp up oil production to help meet rise in demand (FT)
China goes into development mode in Xinjiang (SCMP)
Sri Lanka cancels school exams as economic crisis leads to paper shortages (Guardian)
FT Big Read: The global economy’s growing risks: stagflation, refugees and lockdowns (FT)
And finally: the rise and fall of Byungsu Kim, the world’s most prolific succulent thief (Guardian)