The creative director for Tokyo's Olympic ceremonies announced his resignation on Thursday for proposing a plus-size female comedian appear as a pig, just weeks after the postponed Games' chief stepped down in a sexism row.

JOHOR BAHRU: Johor's Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar has backed the federal government's decision to appeal against a court's ruling to overturn a decades-old official ban and allow Christians in the country to use "Allah" to refer to God. Last wee...

HONG KONG: Aircraft mechanic Don Yip is one of many thousands leaving Hong Kong after the imposition of a new security law last year and protests in 2019. Unlike many others, he won't leave without his pets. Yip, 40, spent more than US$14,000 moving...

Thailand's parliament has failed to pass a bill that would have allowed changes to a military-backed constitution enacted after a 2014 coup, stalling a move by lawmakers to address a key demand of mass street protests last year.

SEOUL: Authorities in the South Korean capital defended on Thursday (Mar 18) a decision to order coronavirus tests for all foreign workers on penalty of fines, as calls grew for the controversial measure to be rescinded. At least one lawmaker of the...

Southampton's Takumi Minamino and eight other Europe-based players were Thursday named in Japan's squad for next week's friendly against South Korea in Yokohama.

MUMBAI: New COVID-19 infections in India rose by the most in more than three months as a second wave of the epidemic gathered momentum, with Maharashtra, the country's richest state, accounting for two-thirds of the latest daily tally. Home to India...

Myanmar faced growing isolation on Thursday (Mar 18) with increasingly limited Internet services and its last private newspaper ceasing publication as the military built its case against ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Nobel peace laureate...

TAIPEI: A top Taiwanese official issued a plea on Thursday (Mar 18) for people to stop changing their name to "salmon" after dozens made the unusual move to take advantage of a restaurant promotion. In a phenomenon that has been dubbed "Salmon Chaos...

PARIS: French senators are free to meet whomever they wish when they travel, the country's foreign ministry said on Wednesday (Mar 17) after the Chinese embassy in Paris warned against lawmakers meeting officials during an upcoming visit to Taiwan. ...

China’s cyberspace administrator said in a statement on Thursday that it and the public security ministry met with the companies to talk about "security assessments" and potential problems with deepfakes and audio social apps. Kuaishou Technology a...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong health authorities have defended the practice of physically restraining some babies and children to beds in COVID-19 isolation wards after criticism built over the treatment of families under the city's strict anti-virus measures...

LONDON: Badminton world No 1 Kento Momota made a winning return to international action at the COVID-19-affected All England Open on Wednesday (Mar 17), while Indonesia's team were forced to withdraw after a passenger on their flight to Britain teste...

SEOUL: Both pressure and diplomatic options are on the table for dealing with North Korea, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday (Mar 18), hours after a senior North Korean diplomat rejected any talks until Washington changed its poli...

SINGAPORE: Malaysian cargo drivers who have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Singapore will receive an immunisation certificate and be exempted from daily on-arrival tests 14 days after the second dose, said Singapore's Ministry of ...

TOKYO: The Japanese government's advisory panel on coronavirus measures approved on Thursday (Mar 18) a plan to let the state of emergency expire in the Tokyo area as scheduled on Mar 21, while the capital's governor warned citizens not to let down...

SEOUL: North Korea said on Thursday (Mar 18) it will ignore a US offer for talks unless it withdraws its hostile policy, after Washington reached out to Pyongyang in a bid to resume nuclear negotiations. The statement by Choe Son Hui, the first vice...

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) said the benefits of the country's first spaceport in Biak, Papua, are greater than the downsides, while locals are divided over the project.  The planned rocket launch si...

Recovery in individual countries will remain weak and incomplete as long as the domestic spread of the virus is not under control, says an economist.

Countries must confront the dilemma at the heart of the Quad: How to engage China positively while countering its assertive moves, says Charles Hankla.

Sex workers, tourism employees and rural-to-urban migrants are among the victims of Thailand’s coronavirus fallout. How is the Land of Smiles improving its mental health care? The programme Undercover Asia finds out.

US President Joe Biden said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday (Mar 17) that it will be “tough” for him to meet a May 1 deadline to withdraw the last troops from Afghanistan, ending America's longest war.

Britain on Wednesday defended the need for critical engagement with China on climate change and trade, after drawing criticism for soft-pedalling troublesome issues with the world's second economy in a new global strategy paper.

About 6.5 per cent of coronavirus vaccine doses in India are going to waste, health officials said on Wednesday, urging states to manage their immunisation drives better to optimise use of what one called "this elixir-like precious commodity".

Pakistan on Wednesday received a Chinese donation of 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine, bringing the country's total supply to 1 million shots, Health Minister Faisal Sultan said.

India said on Wednesday its coronavirus immunisation campaign would continue with "full rigour" despite some concerns in Europe about the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine it relies heavily upon as infections hit a three month high.

A 16-year-old girl's life hung in the balance on Wednesday, after she was caught in the crossfire of a crackdown on Myanmar protests, and her parents risked arrest in a frantic bid to get her to hospital.

Japan will lift a virus state of emergency in the Tokyo area, the prime minister said Wednesday, less than five months before the postponed Tokyo Olympics are due to begin.

BEIJING: China on Wednesday (Mar 17) said it "lodged solemn representations" with the United States and Japan over a statement by top officials from both countries that raised concerns about Beijing's behaviour in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the South Ch...

Pope Francis appealed on Wednesday for an end to bloodshed in Myanmar, saying "Even I kneel on the streets of Myanmar and say 'stop the violence'".

DHAKA: A United Nations delegation will on Wednesday (Mar 17) start a three-day visit to a remote Bay of Bengal island where Bangladesh has moved more than 13,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees since December despite criticism from rights groups. Banglad...

Nepal expecting hundreds of climbers despite pandemic

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced a new economic stimulus package worth RM20 billion (US$4.8 billion) on Wednesday (Mar 17), one year after Malaysia first imposed a lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.   This ...

GENEVA: A United Nations team of investigators on Myanmar appealed on Wednesday (Mar 17) for people to collect and preserve documentary evidence of crimes ordered by the military since a Feb 1 coup, in order to build future cases against its leaders...

Japan's government said on Wedneseday it would investigate messaging app Line, owned by SoftBank Corp's Z Holdings Corp, after Japanese media reports that it let Chinese engineers at a Shanghai affiliate access Japanese users' data without informing ...

BANGKOK: Chinese factories torched as mainland workers hunker down under martial law – Beijing is being pulled into the ulcerous crisis in Myanmar, an unravelling country it had carefully stitched into its big plans for Asia. During a January 2020...

KATHMANDU: Nepal is investigating how a Bahraini prince planning to climb Mount Everest brought 2,000 coronavirus vaccine doses to the country without prior approval, authorities said. Sheikh Mohamed Hamad Mohamed Al Khalifa who flew into Kathmandu...

TAIPEI: Taiwan's newly-appointed defence minister said on Wednesday (Mar 17) it has strengthened deployments in the disputed South China Sea and that the United States has approved the export of sensitive technology to equip Taiwan's new submarine fl...

HANOI: Vietnam's first domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine, called Nanocovax, is expected to be available by the fourth quarter of this year and put into use in 2022, the health ministry said on Wednesday (Mar 17). The announcement comes as more...

WASHINTON: Chinese companies targeted by a sweeping investment ban imposed by former President Donald Trump are considering suing the United States government after a federal judge on Friday (Mar 12) suspended a similar blacklisting for Beijing-base...

YANGON: Myanmar's powerful Buddhist monks' association urged the military government to end violence against protesters and accused an "armed minority" of torture and killings of innocent civilians since last month's coup, media said on Wednesday (Ma...

TOKYO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday (Mar 17) that China was acting aggressively and repressively, citing its actions in the East and South China Seas where it has territorial disputes with Japan and other Asian nations. Spe...

The growl of a chainsaw fills the air as a dead longan tree is felled under the watchful eye of Ricci Wong, founder of a Hong Kong non-profit to turn tree waste into furniture and other household products.

TOKYO: A Japanese district court on Wednesday (Mar 17) ruled that not allowing same-sex couples to marry is "unconstitutional", setting a new precedent in the only Group of Seven nation not to fully recognise same-sex partnership, though it rejected ...

MANILA: The Philippines will close its border to foreigners and restrict the number of Filipinos entering the country as authorities battle to contain a spike in coronavirus infections. The temporary measures come after the number of daily cases hit...

Leaving aside whether digital-verification means are the best, such programmes could inadvertently divert scarce vaccines and risk countries opening up too quickly, says a researcher at ANU.

The best possible outcome of the bilateral meeting later this week is an identification of topics of mutual interest for further negotiation, says Christian Le Miere.

The Myanmar generals may have been inspired by Suharto’s coup to oust powerful political foes in the 1960s but should look instead at Indonesia’s democratic transition, says Dr Nehginpao Kipgen.

North Korea might begin flight testing an improved design for its inter-continental ballistic missiles "in the near future," the head of the US military's Northern Command said on Tuesday (Mar 16), a move that would sharply increase tensions between...

PARIS: Myanmar's parallel civilian government and rights groups on Tuesday (Mar 16) called on Total and other oil firms operating in the country to suspend payments to the military-controlled state following last month's coup. The calls come a day a...

The UN on Tuesday decried surging deaths in Myanmar since the Feb 1 coup, warning that detained protesters were facing torture and hundreds had disappeared.

India's Gland Pharma Ltd said on Tuesday it has entered into an agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund to produce and supply up to 252 million doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.

KUALA LUMPUR: The recent defections of three Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) MPs have not given the Perikatan Nasional (PN) a majority in the parliament, said opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, insisting that he still commands the support of an "adequate n...

The families of dozens of people killed in demonstrations against military rule in Myanmar held funerals for their loved ones on Tuesday as more protesters defied the security forces and at least one man was shot dead.

India's Gland Pharma Ltd said on Tuesday it has entered into an agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to produce and supply up to 252 million doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.

A proposed new law that tightens patriotic loyalty tests for Hong Kong politicians could also ensnare the city's judges, further threatening its vaunted judicial independence, say legal scholars, lawyers and diplomats.

Sri Lanka to take time to consider proposed ban on burqa

US and Japanese foreign and defence ministers warned Tuesday against "coercion and destabilising behaviour" by China after top-level talks in Tokyo.

Britain wants to expand its influence among democratic nations in the Indo-Pacific region while preserving strong ties with the United States, a document laying out the country's post-Brexit foreign policy priorities will say on Tuesday.

The UN food agency said on Tuesday rising food and fuel prices in Myanmar since a Feb 1 military coup risk undermining the ability of poor families to feed themselves.

China is poised to ease border restrictions to allow some foreigners -- including from the US, India and Pakistan -- back in, provided they have taken a Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine.

Malaysian glove manufacturer Top Glove Corp Bhd has been charged with failing to provide worker accommodation meeting the minimum housing and amenities standards set out by the country's Labour Department, state news agency Bernama reported.

The Philippine capital Manila will widen a ban on minors leaving their residences to include youths of up to 18 years old for two weeks starting on Wednesday, tightening coronavirus restrictions in a bid to tackle a new surge of infections.

Residents of a protest flashpoint district in Myanmar's biggest city fled on flatbed trucks and tuk-tuks on Tuesday (Mar 16) after security forces escalated the use of lethal force against anti-coup protesters, despite international appeals for restr...

China approves a fourth COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use

Tokyo Olympics organisers on Tuesday (Mar 16) called on roadside spectators at the torch relay to wear masks and practise social distancing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The United States on Tuesday (Mar 16) accused Chinese state media of publishing "disinformation" about its diplomats in Hong Kong as it denied its staff invoked immunity to avoid isolating after positive COVID-19 tests.

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday (Mar 16) in preparation for a meeting with US President Joe Biden next month, becoming the country's first government official to be publicly inocu...

Globe-trotting Japan star Keisuke Honda admitted to "mistakes and failures" as he pitched up in Azerbaijan's league, but refused to give up on playing at the Tokyo Olympics.

BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha became the first person to be inoculated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the Southeast Asian country on Tuesday (Mar 16) after the roll-out had been temporarily put on hold over safety concerns...

The encrypted messaging app Signal, recommended by Tesla's Elon Musk, appeared to have been blocked in China on Tuesday (Mar 16), closing off one of the last American social media platforms still freely available in the country.

BEIJING: China reported 13 new COVID-19 cases on Mar 15, up from five cases a day earlier, the national health authority said on Tuesday (Mar 16). The National Health Commission said in a statement that all of the new cases were imported infections...

YANGON: At least 20 people were killed in Myanmar on Monday (Mar 15) after another day of unrest and protests against the junta that seized power six weeks ago, a local monitoring group said. The country has been in uproar since the military ousted...

SHANGHAI: China has launched a crackdown on illegal sand mining operations on the Yangtze river, which have made large parts of central China more vulnerable to drought. Excessive sand mining on the Yangtze, which provides water for a third of the C...

The sister of North Korean leader, Kim Yo Jong, criticised ongoing military drills in South Korea and warned the new U.S. administration against "causing a stink" if it wants peace, state news reported on Tuesday.

A disconnect between consumers and their food supply chain has led to wasteful ways in cities like Singapore and Hong Kong. Bringing farming to the urban jungle may be an antidote — if it can change mindsets.

While the Alibaba founder’s speech was a random criticism of Chinese bureaucracy, it made Ant’s IPO debacle inevitable, says law professor Angela Huyue Zhang.

China’s approach towards Asia has grown more aggressive in recent years, reflected in its words and actions, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit will have to confront, highlights Benjamin Ho.

The Biden administration has reached out to North Korea but has not received a response, the White House said on Monday.

The Taliban will send a 10-person delegation to an Afghanistan peace meeting hosted by Russia this week, the insurgent group's spokesman said on Monday (Mar 15).

South Korea's most populous province has ordered all of its foreign workers to be tested for COVID-19 by March 22, sparking complaints of long lines and logistical problems, as well as of implicit xenophobia in government messaging.

YANGON: The international community pleaded for restraint Monday (Mar 15) after at least 11 more anti-coup protesters were killed in Myanmar, as demonstrators returned to the streets to demand restored democracy despite an increasingly bloody crackd...

Operations of Indian state-owned banks were hugely disrupted on Monday after hundreds of thousands of workers went on a strike to protest the privatisation plans for two public banks, unions said.

China's government has asked Alibaba to dispose of its media assets, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday (Mar 15), citing people familiar with the matter. Discussions over the matter have been held since early this year, the report said, add...

BANGKOK: A mass trial began in Thailand on Monday (Mar 15) for activists accused of sedition and insulting the powerful monarchy at a major protest last year, one of a series of mass demonstrations against the country's military-backed establishment....

MANILA: China's embassy in the Philippines said on Monday (Mar 15) it would simplify visa applications for anyone in the country who has been inoculated with Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines to allow regular travel to resume. China will return to its ...

BEIJING: Beijing said it was "very concerned" for the safety of its citizens in Myanmar on Monday (Mar 15), after Chinese factories were attacked amid a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Yangon. Chinese state media said 32 factories in ...

Indonesia will delay the administering of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine due to reports of blood clots among some recipients in Europe and would await a review from the World Health Organization (WHO), its health minister said on Monday.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government on Monday (Mar 15) appealed a court's decision to overturn a decades-old official ban and allow Christians in the Muslim-majority country to use "Allah" to refer to God. The word has long been divisive in mult...

The United States temporarily closed its consulate in Hong Kong on Monday after two staff tested positive for the coronavirus during a new outbreak that has rippled through the city's well-heeled "expat" community.

Families in Asia's financial hub of Hong Kong are suffering isolation and trauma after strict coronavirus rules have led to babies being separated from parents and those with newborns herded into tiny quarantine quarters for up to 14 days. 

SINGAPORE: Indonesia has postponed the implementation of a new policy that could make it more expensive for employers here to hire its citizens as foreign domestic workers.   Under the exemption of placement fee policy, Indonesian migrant workers ...

YANGON: A block on mobile data networks across Myanmar on Monday (Mar 15) scuppered a scheduled video court appearance by ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, as protesters returned to the streets after the bloodiest day since the military coup six weeks ...

Hong Kong authorities said on Monday that the city's vaccine scheme would be widened to include those aged between 30-60 years old and domestic helpers, as they aim to increase take up amongst residents in the Asian financial hub.

South Korea unveiled on Monday plans to expand its immunisation campaign in the second quarter to include more senior citizens, health workers and other frontline professionals, with an aim to inoculate nearly a quarter of its 52 million people by Ju...

TAIPEI: Sarah Gao had a busy job. As the head of a 500 million yuan (US$76.8 million) investment fund, she was constantly flying across China on business trips. Then she found out she was pregnant. Her pregnancy, with her then-boyfriend, was unplann...

Thailand will start using the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday after a brief delay due to concerns over its safety, officials said, with the prime minister and his Cabinet due to be the first to receive it.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will begin to administer Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday (Mar 18), said science, technology and innovation minister Khairy Jamaluddin, adding that he will be the first recipient of the China-made vaccine in the country. ...

China has administered 64.98 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of March 14, Li Bin, an official with China's National Health Commission, said during a news conference.

BEIJING: A driver employed by China's largest ride-hailing firm, Didi Chuxing, killed a passenger by ramming his car into the man after a quarrel, the firm said in a post on social media on Monday (Mar 15). Police in the southeastern city of Fuzhou ...