TAIPEI: Taiwan has sought Germany's help in securing COVID-19 vaccines, Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said on Thursday (Jan 28), after Berlin asked for the island's assistance in easing a shortage of automobile semiconductor chips. Wang told reporte...

Pakistan court orders man accused in American's death freed

Populist Sadyr Japarov was sworn in as president of ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan Thursday, completing a remarkable transformation from prisoner to president in the space of a few months.

NEW DELHI: India has further eased COVID-19 restrictions, bucking the trend in many other countries as the huge Asian nation's infection and death numbers fall sharply. Government figures on Thursday (Jan 28) showed that, in the previous 24 hours, 1...

The Bangladesh Cricket Board said Thursday it will vaccinate hundreds of players against the coronavirus by the end of February in a bid to restart domestic tournaments.

BEIJING: China toughened its language towards Taiwan on Thursday (Jan 28), warning after recent stepped up military activities near the island that "independence means war" and that their armed forces were taking action to respond to provocation and ...

BEIJING: The travel plans of millions were thrown into disarray on Thursday (Jan 28) by cancelled trains, flights and Chinese government "advice" to stay at home ahead of Chinese New Year, a sign of China's determination to keep COVID-19 cases low a...

WUHAN: A team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) left quarantine in Wuhan on Thursday (Jan 28) to begin a heavily scrutinised probe into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, after Washington urged a "robust and clear" investigation....

WELLINGTON: A senior New Zealand minister advised Australia to adopt his country's softly-softly approach to China on Thursday (Jan 28), a rare public disagreement between the neighbours on how to deal with a more assertive Beijing. The comments - ...

SEOUL: South Korea said on Thursday (Jan 28) it would begin COVID-19 vaccinations for the general public in the third quarter of this year, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a news briefing. Inocul...

NEW DELHI: Popular short-video Chinese app TikTok is cutting its workforce in India after hundreds of millions of its users dropped it to comply with a government ban on dozens of Chinese apps amid a military standoff between the two countries. "Giv...

The Philippines' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the emergency use of AstraZeneca PLC's COVID-19 vaccine, the second to be approved in the Southeast Asian nation.

WASHINGTON: The United States rejects China's maritime claims in the South China Sea beyond what it is permitted under international law and stands with Southeast Asian countries resisting its pressure, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on We...

HONG KONG: Freight carrier FedEx will temporarily relocate its Hong Kong-based pilots to San Francisco because it expects the Asian financial capital to establish strict 14-day hotel quarantine requirements for crew, it said in a memo to pilots. The...

TOKYO: AstraZeneca will make more than 90 million coronavirus vaccine shots in Japan, the top government spokesman said on Thursday (Jan 28), as concerns mount over whether the country will have enough doses to begin its delayed inoculation campaign....

TOKYO: The first Tokyo Olympics test event of 2021 has been postponed because of travel restrictions under Japan's coronavirus state of emergency, organisers confirmed on Thursday (Jan 28). The artistic swimming event will double as the sport's fin...

SINGAPORE: Singapore is not discussing an air travel bubble arrangement with India as people here understand it to be, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) on Thursday (Jan 28).  CAAS was responding to media queries regarding a ...

HANOI: Vietnam confirmed its first outbreak of the coronavirus in nearly two months on Thursday (Jan 28) and warned it could be more serious than its last wave of infections, as authorities rushed to contain the spread and test tens of thousands of ...

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest smartphone and memory chip maker reported fourth-quarter net profits up by more than a quarter year-on-year on Thursday (Jan 28), with coronavirus-driven working from home boosting demand for devices po...

WASHINGTON: One week into the job, US President Joe Biden has sent a clear warning to Beijing against any expansionist intentions in East and Southeast Asia. In multiple calls and statements, he and his top security officials have underscored suppor...

BEIJING: China reported its lowest daily increase in new COVID-19 cases in nearly three weeks on Thursday (Jan 28), suggesting aggressive countermeasures have helped slow a recent outbreak in the country's northeastern provinces. The total number of...

MANILA: According to one rumour circulating in the Philippines, the coronavirus vaccine will allow President Rodrigo Duterte to kill people at the push of a button. Elsewhere in the country of 108 million, memories of a dengue vaccine that has been ...

By setting tight delivery times, levying fines for delays and even suggesting routes in violation of traffic rules, Chinese platforms encourage couriers to speed dangerously, says The Financial Times' Yuan Yang.

Vaccination programmes must be accompanied with an unrelenting focus on suppressing the virus, says The Financial Times’ Anjana Ahuja.

Anwar Ibrahim’s multiple failed attempts to mount a challenge to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in recent months have shaken confidence in the former’s leadership. The biggest question regarding Muhyiddin’s fate lies not with Anwar but UMNO, s...

The United States wants a "robust and clear" international probe into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Wednesday (Jan 27).

The United States will try to keep climate negotiations with China separate from other disagreements affecting the two countries' ties, John Kerry said on Wednesday (Jan 27).

Overfishing has savaged populations of some sharks and rays by more than 70 percent in the last half-century, leaving a "gaping, growing hole" in ocean life, according to a new study.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday (Jan 27) he had agreed with US President Joe Biden in a phone call to strengthen their bilateral alliance, as China expands its economic and military might.

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian court sentenced a man to 1,050 years in jail on Wednesday (Jan 27) for raping his stepdaughter 105 times over a period of two years. The man, who was not named, will also be given 24 strokes of the cane. Judge M Kunasun...

89 foreigners arrested at Thai bar flouting COVID-19 rules

Indian police imposed heavy security and closed several main roads around New Delhi on Wednesday (Jan 27), a day after farmers went on the rampage in the capital, leaving one person dead and several hundred injured.

Thailand is targeting the immunisation of 19 million people against the coronavirus in a first phase of inoculations starting on Feb 14, the prime minister said on Wednesday, amid criticism the government has been slow in rolling out vaccines.

NEW DELHI: India's top court on Wednesday (Jan 27) suspended a lower court's ruling reducing the punishment for a man who groped a girl after the verdict sparked an outcry in a country where crimes against women have become politically contentious. ...

Philippines protests new China law as `verbal threat of war’

KUALA LUMPUR: The automotive workshop owned by Mr Wong Tung Khong in Sungai Besi was quiet on Tuesday (Jan 26), with only a few employees servicing customers' cars.  "This time last year, I wouldn't even have time to answer your questions because...

NEW DELHI: A vaccine developed by India's Bharat Biotech and a government research institute is likely to be effective against the British strain of the coronavirus, according to a study on 26 participants shared by the company on Wednesday (Jan 27)...

China has begun using anal swabs to test those it considers at high risk of contracting Covid-19, state TV reported, with social media users and travellers squirming over the invasive procedure which doctors say can be more effective in detecting the...

YANGON: Health workers in Myanmar on Wednesday (Jan 27) became the first people in the Southeast Asian country to be vaccinated against COVID-19, five days after the first vaccines were delivered from India. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanma...

The United Nations human rights chief has called for an International Criminal Court investigation into Sri Lanka's Tamil separatist conflict, and sanctions on military officials accused of war crimes, according to a report obtained by AFP.

BANGKOK: Thailand on Wednesday (Jan 27) reported 819 new COVID-19 cases, taking its total infections to 15,465. One additional death was reported, bringing total fatalities to 76. More than 700 of the new infections were in Samut Sakhon province, ...

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia: Indonesia’s most active volcano erupted on Wednesday (Jan 27) with a river of lava and searing gas clouds flowing 1,500m down its slopes. It was the Mount Merapi’s longest lava flow since authorities raised the volatile vo...

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga apologised on Wednesday (Jan 27) after lawmakers from his ruling coalition visited nightclubs despite his government's call for people to avoid unnecessary outings to curb the spread of COVID-19.

China has administered about 22.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, a health official said on Wednesday, as the country steps up its campaign ahead of next month's Lunar New Year holidays and the accompanying flurry of travel.

Hong Kong has begun using "ambush lockdowns" to suddenly close off and test everyone inside neighbourhoods where COVID-19 cases have spiked, as a spate of recent outbreaks lays bare the rampant inequality in the wealthy Chinese finance hub.

NEW DELHI: Tens of thousands of farmers who stormed the historic Red Fort on India's Republic Day were again camped outside the capital on Wednesday (Jan 27) after the most volatile day of their two-month standoff left one protester dead and more th...

MANILA: A Philippine province has cancelled its award of a US$10 billion airport deal south of the capital, among the biggest projects involving a Chinese firm under President Rodrigo Duterte who has pursued warmer ties with Beijing since taking offi...

SEOUL: South Korean authorities were scrambling on Wednesday (Jan 27) to contain coronavirus outbreaks centred around Christian schools as the country reported a jump in infections, dampening hopes of a speedy exit from a third wave of the pandemic. ...

Mainland China reported 75 new COVID-19 cases on Jan. 26, down from 82 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Wednesday.

TOKYO: Japan's vaccination roll-out faces logistical hurdles that could further delay the slow-moving campaign, experts and officials say, complicating plans to deliver widescale coronavirus inoculations in time for the Olympics. Already the last ma...

Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, both chastened by four years of Trumpian disruption, have a real chance to reverse the course of bilateral relations, say experts.

Armed with a spear and a sword, farmer Sher Singh climbed over the main gate of India's historic Red Fort and raised a Sikh religious flag to the cheers of a large crowd of protesters.

Thai court acquits 80-year-old writer of defaming monarchy

Afghan government negotiators holding peace talks with the Taliban charged Tuesday their opponents had been avoiding formal engagement for more than a week, an accusation the insurgents denied.

Relative of virus victim asks to meet WHO experts in Wuhan

The World Health Organization’s COVAX programme has pledged US$112 million for COVID-19 vaccines to reach 20per cent of Afghanistan’s population, an Afghan health official said on Tuesday.

Myanmar's powerful military on Tuesday raised the spectre of staging a coup as it ramped up demands for an investigation into alleged voter fraud during last year's election, swept by Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling party.

A team of Nepali climbers that made the first winter summit of K2, the world’s second tallest peak, arrived back in the country to a heroes' welcome on Tuesday from crowds of well-wishers.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has reimposed a ban on children aged 10 to 14 leaving home, telling them to watch TV instead, as the country battles an outbreak of a new coronavirus strain.

BANGKOK: Thailand reported a daily record of 959 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday (Jan 26), due to what authorities said was a ramping-up of testing at the epicentre of its most recent outbreak. The new infections, the highest daily rise since the 7...

Badminton's world number one Tai Tzu-ying was handed a tough draw at Thailand's World Tour Finals Tuesday as she was bracketed with home favourite Ratchanok Intanon and Indian star PV Sindhu.

The Iranian- and Panamanian-flagged vessels seized by Indonesian authorities for suspected illegal oil transfers are making their way to dock at Batam island in the country's Riau Islands province for further investigation, a Indonesia coast guard sp...

JAKARTA: Indonesia has received investment commitments of up to $10 billion from global firms for its ambitious sovereign wealth fund, a senior minister said on Tuesday (Jan 26), ahead of its launch expected this year. The Indonesia Investment Autho...

Tokyo has revised its contact-tracing strategy to prioritise outreach to higher-risk individuals affected by coronavirus, according to a letter sent by the metropolitan government to public health authorities last week.

DUSHANBE: Tajikistan's authoritarian leader Emomali Rakhmon said on Tuesday (Jan 26) that the coronavirus pandemic had ended in his impoverished Central Asian country but warned citizens to remain vigilant. The poorest country in the former Soviet U...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has filed a lawsuit against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and the federal government, by initiating a judicial review challenging Mr Muhyiddin's advice to the king to suspend paliamentary sitt...

Lawmakers say North Korean diplomat defected to South Korea

BANGKOK: Thai lawmakers have voted in favour of allowing abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy while retaining penalties for later terminations, a move that pro-choice activists said fell short of protecting the rights of the mother. In a late night ...

KATHMANDU: A team of 10 Nepalese climbers who became the first to scale the world's second-highest peak during the harsh winter season received a hero's welcome on return home to Nepal on Tuesday (Jan 26). Mountaineers, supporters, friends and famil...

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor defied the coronavirus pandemic to post a surprise 78 percent surge in fourth-quarter profits Tuesday, as robust domestic sales offset weak overseas demand.

Thousands of Indian farmers, many on tractors, breached police barricades to launch a protest march into New Delhi on Tuesday as the government held its main Republic Day military parade.

TAINAN: Armed and ready to go, Taiwan air force jets screamed into the sky on Tuesday (Jan 26) in a drill to simulate a war scenario, showing its fleet's battle readiness after dozens of Chinese warplanes flew into the island's air defence zone over ...

MANILA: The Philippines has confirmed domestic transmission of the new, highly contagious British variant of the coronavirus, prompting President Rodrigo Duterte to abandon a plan to allow some minors to go outside their homes. "Right now, we have l...

WELLINGTON: China and New Zealand signed a deal that upgrades their existing free trade pact on Tuesday (Jan 26), giving exports from the Pacific nation greater access to the world's second-largest economy. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ...

HANOI: Vietnam's ruling Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong hailed booming economic development and containment of the COVID-19 pandemic as major achievements on Tuesday (Jan 26) as he presided over the opening of a key party congress in Hanoi. O...

Hong Kong authorities are scrutinizing the financial records of pro-democracy activists as they crack down on political opposition, according to some activists and a senior bank executive.

BEIJING: Iphie Nie, a 30-year-old designer in Beijing who usually travels to visit family in her hometown of Shenzhen during the Chinese New Year, has like many Chinese reluctantly decided against booking a flight for the mid-February holiday. To...

China said on Tuesday it will conduct military exercises in the South China Sea this week, just days after Beijing bristled at a U.S. aircraft carrier group's entry into the disputed waters.

SINGAPORE: Hotel Equatorial Penang will shut down operations by the end of March because of "adverse business conditions caused by COVID-19", the hotel's management announced on Tuesday (Jan 26). "This is a very sad and difficult decision," the ho...

JAKARTA: Indonesia surpassed 1 million coronavirus cases on Tuesday (Jan 26), a grim milestone for the Southeast Asian nation that has struggled since last March to get the COVID-19 pandemic under control. The country reported 13,094 new cases on T...

SHANGHAI: As an infant Kurt Wick escaped almost certain death in a Nazi concentration camp by taking refuge in Shanghai, a little-known sanctuary for thousands of Jews fleeing the Holocaust. Now 83, he has spent the last two decades spreading the wo...

PARIS: As Olympic organisers deny reports that the Tokyo Games this summer will be postponed again, they, and other sports bodies, are wrestling with the issue of vaccinating participants for COVID-19 at international events. On Monday (Jan 25), De...

BEIJING: China reported a fall in new COVID-19 infections as the number of cases in two of the provinces particularly hard hit by the latest coronavirus wave fell to single digits, official data showed on Tuesday (Jan 26). A total of 82 confirmed ca...

Pfizer will pursue its request for India to approve its COVID-19 vaccine if the government commits to buying shots, the U.S. drugmaker told Reuters on Monday, even as global supplies tighten.

South Korea recorded its worst growth in more than two decades in 2020, the central bank said Tuesday, but it is expected to be among the best-performing OECD economies in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

After a most unusual four years under the Trump administration, President Biden needs to recalibrate how he deals with North Korea and it has to tap on Asian allies, says this observer.

BANGKOK: Thailand on Monday (Jan 25) confirmed a record 914 new cases of COVID-19, all in Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok where a major outbreak began in December. The new cases shot the national total past 14,000. The previous high was on Jan 4...

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Monday (Jan 25) giving American companies and products priority in contracting with the federal government, as the new administration attempts to spur domestic manufacturing.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Klang Valley, comprising Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, accounted for about a third of Malaysia’s 3,048 new COVID-19 cases on Monday (Jan 25).  There were 1,035 cases in Selangor and 305 in the capital Kuala Lumpur. A further 529 in...

BEIJING: Chinese rescue workers have found the bodies of nine more miners after an explosion a fortnight ago, local officials said Monday (Jan 25), raising the death toll to 10. It comes a day after 11 miners were pulled out alive from the mine in e...

BEIJING: A sprawling quarantine centre of more than 4,000 rooms is being thrown up in northern China in response to a COVID-19 outbreak in Shijiazhuang, a city of more than 10 million people in Hebei province. Satellite images from the European Spa...

SEOUL: Drugmaker Pfizer has filed an application seeking approval of its COVID-19 vaccines to be used in South Korea as the country gears up to begin inoculations next month, authorities said on Monday (Jan 25). The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety...

JAKARTA: Iran has asked Indonesia to provide details about the seizure of an Iranian-flagged vessel, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday (Jan 25), a day after Jakarta said it had seized Iran and Panama-flagged tankers ...

BEIJING: The United States often sends ships and aircraft into the South China Sea to "flex its muscles" and this is not good for peace, China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday (Jan 25), after a US aircraft carrier group sailed into the disputed wate...

KATHMANDU: Nepal's caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was ejected from the country's ruling Communist party on Monday (Jan 25), his opponents said, in protest at his abrupt move in December to dissolve parliament and call for an early general el...

Caravans of tractors clogged a key highway in northern India on Monday as tens of thousands of farmers protesting against agriculture reforms streamed into the capital ahead of celebrations for Republic Day.

Indian and Chinese troops clashed anew on their contested Himalayan border, resulting in injuries on both sides, officials said on Monday (Jan 25), highlighting the fraught state of relations between the giant nuclear-armed neighbours.

PARIS: Almost half a million people have died in natural disasters linked to extreme weather events in the last 20 years, according to a new assessment of the direct threat posed to humanity by climate change. The mortality burden of climate-relate...

LONDON: Japan is likely to achieve herd immunity to COVID-19 through mass inoculations only months after the planned Tokyo Olympics, even though it has locked in the biggest quantity of vaccines in Asia, according to a London-based forecaster. That ...

BEIJING: China has found harmless traces of the coronavirus in some COVID-19 inoculation sites potentially linked to vaccine liquid, its disease control centre said. Samples taken from tables, walls, doorknobs and hallways of the sites tested posit...