TOKYO -- Japan's second-highest ranking prosecutor tendered his resignation on Thursday after admitting that he played mahjong with reporters for money this month, despite social distancing rules being in place to combat COVID-19.

According to Japan's Justice Minister Masako Mori, the Cabinet on Friday will accept Hiromu Kurokawa's request to relinquish his position as chief of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office. (Japan-Prosecutor-Resignation)

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NEW DELHI -- Chief Minister of India's eastern state of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, said on Thursday that 72 people were killed in her state due to the severe cyclonic storm Amphan.

"Seventy-two people were killed because of the cyclone here yesterday," Banerjee told a press briefing. "The damage caused by Amphan is more than the coronavirus pandemic. I would request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come and visit cyclone Amphan-affected areas." (India-Cyclone-Deaths)

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SINGAPORE -- The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitalization process for many companies, and some will emerge as leaders in the future while others will be left behind, business leaders said in an online webinar on Thursday.

The speakers said COVID-19 has disrupted every industry and going forward companies must be prepared for a fundamental shift towards digitization. (Singapore-Digital Transformation)

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KABUL -- The Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan handed over another batch of food assistance to Afghanistan on Thursday to help the needy people celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month Ramadan.

"At this very difficult time, the whole world should work together to fight COVID-19," Ambassador Wang Yu said at the handover ceremony attended by Kabul Governor Mohammad Yaqoob Heidari. "The virus respects neither borders nor ethnicities." (Afghanistan-China-Food Aid)

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COLOMBO -- Three people were killed and nine others injured when a stampede broke out in Maligawatta, in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo on Thursday during a donation drive while the capital remained under a curfew amid the COVID-19 pandemic, police said.

The stampede broke out when a group of private donors were handing out cash to needy people at a private residence in Jumma Masjid Road. (Sri Lanka-Stampede)