RAIPUR, India: Twenty-two Indian security forces personnel were killed and 30 others injured in a gun battle with Maoist rebels in a central Indian state, police said on Sunday (Apr 4), in the deadliest ambush of its kind in four years. The forces ...

JAKARTA: Flash floods caused by torrential rain early on Sunday (Apr 4) have killed 23 people on Indonesia's island of Flores. Nine more are injured and five are missing, while the tiny neighbouring nation of Timor-Leste has reported eight deaths so...

HUALIEN: Taiwan's transport minister said on Sunday (Apr 4) he would not shirk his responsibility for a deadly train crash, even as his resignation was rejected amid growing questions over safety lapses that could have contributed to the disaster.  ...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong police announced a record-breaking 700kg seizure of cocaine on Sunday (Apr 4), with officers suspecting the huge shipment was smuggled into the city on speedboats.  The bust is the largest in the territory in nearly a decade, ...

Around 70 per cent of coronavirus patients tested at a Tokyo hospital last month carried a mutation known for reducing vaccine protection, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said on Sunday.

Security was stepped up at churches across Sri Lanka ahead of Easter Sunday services to guard against a repeat of the 2019 suicide bombings that killed 279, a police spokesman said.

Tens of thousands of Myanmar workers have gone on strike over the past two months, hoping that economic paralysis will force the hand of the wealthy generals who ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1.

JAKARTA: Divers were scouring the waters of the Java Sea on Sunday (Apr 4) for 17 fishermen reported missing after their boat capsized following a crash involving a bulk carrier, a spokesman for Indonesia's search and rescue agency said. Fifteen cre...

Opponents of military rule in Myanmar inscribed messages of protest on Easter eggs on Sunday (Apr 4), while others were back on the streets, facing off with security forces after a night of candle-lit vigils for hundreds killed since a Feb 1 coup. ...

Mainland China reported 21 new COVID-19 cases for April 3, down from 26 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Sunday.

PARIS: French oil and gas group Total said it would not stop producing gas on its Yadana fields in Myanmar as long as operations remained safe, in part to protect employees there who might otherwise risk repercussions from the military junta. Total ...

Chinese policymakers are less afraid of economic decoupling from the US than many assume, say Andrew Sheng and Xiao Geng.

AirAsia and Singapore Airlines are already blazing a trail on how to do just that while flying remains in cold storage for most travellers, says Institute of Policy Studies’ Faizal Yahya.

CNA spoke to Malaysia’s youngest MP while he is in Singapore attending post-graduate classes.

World number one Ashleigh Barty retained her Miami Open title Saturday as Bianca Andreescu's injury curse struck again.

Ten of Myanmar's major rebel groups threw their support behind the country's anti-coup movement on Saturday, fanning fears that a broader conflict could erupt in a country plagued for decades by on-and-off fighting between the military and the ethnic...

Malaysia's foreign minister stressed on Saturday that his country remained independent in foreign policy after some social media users and opposition politicians lambasted him for referring to his Chinese counterpart as his "elder brother".

Spin star Axar Patel has tested positive for coronavirus and been put into isolation, his team said Saturday as the Indian Premier League battles new pandemic fears days ahead of its start.

Japanese swim star Daiya Seto has set his sights on claiming one of Michael Phelps' world records at the upcoming Tokyo Games, after winning at his country's Olympic trials on Saturday.

The Philippines reported 12,576 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, the country's second-highest daily increase, as the Southeast Asian nation battles a renewed spike in cases.

SHANGHAI: China reported 26 new COVID-19 cases on Apr 2, up from nine a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Saturday (Apr 3), as officials in the country's southwest linked a local outbreak to Myanmar. The National Health Co...

BANGKOK: A Bangkok residence building collapsed on Saturday (Apr 3), killing at least three rescue workers and a resident and trapping a handful of people under the debris, according to an emergency worker. The three-storey house, located in a luxu...

HONG KONG: Candidates for public office in Hong Kong will have their entire history vetted, its top justice official said on Saturday (Apr 3), after China announced a radical overhaul to ensure only "patriots" run the city. Beijing imposed sweeping ...

SINGAPORE: Hong Kong's government had enforced a COVID-19 border regulation 23 times to bar flights from landing in the city for 14 days if an airline is found to have breached requirements.  Hong Kong's Department of Health said this on Saturday (...

SEOUL: South Korea's foreign minister said on Saturday (Apr 3) he expects China to play a role in peacemaking between South and North Korea, inviting China's president to visit as the United States and its allies agreed to continue pushing Pyongyang...

Survivors of Taiwan's worst rail crash in decades have recounted their desperate efforts to find loved ones in the twisted wreckage of the train at what should have been the start of a holiday weekend.

YANGON: A rebel group has accused Myanmar's military of deploying "excessive force", saying on Saturday (Apr 3) that continuous air strikes have displaced more than 12,000 unarmed civilians, including children. Late last month, the ethnic armed grou...

MUMBAI: India's daily coronavirus infections hit another record on Saturday (Apr 3) for the highest tally since September, while daily deaths reached a five-month high, a Reuters count based on data from the health ministry showed. The south Asian ...

Myanmar security forces opened fire on protests on Saturday (Apr 3) killing five people, a protester and media said, as the military reinforced its bid to end dissent with arrest warrants for online critics and Internet blocks. Despite the killing ...

HUALIEN, Taiwan: Salvage teams began removing mangled train carriages on Saturday (Apr 3) after Taiwan's worst rail disaster in decades killed at least 50 people, as flags flew half-mast across an island plunged into mourning. Officials said Friday...

HUALIEN, Taiwan: A Taiwan court on Saturday released on bond the manager of a construction site whose truck authorities believe caused a train accident that killed at least 51 people, as family members mourned the dead at the crash site. The crash o...

The Chinese authorities will probably someday stop pegging the yuan to a basket of currencies and allow the exchange rate to fluctuate much more freely, especially against the dollar, says former IMF chief economist Kenneth Rogoff.

BANGKOK: Come Jul 1, international tourists will be able to visit Phuket in southern Thailand without going through quarantine if they have been vaccinated.  The decision was announced last week by the Center for Economic Situation Administration...

With more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia is reliant on air travel. CNA explores the challenges surrounding aviation safety and the impact of COVID-19.

STOCKHOLM: Chinese authorities have asked H&M to change a map on its website in the latest clash between the clothing giant and officials in China, media reported on Friday (Apr 2). The company, based in Sweden, has faced a backlash in China in rece...

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines’ flights to Hong Kong were suspended after the airline breached one of the city’s “trigger points” for COVID-19 testing requirements, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on Friday (Apr 2). SIA...

When Holy Week processions were cancelled because of Spain's COVID-19 restrictions, keeping a Good Friday drumming tradition alive took on extra importance for the residents of Calanda.

HANOI: Vietnam has appealed to diplomats from the United States, European Union and Japan to help it secure supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, as part of efforts to acquire the 150 million doses needed to cover its adult population. Vietnam has received...

SEOUL: A couple in South Korea accused of damaging artwork by American graffiti artist JonOne said they had mistakenly thought they were allowed to daub paint on the piece as "participatory art," the head of the exhibition said on Friday (Apr 2). Th...

TOKYO: Japanese Nobel laureate Isamu Akasaki, who won the physics prize for pioneering energy-efficient LED lighting - a weapon against global warming and poverty - has died aged 92, his university said on Friday (Apr 2). Akasaki won the 2014 prize ...

YANGON: Opponents of military rule in Myanmar marched, observed strikes and sought alternative ways to communicate after most users were cut off from the Internet on Friday (Apr 2), undaunted by the bloody suppression of protests during the past two ...

SINGAPORE: There are no reports of Singaporean casualties in the train derailment in Taiwan on Friday (Apr 2), said a Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson. An express train carrying about 490 people from Taipei to Taitung deraile...

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) passenger flights departing from Singapore will not be allowed to land in Hong Kong from Saturday (Apr 3) to Apr 16, the government of Hong Kong said on Friday. The announcement came in a daily press release pro...

MANILA: The Philippines reported on Friday (Apr 2) a daily record 15,310 new COVID-19 infections, one of the highest reported in the region since the pandemic started, bringing the country's total to 771,497 cases. It announced 17 new deaths, taking...

LONDON: Britain said on Friday (Apr 2) it would add Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan and the Philippines to its travel "red list", banning entry to people arriving from those countries unless they are British or Irish nationals. Those who come to Britai...

YONGIN, South Korea: Decades before the race to build a self-driving car became a multibillion-dollar contest between tech giants such as Tesla and Google, a South Korean professor built an autonomous vehicle and test-drove it across the country - on...

TAIPEI: An express train that derailed in a tunnel in eastern Taiwan on Friday (Apr 2) morning was carrying about 490 people, the island's Transport Minister Lin Chia-lung said. This was higher than an earlier figure of 350 people provided by the f...

BENGALURU: India reported 81,466 new COVID-19 infections on Friday (Apr 2), the highest daily number in six months, as several states were hit by a second wave of the coronavirus. Health ministry data showed the total number of cases surged to 12.3 ...

TOKYO: The Olympic torch relay will not be run on public roads in Osaka city given rising COVID-19 cases, the Japanese region's governor said Friday (Apr 2), but a cancellation has not yet been decided. "We're sorry for torch relay runners ... but w...

SHANGHAI: China's top football official urged teams to make the Communist Party proud and said that the sport in the country is at "a historical turning point", days after champions Jiangsu FC were kicked out. Chinese Football Association (CFA) pres...

MANILA: Filipinos marked Good Friday, one of the most solemn holidays in Asia’s largest Roman Catholic nation, with deserted streets and churches following a strict lockdown to slow down the spread of COVID-19. Major highways and roads were eerily...

Parit Chiwarak, 22, was charged in February with sedition and defaming the monarchy for his role in leading demonstrations.

YANGON: Myanmar's junta faced fresh international criticism on Friday (Apr 2) over the deaths of more than 40 children and the "forced disappearance" of hundreds of people in its crackdown on anti-coup protests. The military's ruthless suppression o...

MUMBAI: India batting great Sachin Tendulkar said on Friday (Apr 2) he has been admitted to hospital as a precautionary measure after contracting COVID-19 last week. Tendulkar, who will turn 48 later this month, was previously quarantining at home a...

BEIJING: A Chinese border city hit by a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 began a five-day drive on Friday (Apr 2) to vaccinate its entire population of 300,000 people. State broadcaster CCTV showed people lining up and getting vaccinated in Ruili, where 1...

SHANGHAI: China and its neighbours must not only crack down on wildlife trade but also shut legal loopholes that allow disease-prone species to be farmed, experts said after an investigation team concluded that COVID-19 most likely originated in anim...

BEIJING: Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac said on Friday (Apr 2) a third production line for its COVID-19 vaccine has been put into use, doubling its annual capacity of the jabs to 2 billion doses. Its CoronaVac is one of four domestic vaccin...

TOKYO: Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will hold face-to-face talks with Joe Biden in Washington on Apr 16, as the first foreign leader hosted by the US president, the Japanese government said Friday (Apr 2). Local media had reported the trip ...

TAIPEI: At least 50 people were killed and 146 more injured when a train derailed in a tunnel in Taiwan on Friday (Apr 2) after apparently hitting a truck, in the island's worst rail disaster in at least four decades. The train, an express travellin...

VANCOUVER: Canada's attorney general on Thursday (Apr 1) fired back at defense accusations of US jurisdictional overreach in Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou's extradition case, saying the issue is ultimately for a trial judge to decide. ...

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council late Thursday (Apr 1) strongly condemned the use of violence against peaceful protesters and the deaths of hundreds of civilians in Myanmar, but dropped the threat of possible future action against ...

Celebrities may shift public attitudes on environmental issues but putting them in practice will depend on parents, teachers and other role models, says mum June Yong.

Concerns over sharp swings in US foreign policy, its focus on democracy and whether ASEAN countries could be asked to choose between the US and China weigh heavy on the region's minds, says Dewi Fortuna Anwar.

Top security officials of the United States, Japan and South Korea will meet  on Friday (Apr 2) to discuss next steps on North Korea as President Joe Biden completes a policy review.

Protesters in Myanmar on Thursday (Apr 1) marked two months since the military seized power by again defying the threat of lethal violence and demonstrating against its toppling of the country's democratically elected government.

The gunman who killed four people and critically wounded a fifth at a Southern California office building knew all the victims and apparently before opening fire chained shut the gates to two entrances, delaying police from getting inside, authoritie...

MOSCOW: Russia's embassy in Pyongyang said on Thursday (Apr 1) that conditions in North Korea's capital had become exceptionally difficult after drastic measures were imposed to combat the coronavirus. The hermetic totalitarian state, which has yet...

South Korean authorities are facing a backlash for relying on global vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX for a bulk of its COVID-19 shots as shipment delays threaten to slow the country's inoculation programme.

LONDON: Britain sanctioned a Myanmar conglomerate on Thursday (Apr 1) for its close links to the military leadership which Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said was wantonly killing innocent people including children. Britain imposed sanctions on the...

As Myanmar descends into chaos, smartphone warriors in the anti-coup movement are seeking revenge online against the junta, hounding people with family ties to the military as a form of "social punishment".

CHIANG MAI, Thailand: Tigers were fed frozen chicken "popsicles" and enticed to splash in a wading pool at a Thai zoo on Thursday (Apr 1) as temperatures rose. About 50 of the big cats live at the Tiger Kingdom zoo in Chiang Mai, 700km north of Ban...

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics launched a series of test events on Thursday as China ploughs on with preparations despite calls for a boycott over its treatment of the Uyghur minority.

SEOUL: South Korean capital Seoul said on Thursday (Apr 1) it has sent a proposal for co-hosting the 2032 Olympics with the North's Pyongyang to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in a bid to keep its hopes alive despite Brisbane being the fr...

An internal probe is underway on how an alleged attacker was able to sneak a gun into the police headquarters on Wednesday, before being fatally shot.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong authorities said on Thursday (Apr 1) they would resume the use of BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine next Monday after abruptly halting inoculations nine days ago due to defective packaging. A batch of 300,000 doses is due to arrive i...

MANILA: The Philippine military said on Thursday (Apr 1) it has documented illegal manmade structures on Union Banks in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands, near areas where hundreds of Chinese vessels had massed last month. Military chief Lieu...

Taiwan and the tiny Pacific island nation of Palau launched a coronavirus travel bubble on Thursday (Apr 1) to promote tourism, in recognition of their success in stamping out the pandemic locally.

China's CanSino Biologics Inc said the efficacy rate for its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine may fall over time although it should still have a rate of 50per cent or more five to six months after inoculation.

SEOUL: Roiled by property scandals and economic failures, South Korea's liberal ruling party looks set to lose the mayoral offices in the two largest cities, making it harder for President Moon Jae-in to achieve the policy goals of his last year in o...

TOKYO: Japan's government said on Thursday (Apr 1) it will impose COVID-19 emergency measures in Osaka, such as shorter business hours, asking people to work from home and that they should refrain from activities like karaoke. Osaka governor Hir...

BEIJING: Designer Zhou Li took to the stage amid applause following her runway show at China Fashion Week with a prop that has political overtones: A bouquet of cotton plants. "As far as I'm concerned, I think Xinjiang cotton is my sweetheart, my lo...

GENEVA/KUALA LUMPUR: Myanmar Red Cross workers have been arrested, intimidated and injured on the frontlines as they tried to treat mounting civilian casualties, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on Thur...

RAWANG, Malaysia: Paper masks and goggles are among offerings that Chinese Malaysians will burn to mark Qing Ming Festival on Sunday (Apr 4), hoping that their ancestors can use them to fight COVID-19 in the afterlife. Qing Ming, or Tomb Sweeping ...

NEW DELHI: India opened up its COVID-19 inoculation programme to people above 45 on Thursday (Apr 1) as infections surge, which will delay vaccine exports from the world's biggest vaccine producer. The country, with the most number of reported COVI...

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong court found seven prominent democrats guilty of unauthorised assembly charges, including 82-year-old barrister Martin Lee and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, 72, the latest blow to the city's beleaguered democracy movement. Lee, who ...

SEOUL: South Korea said on Thursday (Apr 1) it will issue so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports to immunised citizens, joining other nations introducing such certificates to revive cross-border travel while keeping infection risks under control. Prim...

The national security advisers for the United States and the Philippines discussed their shared concerns over Chinese activities in the South China Sea in a call on Wednesday (Mar 31), the White House said.

NEW YORK: China on Wednesday (Mar 31) said it wanted a "democratic transition" in military-ruled Myanmar, but ruled out sanctions at a United Nations Security Council meeting. "China hopes that Myanmar will restore peace, stability and constitutio...

Japan's first doses of AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine are coming from plants in the United States, the company said in an interview with the Asahi Newspaper.

The UN envoy on Myanmar on Wednesday implored the Security Council to take action amid the escalating crisis there, warning of the risk of civil war and an imminent "bloodbath" as the junta violently represses pro-democracy protests.

India hit a five-month high for cases this week, but it will need to revisit the factors that gave it a breather for 10 weeks earlier this year, say NUS’ Dr Karthik Nachiappan and Dr Diego Maiorano.

Asian Americans of all types experience being “forever foreigners” in a wide range of ways, says a sociology professor.

Myanmar’s military government announced on Wednesday (Mar 31) it is implementing a unilateral one-month ceasefire, but made an exception for actions that disrupt the government’s security and administrative operations.

Worldwide losses of old-growth tropical forests increased 12 per cent in 2020, with climate impacts such as fires, storms and droughts playing a significant role, causing an area roughly the size of Denmark to disappear, according to new data report...

The Bangladesh government wants to send thousands more Myanmar Rohingya refugees to an isolated island in the Bay of Bengal before the cyclone season starts despite safety concerns raised by the international Red Cross.

SINGAPORE: Singapore and China are looking at how travel links between the two countries can resume, Singapore's Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Wednesday (Mar 31). Dr Balakrishnan was speaking at the end of a two-day visit to F...

The United States reaffirmed Wednesday that Hong Kong has lost its autonomy from China as it vowed to pressure Beijing for dismantling the city's special status.

BEIJING: China on Wednesday (Mar 31) slammed "unethical" critics as it faced mounting pressure over origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, after the World Health Organization chief revived the theory that the coronavirus may have leaked from a Chinese lab...

JAKARTA: A woman was shot dead by Indonesian police in a gunfight at the force's national headquarters in Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon (Mar 31). The 25-year-old was a "lone wolf" who believed in Islamic State ideology, police chief Listyo Sigit ...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will receive its first 600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines made by drugmaker AstraZeneca in June, the country's science minister said on Wednesday (Mar 31). The Southeast Asian nation, which began its national COVID-19 vaccinat...