KUALA LUMPUR: Forty healthcare workers in Malaysia have tested positive for COVID-19 despite completing both doses of the vaccination, said health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on Saturday (Apr 17). According to Dr Noor Hisham, nine of t...

The global coronavirus death toll was expected to reach three million on Saturday, as the race for immunisation continues and countries like India grapple with rising infections and new lockdowns.

MANILA: Philippine authorities said on Saturday (Apr 17) they have seized about 200 tonnes of illegally harvested giant clam shells worth nearly US$25 million in one of the biggest known operations of its kind in the country. Conservationists have e...

WASHINGTON: The US Treasury Department on Friday (Apr 16) said Vietnam, Switzerland and Taiwan tripped its thresholds for possible currency manipulation under a 2015 US trade law, but refrained from formally branding them as manipulators. In the fir...

YANGON: Myanmar's junta on Saturday (Apr 17) announced it pardoned and released more than 23,000 prisoners to mark the new year holiday, but it was not immediately clear if they included activists who were detained in the wake of the February coup. ...

BEIJING: China reported 15 new COVID-19 cases on Friday (Apr 16), up from 11 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Saturday. The National Health Commission, in a statement, said one of the new cases was a local infecti...

WASHINGTON: The United States and Japan vowed on Friday (Apr 16) to stand firm together against an assertive China and to step up cooperation on climate change and next-generation technology as President Joe Biden made his first summit a show of alli...

OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's special immigration initiative for Hong Kong residents received more than 500 applications in its first three weeks, a spokesman for Canada's immigration ministry said on Friday (Apr 17). In November,...

WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday (Apr 16) condemned the sentencing of several Hong Kong democracy activists for their roles in protests that triggered a crackdown on dissent by China, again accusing Beijing of denying Hong Kongers freedoms the...

Japan's prime minister told US President Joe Biden Friday that the Asian nation would do everything in its power to contain Covid-19 infections and hold a "safe and secure" Olympic Games this year.

Anwar Ibrahim and Zahid Hamidi do have history and there is political convergence of two of the nation’s prominent politicians, say two ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Malaysia experts.

NAKHON PHANOM, Thailand: From a distance, it is hard to make sense of the small patches of green emerging from the cracking mud flats of the Mekong River.  They are not oases, nor sprouts of river grass along dusty channels where water normally flo...

China said Friday that the United States needed to take more responsibility on climate change but welcomed greater cooperation after a visit by envoy John Kerry, state media said.

ROME: Italy will ease coronavirus curbs in many areas from Apr 26, the government said on Friday (Apr 16), warning caution was still needed to avoid any reversals in the reopening of many long-shuttered activities. Restrictions on business and move...

The 39-year-old son of Turkmenistan's leader replaced him as head of the national horse association, state television reported Friday, paving the way for hereditary succession in the autocratic state.

PODGORICA, Montenegro: Montenegro's finance minister on Friday (Apr 16) tried to ease concern over a near US$1 billion Chinese-backed road project, insisting the country could afford to repay the debt and did not need EU help. The project is part of...

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping slammed the European Union's plan for a carbon tax system on Friday (Apr 16) in a call with the leaders of France and Germany, state media reported. The European Parliament on Wednesday endorsed the creation of ...

A Hindu seer has died from COVID-19 and 80 other holy men have tested positive after attending a vast Indian religious festival where millions of pilgrims have been ignoring coronavirus advice despite a national surge in infections.

MUMBAI: The head of the world's largest vaccine maker directly tweeted US President Joe Biden on Friday (Apr 16) urging him to lift an export ban on raw materials desperately needed to make more COVID-19 shots. The unusual step by Serum Institute (S...

TAIPEI: Taiwan prosecutors on Friday (Apr 16) charged a truck driver with negligent homicide over his role in the island's worst rail disaster in decades that left 49 dead and more than 200 injured. The Apr 2 crash was caused by a railway maintena...

SINGAPORE: Malaysian cargo drivers who have been vaccinated in Singapore may use vaccination cards issued to them, along with the TraceTogether (TT) token or app, as verification for their vaccination status at the Causeway. These will allow them ...

BANGKOK: Bangkok and 17 other provinces in Thailand were declared maximum control areas or "red zones" on Friday (Apr 16) as the country battles the third wave of COVID-19 infections. From Sunday, various measures will be implemented, including a ...

SURABAYA: Two Indonesian hackers have been arrested over an international scam in which US$60 million was stolen from a COVID-19 aid programme helping Americans left jobless by the pandemic, authorities said. Text messages were sent to 20 million Am...

TOKYO: Another leg of Japan's Olympic torch relay has been scrapped and a BMX test event postponed over rising COVID-19 cases as uncertainty about the viability of the Games grows ahead of their opening in July. The relay will be forced off public ...

YANGON: Opponents of Myanmar's junta announced a National Unity Government on Friday (Apr 16) including ousted members of parliament and leaders of anti-coup protests and ethnic minorities, saying their aim was to end military rule and restore democ...

JAKARTA: Planted on the ground near its main gate was a recent addition to the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park): a sign which says that the recreational area is under the control and management of the Indonesian State ...

TAIPEI: Chinese carrier drills and stepped-up incursions into Taiwan's air defence zone in recent weeks are meant to send a message to Washington to stand down and back off, security sources in Taipei say. The increased activity - which China, unusu...

Day workers fill trains out of Mumbai as COVID-19 dries up jobs

NANJING: On a grey and rainy morning, Chen Si patrols the Nanjing bridge soaring above China's Yangtze river, determined to stop the desperate from jumping into the swirling waters below. Every weekend for 18 years, Chen has volunteered to scout th...

India reported a record daily increase of 217,353 COVID-19 infections over the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Friday.

SEOUL: In a sweeping reshuffle, South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday (Apr 16) replaced the prime minister and six other Cabinet members in a bid to revive his party, after devastating local election defeats, and his policy agenda. Moon named...

SKorean steelmaker to end partnership with Myanmar military

HONG KONG: Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was jailed for 14 months on Friday (Apr 16) along with four other veteran democracy activists for their roles in protests that helped trigger a sweeping crackdown on dissent by China. Lai was given two ja...

South Korea's Huons Global Co Ltd said on Friday it will lead a consortium to produce 100 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine per month as Moscow ramps up production for supplies abroad.

BEIJING: China's economy expanded at its fastest pace in record in the first quarter, data showed on Friday (Apr 16), in a sharp turnaround from its historic contraction caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The world's second-largest economy was the on...

BEIJING: China reported 11 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday (Apr 15), up from 10 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Friday. The National Health Commission said in a statement one of the new cases was a local infection...

After gifting and selling tens of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses abroad, India suddenly finds itself short of shots as new infections surge in the world's second-most populous country.

WASHINGTON: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga arrived in Washington on Thursday (Apr 15) for talks with US President Joe Biden meant to show the strength of the two nations' security alliance at a time when both are concerned with China’s grow...

TOKYO: Tokyo's Olympics chief said on Friday (Apr 16) that Japan was committed to holding a safe Games this summer, as a surge in COVID-19 cases prompted an expansion of contagion controls and with fresh calls for the Games to again be postponed or c...

The daughter of Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte says there's no chance she'll run for the presidency next year. Her father says the presidency is no job for a woman.

SEOUL: North Korea marked the anniversary of the birth of its founder Kim Il Sung on Thursday (Apr 15), with mask-wearing citizens placing flowers before his statue in Pyongyang. The grandfather of the current leader Kim Jong Un was born 109 years a...

NEW DELHI: Gasping for air, two men wearing oxygen masks share a bed in a government hospital in India's capital New Delhi, victims of the country's growing COVID-19 crisis. From reporting under 10,000 new daily cases earlier this year, daily infect...

LONDON: London-headquartered HSBC bank is relocating four senior executives to Hong Kong as it seeks to extend its business reach across its main market Asia. In a staff memo seen by AFP on Thursday (Apr 15), HSBC fleshed out a strategy unveiled i...

The second surge of COVID-19 cases in India has swamped hospitals much faster than the first because mutations in the virus mean each patient is infecting many more people than before, epidemiologists and doctors say.

NEW DELHI: In a spartan hillside room in India furnished only with a thin sleeping mat, the Myanmar member of parliament (MP) spends much of his days attentively listening to Zoom conference calls and tapping away messages on his smartphone. The sho...

SHANGHAI: The Shanghai Half Marathon, scheduled for Sunday (Apr 18), has scrapped plans to provide runners with Adidas-branded T-shirts, according to messages sent to participants, as the German firm remains under pressure in China over comments it m...

SINGAPORE: Scoot passenger flights departing from Singapore will not be allowed to land in Hong Kong from Friday (Apr 16) to Apr 29, the government of Hong Kong said on Thursday. The announcement came in a daily press release providing updates and C...

YANGON: Myanmar security forces arrested on Thursday (Apr 15) one of the main leaders of the campaign against military rule after driving into him with a car as he led a motorbike protest rally, friends and colleagues said. Opponents of a Feb 1 cou...

TAIPEI: Taiwan's government on Thursday (Apr 15) said it had accepted the resignation of its transport minister following a train crash earlier this month that killed 49 people, the island's deadliest in decades. The Apr 2 crash was caused by a rail...

SHANGHAI: Chinese President Xi Jinping will join a virtual climate summit with France and Germany, Beijing announced on Thursday (Apr 15), as US envoy John Kerry visited Shanghai to drum up support from the world's biggest polluter for America's driv...

More than 20 Chinese tech giants have made a public pact to abide by anti-monopoly guidelines, after regulators told them to note "the warning" of a record fine against e-commerce giant Alibaba.

The French embassy in Pakistan on Thursday advised all French nationals and companies to temporarily leave the country, after violent anti-France protests paralysed large parts of the country this week.

BEIJING: China will assess possible threats posed by Japan's release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant to the safety of related food and agricultural products and their trade, the commerce ministry said on Thursday (Apr 15). Acc...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong authorities said on Thursday (Apr 15) that the city's vaccine scheme would be widened to include those aged between 16 to 29 years old for the first time, as they aim to boost lackluster demand for inoculations in the Asian finan...

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Health Ministry has proposed that interstate travel be postponed for the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri, as daily COVID-19 cases continue to rise.  Speaking after a ministry event on Thursday (Apr 15), Health Minister Adh...

Thailand reported 1,543 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the sharpest increase since the start of the pandemic and the fourth record rise this week, amid a third wave of infections in the Southeast Asian country.

Japan's prime minister heads to Washington on Thursday to become the first foreign leader to hold face-to-face talks with US President Joe Biden, with concerns about China topping the agenda.

Hong Kong police displayed a cuddly bear mascot and unveiled a new goose-step march Thursday as the financial hub held a "National Security Education Day", part of its push to instil patriotism in a city chafing under China's rule.

GUJARAT, India: Roshni Thakor left school to harvest salt from a sun-baked Indian desert, a backbreaking trade practised by her ancestors for centuries but now threatened by climate change. For eight months every year, farmers toil in scorching hea...

Relations between Taiwan and the United States are "stronger than ever", an envoy for President Joe Biden said Thursday during a visit to the democratic island as it faces increasingly hostile moves by China.

KUALA LUMPUR: Corruption in Malaysia is at a worrying level although the situation has yet to become a pandemic, its anti-graft chief said.  Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki was responding to a question dur...

MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has lifted a moratorium on new mineral agreements imposed in 2012, reopening the door to investments in a move that will boost state coffers but has dismayed environmental activists. The Philippines, the ...

Spiralling Covid-19 cases have put Cambodia "on the brink of death", its strongman premier Hun Sen has warned, as the country imposed lockdowns in the capital Phnom Penh and a nearby city.

NEW DELHI: Many Indians scrambled on Thursday (Apr 15) to secure beds in hospitals for relatives stricken with coronavirus as infections surged to a daily record, overwhelming medical facilities and drying up oxygen supplies. A massive second wave o...

When Thailand's transport minister was recently diagnosed with COVID-19, it was Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who got a headache.

A senior Japanese ruling party official said cancelling this year's Olympic Games is an option, Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday.

HONG KONG: Beijing's top representative in Hong Kong said on Thursday (Apr 15) that any foreign powers that try to use the global financial centre as a pawn will face counter measures, amid escalating tensions between the city and Western governments...

Mainland China reported 10 new COVID-19 cases on April 14, down from 12 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Thursday.

With no end in sight, the military coup will only derail Myanmar’s economic and political trajectory, says a research fellow.

The US is once again warning that China might invade Taiwan, but a more gradualist approach by Beijing seems more likely, says Christian Le Miere.

Economic gains have been highlighted but political considerations may have also contributed to the East Coast Rail Link re-routing, says ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute’s Kevin Zhang.

WASHINGTON: US spy agency leaders warned on Wednesday (Apr 14) of the "unparalleled threat" posed by China, citing Beijing's regional aggression, cyber capabilities and economic clout as they testified at a public congressional "Worldwide Threats" h...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's interior minister on Wednesday (Apr 14) recommended a ban on an Islamist political party whose supporters held violent rallies this week to condemn the arrest of their leader that left at least five people dead. Saad Rizvi, a M...

PARIS: Climate change is making India's monsoon stronger and more chaotic, scientists said on Wednesday (Apr 14), warning of potential severe consequences for food, farming and the economy affecting nearly a fifth of the world's population. A new an...

China's CanSino Biologics Inc said on Wednesday that no serious blood clot cases related to its COVID-19 vaccine had been reported so far.

NEW DELHI: India set itself the goal of improving its Olympic medal tally to a "double digit" in Tokyo, with the country's top sports officials pledging every help to the athletes with 100 days to go to the Games. The world's second-most populous n...

YANGON: Myanmar's ruling junta has charged at least 19 medical doctors for participating in civil disobedience protests against the military's Feb 1 coup, a state-run newspaper reported on Wednesday (Apr 14). Doctors, nurses and medical students ha...

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Wednesday (Apr 14) banned 11 organisations, including the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda, a week ahead of the second anniversary of the Easter Sunday suicide bombings which killed 279 people. Anyone linked to the groups - the...

US envoy John Kerry will visit China this week for climate change talks -- the first official trip under the Biden administration -- in a trip Washington hopes will put aside diplomatic spats and focus on joint environment challenges.

TOKYO: A western Japanese city cancelled the Tokyo Olympics torch relay over spiking COVID-19 cases on Wednesday (Apr 14), the second area to scrap the event as the clock ticks down to the postponed Games. The decision comes 100 days before the 202...

TOKYO: Japan's nuclear regulator said on Wednesday (Apr 14) that it would bar Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), operator of the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, from restarting its only operable atomic power station due to safety breaches unco...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's electoral reform Bill was introduced in the city's legislature on Wednesday (Apr 14), setting in motion changes that will give Beijing greater control over the process while reducing the number of directly elected representativ...

SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered officials on Wednesday (Apr 14) to explore petitioning an international court over Japan's decision to release water from its Fukushima nuclear plant, his spokesman said, amid protests by fisheries an...

Anti-coup protesters in Myanmar sloshed red paint in the streets on Wednesday (Apr 14) to symbolise the blood spilled and more than 700 lives lost in a brutal military crackdown.

A record fine, public penitence from a tech giant and a 'who's who' of digital firms warned to "rectify" their ambitions within a month -- state regulators are showing no one is bigger than Beijing in Xi Jinping's China.

HARIDWAR/AHMEDABAD, India :India's new coronavirus infections hit a record on Wednesday, as crowds of pilgrims gathered for a religious festival despite oxygen shortages and strict curbs in other areas.

TAIPEI: Taiwan said on Wednesday (Apr 14) its chip companies will adhere to US rules after Washington added seven Chinese supercomputing entities last week to an economic blacklist and after a Taipei-based chipmaker halted orders from one of the e...

Once a shining symbol of Japan's advanced technology and economic power, Toshiba has been rocked by turbulence in recent years, facing scandals and losses before staging a recovery.

South Korea has recorded its highest daily jump in new COVID-19 infections in about three months, as officials urge the public to maintain vigilance.

BEIJING: China described its military exercises near Taiwan as "combat drills" on Wednesday (Apr 14), upping the ante as senior former US officials arrived in Taipei on a trip to signal President Joe Biden's commitment to Taiwan and its democracy. T...

Thailand reported on Wednesday 1,335 new COVID-19 cases, the biggest daily rise since the start of the pandemic and the third record rise this week, as the country struggles with a new wave of infections.

The president of Toshiba stepped down on Wednesday (Apr 14), a week after the the Japanese technology and manufacturing conglomerate said it was studying an acquisition proposal from a global fund where he previously worked.

TOKYO: Holding the postponed Tokyo Olympics this summer will be "really difficult" given a spike in COVID-19 infections across Japan, the head of the Tokyo Medical Association has warned. Haruo Ozaki sounded the alarm as rising daily cases prompt n...

HONG KONG: Cute cartoon animals have been at the heart of Hong Kong clothing brand Chickeeduck since 1990, displayed on everything from T-shirts and tote bags to baby rompers and pillows. But owner Herbert Chow is now struggling to get his designs m...

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday (Apr 13) that the semi-autonomous territory's legislative elections will take place in December, more than a year after they were postponed by authorities citing public health risks from the coronavirus pan...

Hong Kong's legislative elections to take place in December

China reported 12 new mainland COVID-19 cases on April 13, up from nine a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Wednesday.

North Korea could resume nuclear tests this year as a way to force President Joe Biden's administration to enter into dialogue, US intelligence experts said in a report released on Tuesday (Apr 13).

The Chinese Big Tech firm knows the outcome could be far worse in a country that has ruled by law, in a year of huge importance to the Chinese Communist Party , says Professor Bo Zhiyue.

Myanmar’s ethnic minorities might hold the key to breaking the country’s political impasse, says Rahul Mishra.