Thailand faces growing COVID-19 outbreak ahead of Songkran travel

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong official on Friday (Apr 9) defended plans to curb public access to company searches, a move transparency and media advocates have warned will hamper the exposure of shady corporate dealings. The semi-autonomous financial hub c...

YANGON: The UN's special envoy for Myanmar is to embark on an Asian tour to step up diplomatic efforts to tackle the crisis, as the death toll from the junta's crackdown on dissent passed 600 on Friday (Apr 9). The push by Christine Schraner Burgene...

NEW DELHI: India reported another record number of new COVID-19 infections on Friday (Apr 9) with daily deaths also hitting their highest in more than five months as the country battles a second wave of infections and states complain of a persistent ...

BEIJING: The Biden administration has added seven Chinese supercomputer research labs and manufacturers to a US export blacklist in a spreading conflict with Beijing over technology and security. The measure announced on Thursday (Apr 8) is the late...

Britain said it is willing to offer shelter to Myanmar's ambassador to London after he was ousted from his embassy by pro-junta diplomats.

JAKARTA: Indonesia's weather agency warned on Friday (Apr 9) that a second tropical cyclone in the space of a week could trigger floods and landslides in more central areas after cyclone Seroja killed 163 people in eastern parts of the country. Resc...

TOKYO: Doctors in Japan announced on Thursday (Apr 9) that they have successfully performed the world’s first transplant of lung tissue from living donors to a patient with severe lung damage from COVID-19. The recipient, identified only as a woma...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong on Friday (Apr 9) confirmed it has requested AstraZeneca to suspend delivery of its COVID-19 vaccine amid fears of severe side effects and concerns over its efficacy against new variants of the coronavirus. Europe's medicines re...

BANGKOK: At least 12 hospitals in Thailand's capital, Bangkok, said as of Friday (Apr 9) they were suspending testing for COVID-19 due to high demand and shortage of supplies, amid a new spike in cases. The hospitals issued notices on their social m...

MANILA: Angelo Barrera's father struggled to breathe from COVID-19 as he was driven around the Philippine capital in search of a hospital bed. After five hours he got on a waitlist, but died before he could get inside. More contagious variants of th...

SEOUL: South Korea will reimpose a ban on nightclubs, karaoke bars and other nightly entertainment facilities, authorities said on Friday (Apr 9), after the number of new COVID-19 cases surged, fanning fears over a potential fourth wave of outbreaks....

HANOI: In her tiny Hanoi apartment, tattoo artist Ngoc inks middle-aged women whose lives have been upended by divorce or illness, each of them searching for healing through an art form that is still largely taboo in Vietnam. Although attitudes are ...

TOKYO: Japan plans to place Tokyo under a fresh month-long "quasi-emergency" state to combat surging COVID-19 case numbers, a minister said on Friday (Apr 9).  This comes less than a month after the capital and host of the Summer Olympics lifted a ...

US senators on Thursday (Apr 8) unveiled broad legislation on China that would step up pressure over Beijing's alleged theft of intellectual property and solidify US ties with Taiwan.

Officials are discussing arrangements to reopen borders within Southeast Asia, but these plans risk data privacy pitfalls, say researchers.

With few mandatory restrictions, and national leaders focused on holding the Tokyo Olympics, vaccination should be a top priority and even that has been very slow, says Yuka Hasegawa.

An information blackout under Myanmar's military government worsened on Thursday (Apr 8) as fibre broadband service, the last legal way for ordinary people to access the Internet, became intermittently inaccessible on several networks.

The fallout over the AstraZeneca jab continued Thursday with several countries halting its use among younger people, as nations raced to secure much-needed vaccines in the face of fresh virus surges.

WASHINGTON: The US Treasury Department on Thursday (Apr 8) imposed sanctions on a Myanmar state-owned gems enterprise in a bid to curtail the military junta's ability to generate revenues, according to a statement. The move is the latest from the B...

Hundreds of people rallied in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek on Thursday calling for police chiefs to be sacked after a young woman abducted for marriage was found dead in a country where bride kidnapping is systemic.

JAKARTA: Indonesia on Thursday (Apr 8) announced an internal travel ban during next month's Eid al-Fitr celebrations, in an effort to prevent large-scale transmission of the coronavirus, a transport official said. The world's most populous Muslim-ma...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Thursday (Apr 8) defended a meeting between its ambassador to Myanmar and a representative from the military government, after criticism that it was recognition of the junta amid a brutal crackdown on protesters. More than...

KUCHING: Sarawak's deputy chief minister confirmed that he was contacted by the police after a video showing him not wearing a face mask in public went viral.  Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan was seen not wearing a face mask during a visit to the Matu...

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia is shutting its most popular tourist destination, the centuries-old Angkor temple complex, to visitors for two weeks to help curb the country's coronavirus outbreak. The closing of the world-famous site is the latest in a slew o...

Colombo police on Thursday (Apr 8) arrested the current "Mrs World" on charges of assault over an on-stage fracas in which she pulled the crown off the head of the new "Mrs Sri Lanka".

MANILA: The Philippine defence department said on Thursday (Apr 8) it was keeping "all our options open" as a diplomatic row with Beijing grows over hundreds of Chinese vessels in the contested South China Sea. Tensions over the resource-rich waters...

MANILA: The Philippine health department suspended on Thursday (Apr 8) the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 jab for people under 60 after reports of blood clots overseas, in a setback for the country's already slow vaccine rollout. It comes amid a re...

China on Thursday accused the UK of sheltering "wanted criminals" after prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Nathan Law said he had been granted political asylum there.

India's COVID-19 cases have soared 13-fold in barely two months, a vicious second wave propelled by open disregard for safety protocols in much of the vast country.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is clearly not seen as a “strategic environmental partner on climate action” by the United States, said Democratic Action Party's secretary-general Lim Guan Eng on Thursday (Apr 8).  This came after environment minister...

Tickets to tourist attractions, shopping coupons and report cards naming and shaming stores where staff haven't been vaccinated: China is veering from compulsion to persuasion in its bid to inoculate its population against COVID-19.

BANGKOK: Thailand is considering closing entertainment venues in Bangkok and 40 provinces, its COVID-19 taskforce said on Thursday (Apr 8), as authorities rushed to tackle a new wave of coronavirus cases and the arrival of a highly contagious variant...

Two years after opening his garment factory in Myanmar, Li Dongliang is on the verge of closing down and laying off his 800 remaining workers.

NEW DELHI: India’s prime minister received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as the country hit another peak on Thursday (Apr 8) with 126,789 new cases reported in the past 24 hours. “Vaccination is among the few ways we have, to defeat th...

Two Indonesian navy ships packed with aid arrived Thursday in a cyclone-ravaged section of the archipelago, as the disaster's death toll rose to nearly 180 people, including dozens killed in neighbouring East Timor.

Twitter has launched an emoji to spotlight the "#MilkTeaAlliance" online protest movement that has forged links between activists across Asia, the social media giant said on Thursday.

YANGON: A leading Myanmar actor, singer and model who has backed the country's anti-coup protests was arrested on Thursday (Apr 8), reports said, as the junta hunts more than 100 celebrities for supporting the movement. The country has been rocked b...

JAKARTA: Indonesia's health minister said on Thursday (Apr 8) the schedule for about 100 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccines faced delays, as an official warned that supply issues could hamper the country's inoculation programme. Healt...

South Korea's conservative opposition won landslide victories in elections for the mayors of the country's two biggest cities, results showed Thursday, in a bad sign for Moon Jae-in's Democratic Party a year before the next presidential poll.

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan on Wednesday (Apr 7) sent condolences to his counterparts in Indonesia and Timor-Leste, after landslides and floods devastated both countries. Tropical cyclone Seroja pounded ...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is deliberating whether to proceed with using the AstraZeneca vaccine for its national COVID-19 immunisation programme, following the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) review. Coordinating Minister for the Immunisation Progra...

SEOUL: The Brave Girls were losing courage just weeks ago, on the verge of breaking up and abandoning their dreams of K-pop stardom after years of going nowhere. Then a pseudonymous YouTuber called Viditor uploaded a compilation of them performing o...

China protests transit of US destroyer through Taiwan Strait

SEOUL: South Korea reported 700 new COVID-19 cases, its highest daily figure since early January, and the prime minister reiterated warnings on Thursday (Apr 8) that new social distancing rules would likely be needed. Wednesday's tally compares with...

Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law said he has been granted political asylum in Britain, where he arrived last July after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on his home city that has been heavily criticised by the West.

HONG KONG: At a meeting at the Portuguese unit of Macau's public broadcaster TDM on Mar 10, two senior journalists addressed about 25 staff members, reading new editorial rules requiring them to promote "patriotism, respect and love" for mainland Chi...

The Japanese government is thinking of prioritising COVID-19 vaccines for athletes taking part in the Olympics and Paralympics, which start at the end of July, Kyodo news agency said.

The United States on Wednesday (Apr 7) warned China against what the Philippines and Taiwan see as increasingly aggressive moves, reminding Beijing of Washington's obligations to its partners.

LONDON: Britain on Thursday (Apr 8) condemned "bullying" by the Myanmar junta after the country's ambassador to London was ousted in an extraordinary diplomatic coup having called for the release of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Diplomats loyal...

CNA correspondent Wei Du stumbles on the mystery of vanished pets in Hong Kong, and a much bigger problem behind the phenomenon, in the programme Undercover Asia.

A new hybrid Cold War is underway, with US, China and pivotal states engaging in a power play, says NUS Business School’s Alex Capri.

China’s lending has been secretive, with clauses to protect political interests and subject disputes to Chinese law. These could create a “China Club” that rivals the Paris Club, says Professor Bo Zhiyue.

Despite calls for them to get involved in a wider resistance against the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s ethnic armed groups are not casting their lots in yet. They have ample reasons for not doing so, says ISEAS-Yusof-Ishak Institute’s Andrew Ong.

The United States is prepared to consider diplomacy with North Korea if it leads to a path of denuclearisation, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Wednesday (Apr 7).

A joint China-World Health Organization (WHO) study into COVID-19 has provided no credible answers about how the pandemic began, and more rigorous investigations are required - with or without Beijing's involvement, a group of international scientist...

India reported a record 115,736 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a 13-fold increase in just over two months, raising pressure on the government to expand its vaccination campaign.

President Xi Jinping told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday that he saw "various challenges" in relations between China and the European Union and hoped the EU could "independently" make correct judgements, a Chinese government statement s...

LOS ANGELES: The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) reiterated its opposition to a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on Wednesday (Apr 7), saying athletes should not be used as "political pawns". In remarks to reporter...

Bhutan on Wednesday said it had given about 60 percent of its entire population a first jab against Covid-19 since the Himalayan kingdom started an ambitious vaccination drive nine days ago.

US climate envoy John Kerry has praised India as a "world leader" in renewable energy but said during a visit to the fossil fuel-dependent nation that the globe needs to phase out coal faster.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia said on Wednesday (Apr 7) it had secured potential investments from South Korea and Japan amounting to RM16.05 billion (US$3.89 billion) and export purchases of about RM986.2 million to be realised in the coming years. Malaysi...

SEOUL: South Korea said on Wednesday (Apr 7) it will temporarily suspend providing AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to people below 60 amid a European review, while approving a Johnson & Johnson shot in a bid to speed up its inoculation roll-out. The ...

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday cancelled his weekly national televised address due to an increase in active cases of COVID-19 among his staff, including some of his security detail, government officials said.

A Sri Lankan beauty pageant winner who had her crown yanked off by last year's champion in an ugly on-stage fracas has been re-declared the victor and says she will sue.

TAIPEI: Taiwan has spotted Chinese drones circling the Taipei-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea and may shoot them down if they stray too close, a government minister said on Wednesday (Apr 7), a move that could dramatically increase t...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan rights campaigners have accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of "baffling ignorance" after the former playboy cricketer blamed how women dress for a rise in rape cases. In a weekend interview on live television, Oxford-educated Kha...

SINGAPORE: Singapore President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have congratulated their Vietnamese counterparts President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on their appointments. Mr Phuc and Mr Chinh were e...

Cambodia started on Wednesday to vaccinate workers in its textile industry, concentrating on the US$7 billion backbone of its economy to help jump-start a post-pandemic recovery.

YANGON: Myanmar troops fired at anti-coup protesters on Wednesday (Apr 7), killing at least 13 people and wounding several, a media outlet said, as a series of small blasts hit the commercial capital Yangon and a Chinese-owned factory was set on fi...

MANILA: Philippine police said on Wednesday (Apr 7) they are investigating the death of a COVID-19 lockdown violator who was forced to do a hundred squat-like exercises as a penalty for breaking curfew. Police have punished more than 10,000 people f...

TOKYO: Men in Black rides and Jumanji water slides are some of the star attractions of a theme park being jointly built in Thailand by Sony as the tech giant seeks to broaden its entertainment offerings. The venue near Pattaya - a tourist hotspot ...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and two pro-democracy activists pleaded guilty on Wednesday (Apr 7) to charges of participating in an illegal march during mass anti-government protests in 2019. The plea of guilty to joining the citywide ...

BANGKOK: Bangkok could be declared a COVID-19 red zone ahead of the Thai water festival next week after new clusters involving pubs and bars caused a sharp increase in infections in the Thai capital.  The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administratio...

Voters in Seoul went to the polls Wednesday to pick a successor to the mayor of South Korea's capital, who took his own life following allegations of sexual abuse.

KUALA LUMPUR: United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has denied having any conversation with Parti Keadilan Rakyat chief Anwar Ibrahim after his party's general assembly, after an audio clip purportedly of the two...

estrictions on exporting its COVID-19 vaccines have left India's Serum Institute needing financial help from the government, its CEO said, with the world's largest jab manufacturer under pressure at home from soaring cases.

Indian cricket chief Sourav Ganguly has stoked the debate on the pressures of bio-secure bubble cricket by saying Indian players are better at handling mental health than foreign stars.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's scandal-plagued former prime minister Najib Razak is facing bankruptcy for allegedly failing to pay more than US$400 million in taxes, which could bring his political career to an end. Najib lost power in 2018 when his party...

TAIPEI: Taiwan worked with other democracies to help its diplomatic ally Paraguay get COVID-19 vaccines after China put pressure on the South American country to ditch Taipei in exchange for shots, and India stepped in to help, Taiwan's foreign minis...

The Japanese metropolis of Osaka is to declare a medical emergency as new COVID-19 infections climb to all-time highs, the Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: India's second wave of COVID-19 infections continued to swell as it reported a record 115,736 new cases on Wednesday (Apr 7), a 13-fold increase in just over two months and raising pressure on the government to expand its vaccination campa...

TOKYO: Hiroshi Mikitani, chief executive of Japanese e-commerce group Rakuten, said on Wednesday (Apr 7) it was "too risky" to hold the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this summer, as the nation struggles with a nascent fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mik...

SHANGHAI: After repeated postponements stretching back more than a year because of COVID-19, South Korea and China's women's football teams will finally meet on Thursday (Apr 8) for a last-ditch spot at the Tokyo Olympics. The first leg takes place ...

TAIPEI: Taiwan will fight to the end if China attacks, its foreign minister said on Wednesday (Apr 7), adding that the United States saw a danger that this could happen amid mounting Chinese military pressure, including aircraft carrier drills, near...

BANGKOK: Thai rescue workers said on Wednesday (Apr 7) they had freed a Buddhist monk trapped inside a flooded cave in Thailand's Phitsanulok province, after he went inside days ago to meditate. The monk, identified by a local rescue unit as 46-year...

ADONARA, Indonesia: Homeless, injured, and with his daughter dead, Sugeng stares blankly as he comes to grips with the devastation left by floods and landslides on Indonesia's Adonara island. The 60-year-old was asleep with his family on Sunday (Apr...

HONG KONG: He leads one of the world's smallest nations, but Surangel Whipps says Palau will not be bullied by anyone into deciding its future - least of all by China. Whipps, 52, became Palau's president after last year defeating an opponent who f...

YANGON: A group representing Myanmar's ousted civilian government said on Wednesday (Apr 7) it has gathered 180,000 pieces of evidence showing rights abuses by the junta including torture and extrajudicial killings. The country has been in turmoil ...

LEMBATA, Indonesia: Indonesia's navy readied hospital ships on Wednesday (Apr 7) to help treat injured survivors of a cyclone that has killed about 160 in the archipelago and neighbouring Timor-Leste, as fears grow over coronavirus outbreaks in cramp...

TOKYO: It's Tokyo, but unlike you've ever seen it before - a miniaturised 1:1000 scale version of one of the world's biggest capitals, displaying everything from sea levels to population densities. Pairing a 3D model with projection mapping, the Urb...

Two Uyghur former government officials in China's Xinjiang have been handed death sentences for carrying out "separatist activities", a court said, as Beijing comes under increasing fire for its actions towards minority groups in the region.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered health officials on Tuesday to prepare to treat coronavirus patients at home, as the country's biggest COVID-19 outbreak so far tests the capacity of its fragile healthcare system.

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called on "grassroots" members of the ruling Workers' Party to be more proactive and responsible in carrying out the country's new five-year economic plan, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday (Apr 7). Th...

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said there was a chance he could call a snap general election before his current term as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ends in September, according to the Asahi newspaper. The remark,...

SEOUL: South Korea on Wednesday (Apr 7) reported 668 new COVID-19 cases for Tuesday, the highest daily count since Jan 8 amid a rise in cluster infections, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The new cases bring the country'...

BANGKOK: Nine-year-old Thai kickboxer Pornpattara "Tata" Peachaurai is eager to get back in the ring after COVID-19 curbs brought his fight season to a halt more than five months ago. The money he earns is vital income for his family. "All the money...

Reductions in tariffs on goods, which benefit China, are often overestimated in such calculations, whereas reduction in barriers impacting services, which favour ASEAN, are undervalued, says Deborah Elms.

It would be far smarter for the Tatmadaw to build support within a pseudo-democratic system—as Thailand’s military has done, says ISEAS’ Dr Paul Chambers.

Russia’s foreign minister arrived on Tuesday (Apr 6) in Pakistan for a two-day visit expected to focus on efforts to bring peace to neighbouring Afghanistan.