TOKYO :Olympics organisers prepared on Tuesday to unveil their latest "playbook" of rules to control COVID-19 infections as Japan's government pondered whether to extend a state of emergency and senior Olympics official John Coates arrived in Tokyo.

BANGKOK: An Australian national accused of sexually assaulting Myanmar children in Thailand was arrested in the border province of Tak after six months on the run, according to the Tak Immigration Office. On Jun 2, Thai authorities managed to track ...

SEOUL: South Korean's military began annual drills on Tuesday (Jun 15) around a set of islands also claimed by Japan, days after planned talks between the two countries' leaders were called off amid a spat over an Olympics map. Seoul and Tokyo have ...

SHANGHAI: French energy company EDF is investigating a potential issue linked to a build-up of inert gases at its nuclear plant in China's south-eastern province of Guangdong. The probe comes after CNN reported that the United States government was...

NYINGTRI, China: In a room warmed by an open wood stove, Baima says her family converted their white-brick house into a hotel as China's Communist leadership ushers tens of millions of tourists to the politically sensitive region of Tibet. Surround...

Beijing on Tuesday accused NATO of exaggerating the threat from China and "creating confrontation", after a vow from the Western allies to work together to counter the "systemic challenges" posed by its policies.

TOKYO: Japan on Tuesday (Jun 15) denied a media report that South Korean President Moon Jae-In is arranging a visit to Japan timed with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as well as talks with Japanese Prime Minister Suga. The relationship between Asian neig...

BEIJING: A huge red banner welcomed more than 11,000 students in Wuhan for a massive graduation ceremony more than a year after the city was battered by the first global outbreak of COVID-19. Students in navy gowns and mortarboards sat in crowded r...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will "never cooperate" with an International Criminal Court probe into the country's deadly drug war, his spokesman said Tuesday, branding the process "legally erroneous".

The UN improperly collected and shared data from more than 800,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, passing it on to Myanmar, the country they fled, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday, urging an investigation.

The Chinese scientist at the center of theories that the coronavirus pandemic originated with a leak from her specialized lab in the city of Wuhan has denied her institution was to blame for the health disaster.

When Paul Noritaka Tange won the rights to design the Aquatics Centre for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, one of the first things he did was to visit the grave of his father: the revolutionary Pritzker-winning architect, Kenzo Tange.

China reported 20 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for June 14, compared with 23 a day earlier, the country's health authority said on Tuesday.

With hospitals pushed to the limit, good Samaritans have stepped forward to save lives. But beating the second wave — and preventing a third — will take a lot more, experts tell the programme Insight.

All eyes are on the Conference of Rulers’ decisions this Wednesday. The royals are likely to strike a middle path to put the ball back in Muhyiddin Yassin’s court, says Professor James Chin.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday (Jun 14) extended partial coronavirus curbs in the capital and nearby provinces until end-June, but placed more areas under tighter quarantine measures because of rising infections and high hospital o...

Gas was deliberately released from a nuclear power plant in southern China as operators work to fix an issue at the facility, its French part-owner said Monday following a US media report of a potential leak.

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor sought a full investigation on Monday (Jun 14) into crimes against humanity during the Philippines' war on drugs, in one of her last acts before stepping down this week.

The death toll from a gas blast that ripped through a residential compound in central China has risen to 25, Beijing's state media reported on Monday (Jun 14), as authorities continued a desperate rescue operation.

The Russian skipper of a container ship that caught fire and burned for almost two weeks before sinking off Sri Lanka's coast has been arrested and is expected to be charged with marine pollution, police said on Monday (Jun 14).

MANILA/WASHINGTON: The Philippines has again suspended a decision to scrap a crucial agreement governing the US troop presence in the country, its foreign minister said on Monday (Jun 14), amid continuing maritime pressure from China. The Pentago...

JAKARTA: Indonesia expects a new wave of COVID-19 infections will peak in early July, as the highly transmissible delta variant becomes more dominant in some areas and with the occupancy of hospitals in Jakarta hitting 75 per cent, officials said. C...

SEOUL: South Korea began easing restrictions on large concerts and sports events on Monday (Jun 14) after announcing last week it would loosen a series of coronavirus curbs as the country pushes ahead with its vaccination drive. Up to 4,000 people w...

MANILA: Philippine police chief Guillermo Eleazar warned on Monday (Jun 14) that political candidates may try to take advantage of the growth in the use of digital platforms and e-wallets in the country to buy votes in national elections next year. ...

KUALA LUMPUR: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), the ruling coalition in the Borneo state, highlighted the importance of a “strong and stable government” as one of the crucial factors in the fight against COVID-19 in its meeting with the Malaysian kin...

NEW DELHI: Many Indian states eased COVID-19 restrictions on Monday (Jun 14) including the capital Delhi, where authorities allowed all shops and malls to open, as the number of new infections dropped to the lowest in more than two months. Experts h...

Two Javan rhinoceros calves have been spotted at an Indonesian national park, offering a rare sighting of one of the world's most endangered mammals.

YANGON: A United States journalist detained in Myanmar since March was released on Monday (Jun 14) after charges against him were dropped, his lawyer said. US citizen Nathan Maung "was released this morning from Insein prison as the police withdre...

GUANGZHOU: A French nuclear firm said on Monday (Jun 14) that it was working to resolve a "performance issue" at a plant it part-owns in China's southern Guangdong province following a United States media report of a potential leak there. CNN report...

Vietnam's business hub of Ho Chi Minh City will extend social distancing measures for a further 15 days starting from Tuesday (Jun 15), amid the emergence of new COVID-19 clusters, authorities said.

Thailand's recently launched coronavirus vaccination campaign was hit by confusion in the capital on Monday after at least 20 hospitals in Bangkok postponed COVID-19 inoculation appointments set for this week, citing delays in vaccine deliveries.

Toshiba apologised to shareholders Monday and said it would remove two directors after a probe found the Japanese conglomerate had sought government help to try and influence a boardroom vote.

The former head of Myanmar's COVID-19 immunisation programme has been arrested and faces charges of high treason for colluding with opponents of the military authorities, state media reported on Monday (Jun 14). Myanmar's healthcare system and coron...

BEIJING: China on Monday (Jun 14) accused the G7 of "political manipulation" after it criticised Beijing over its human rights record in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. In a communique after a three-day summit in England, G7 leaders slammed China over abuse...

Since his son was diagnosed with HIV during a mass outbreak in Pakistan among babies and children, hard-up Shahzado Shar has often been forced to choose between food and medicine.

SINGAPORE: Malaysia-born science journalist Ed Yong has won a Pulitzer Prize for his explanatory reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic. Yong, who is based in Washington, DC, is a staff writer at the Atlantic. According to the prize's website, Yong wo...

BANGKOK: A series of COVID-19 outbreaks in Thai factories is raising concerns that the export sector could be hit hard, threatening to further undermine an economy as it struggles to recover from the pandemic's crippling blow to the crucial tourism i...

YANGON: The trial of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi will hear its first testimony in a junta court on Monday (Jun 14), more than four months after a military coup. Near daily protests have rocked Myanmar since the generals' putsch removed he...

An American father-son duo admitted their role in orchestrating former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn's audacious escape from Japan as they made their first appearance before a Tokyo court on Monday (Jun 14).

Myanmar's junta-controlled media on Monday (Jun 14) accused an ethnic armed group of killing 25 construction workers in the east of the country after abducting a group of 47 people last month. Reuters was unable to reach the Karen National Defence O...

TAIPEI: Taiwan will be a "force for good" and continue to seek even greater international support, the presidential office said, after the Chinese-claimed island won unprecedented backing from the Group of Seven of major democracies. The G7 leaders ...

KUALA LUMPUR: Marine biologists are investigating a mystery skin disease afflicting whitetip reef sharks in Malaysia, with some early reports suggesting rising sea temperatures could be to blame. Named for the distinctive white tips on their fins, w...

A Chinese spacecraft will blast off from the Gobi Desert on a Long March rocket in the coming days, ferrying three men to an orbiting space module for a three-month stay, the first time China has sent humans into space for nearly five years.

Malaysia on Sunday (Jun 13) deported a leading figure in conspiracy circles who is wanted in France over the kidnapping of an eight-year-old girl, sources told AFP.

CARBIS BAY, England: Group of Seven (G7) leaders on Sunday (Jun 13) scolded China over human rights in Xinjiang, called for Hong Kong to keep a high degree of autonomy and demanded a full and thorough investigation of the origins of the coronavirus i...

PEKANBARU, Indonesia: An Indonesian city is bringing COVID-19 vaccines to its people with a growing fleet of inoculation buses, as the country faces a spike in infections after a major religious festival. Authorities in Pekanbaru on the island of Su...

YANGON: Anti-junta protesters flooded Myanmar's social media with pictures of themselves wearing black on Sunday (Jun 13) in a show of solidarity for the Rohingya, a minority group that is among the most persecuted in the country. Since the military...

MANILA: Philippine troops killed four Abu Sayyaf militants in a gun battle on Sunday (Jun 13) in the country's south, including a commander blamed for beheadings and a suspected would-be suicide bomber, military officials said. Army troops backed by...

AHMEDABAD, India: Authorities in an Indian city have organised a special drive-through vaccination campaign for people with disabilities in a bid to address low COVID-19 vaccination rates, especially among more vulnerable members of society. Organis...

JAKARTA: Indonesia's state oil firm Pertamina said on Sunday (Jun 13) it had extinguished a fire at its refinery in Cilacap, Central Java, and supplies were not impacted. The fire broke out on Friday (Jun 11) near the bundwall area and benzene conta...

SEOUL: South Korea will exempt some travellers who have received their COVID-19 vaccine shots overseas from its mandatory two-week quarantine starting Jul 1, health authorities said on Sunday (Jun 13). As of May 5, the quarantine exemption was only...

BANGKOK: Thailand is not blocking exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine, a government representative said, after Taiwan said Thailand was keeping for itself doses of the vaccine that it is producing. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday (Jun 11...

BEIJING: At least 12 people were killed and nearly 140 others injured when a gas line explosion ripped through a residential compound in central China's Hubei province on Sunday (Jun 13), local officials said. Rescue efforts were continuing, accordi...

CARBIS BAY, England: China on Sunday (Jun 13) pointedly cautioned Group of Seven leaders that the days when "small" groups of countries decided the fate of the world was long gone, hitting back at the world's richest democracies which have sought a u...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong police arrested at least three protesters on Saturday (Jun 12), the anniversary of protests in 2019 that rocked the financial hub and eventually led to Beijing introducing a security law that critics say has stifled dissent.  ...

TOKYO: Toshiba Corp's second-biggest shareholder on Sunday demanded the board chairman and three other directors resign immediately after an investigation found the company had colluded with the Japanese government to pressure foreign investors. ...

Mainland China reported 34 new COVID-19 cases on June 12, down from 35 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Sunday.

CARBIS BAY, England: Leaders of the world's largest economies unveiled an infrastructure plan Saturday (Jun 12) for the developing world to compete with China’s global initiatives, but they were searching for a consensus on how to forcefully call ...

CARBIS BAY, England: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-Yong reaffirmed a commitment between their countries and Japan to work closely toward the "denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," the State Dep...

An incursion by Chinese aircraft into Malaysian airspace is yet another reminder of Beijing’s belligerence, says this observer

JAKARTA: Mitos tentang pulau Semau, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia mengatakan jika ada yang berani menginjakkan kakinya di pulau tersebut dan bukan merupakan penduduk setempat, maka dia tidak akan bisa kembali dalam keadaan hidup. Noverius Henutesa ...

JAKARTA: Local myth has it that strangers who dare to step foot on Semau island in East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, will not be able to return home alive.  Noverius Henutesa Nggili, who is part of a motorcycle group that tours the province ...

HANOI: Vietnam has approved the COVID-19 vaccine jointly made by Pfizer and BioNTech for domestic emergency use, the government said on Saturday (Jun 12). It is the fourth vaccine to be endorsed in the Southeast Asian country that is tackling a new ...

BEIJING: China’s famed wandering elephants are on the move again, heading southwest while a male who broke from the herd is still keeping his distance. The group left a wildlife reserve in the southwest of Yunnan province more than a year ago and ...

NEW DELHI: Ram Babu moved from his village to the Indian capital New Delhi in 1980, to clean cars. Soon, he learned to drive and got a job as a tour bus driver. Decades later, he set up his own company, Madhubani Tours and Travels. In March 2020, a ...

NEW DELHI: India on Saturday (Jun 12) cut taxes on medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators and drugs used to treat COVID-19 infections, after widespread criticism over healthcare costs during a devastating second wave of the virus in April an...

Myanmar's junta on Saturday (Jun 12) accused some of the country's two dozen ethnic armed groups of providing training to its opponents to carry out a wave of bombings that it said had targeted public buildings including schools.  Bomb attacks have...

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has restricted the annual Haj pilgrimage to citizens and residents and set a maximum of 60,000 pilgrims in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was announced on Saturday (Jun 12) by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in a ...

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's capital of Phnom Penh on Saturday (Jun 12) began overseeing the dismantling of "floating home" communities on the banks of the Tonle Sap River over the objections of longtime residents who say they have nowhere else to go. For...

WASHINGTON: Japanese chemist Ei-ichi Negishi who won the Nobel prize for developing a method for creating complex chemicals necessary for manufacturing drugs and electronics has died aged 85, his US university said. Negishi died on Sunday in Indiana...

ROME: Italian police said Saturday (Jun 12) they had arrested a man wanted by Britain in connection with a people-smuggling plot that led to the death of 39 Vietnamese migrants in the back of a lorry. Stefan Damian Dragos, a 28-year-old Romanian cit...

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is seeking an interim claim of US$40 million from the operator of a fire-ravaged cargo ship to cover part of the cost of fighting the blaze, officials said on Saturday (Jun 12). Sri Lanka's attorney general has sent the claim to l...

HONG KONG: The main representative of the Chinese government in Hong Kong said on Saturday (Jun 12) people trying to turn the city into a "pawn in geopolitics" were the "real enemies" and Beijing was the true defender of the city's special status. L...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong bankers and lawyers will be able to search the city's companies registry under proposed exemptions to plans to tighten public access to the database, Secretary for Financial Services Christopher Hui said on Saturday (Jun 12). Bu...

CARBIS BAY, England: The Group of Seven richest democracies on Saturday (Jun 12) sought to counter China's growing influence by offering developing nations an infrastructure plan that would rival President Xi Jinping's multi-trillion-dollar Belt and ...

Hong Kong democracy activist Agnes Chow was released Saturday from prison on the second anniversary of the city's huge democracy rallies, with police out in force and protests now all but banned.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is expected to spend 8 billion ringgit (US$1.95 billion) on fuel and cooking oil subsidies this year, more than double the 3.78 billion ringgit originally allocated, the finance ministry said on Saturday (Jun 12). The announce...

NEW DELHI: India on Saturday (Jun 12) reported 84,332 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, the lowest in more than two months, data from the health ministry showed. The South Asian country's total COVID-19 case load now stands at 29.4 mil...

LONAVLA, India: Indian start-up Mylab Discovery Solutions hopes that its inexpensive COVID-19 home test kit - the country's first - will help the massive South Asian nation better track the pandemic's spread among its 1.3-billion people. CoviSelf ...

CARBIS BAY, United Kingdom: G7 leaders are on Saturday (Jun 12) set to agree a joint declaration aimed at preventing another pandemic, as they resume wide-ranging talks at their first in-person summit in almost two years. The group of leading econ...

SHANGHAI: China reported 35 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for Jun 11, up from 22 a day earlier, the country's health authority said on Saturday (Jun 12). Of the new cases, eight were local transmissions, compared with nine the previous day, ...

The groups Pakistan has nurtured in supporting the Taliban could strike at its own breast, says Shashi Tharoor.

The Johor skyline is now dotted with empty condominium units, due to an oversupply in the market and lack of foreign buyers.

CARBIS BAY, England: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday (Jun 11) gave the Tokyo Olympics a show of public support at a meeting with Japan's Yoshihide Suga and welcomed efforts to ensure the Games can take place safely. The Tokyo 2020 Ol...

WASHINGTON: The United States and China clashed in rare talks on Friday (Jun 11) as President Joe Biden made his international debut at the Group of Seven (G7) summit, with his administration pressing Beijing on COVID-19, Taiwan and human rights. S...

Pakistan announced a budget Friday of 8.4 trillion rupees ($54 billion) for the next fiscal year, basing it on an ambitious growth target of 4.5 percent and tripling spending on public sector development with an election just two years away.

JAKARTA: McDonald's was forced to briefly shut some outlets in Indonesia earlier this week when the launch of a limited edition meal inspired by K-pop group BTS sparked frenzied excitement and fears of coronavirus contagion. Videos shared with Reute...

MANILA: A polio outbreak in the Philippines has ended, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which praised government efforts to fight the disease despite the coronavirus pandemic. The U...

BEIJING: China has punished 27 government officials deemed responsible for last month's ultramarathon deaths, the state-run People's Daily said on Friday (Jun 11), one of the world's deadliest sporting tragedies in recent history. Twenty-one people ...

A firebrand Pakistani scholar has been detained for making death threats against Nobel prize laureate Malala Yousafzai over her comments on marriage, officials said Friday.

JAKARTA: Indonesia is preparing to receive thousands of deportees from Malaysia, a government official said on Friday (Jun 11), amid a crackdown there on undocumented workers and as the country suffers its most severe coronavirus outbreak so far. Ma...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's movement control order, known as MCO 3.0, will be extended for another two weeks from Jun 15 to Jun 28. Senior Minister for Defence Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced in a statement on Friday (Jun 11) that the decision to extend...

GENEVA: The United Nations rights chief said on Friday (Jun 11) that violence was escalating across Myanmar, warning that the country had plunged into a "human rights catastrophe" since the Feb 1 coup. Pointing to reported military build-up in seve...

BEIJING: Congestion at container shipping ports in southern China is worsening as authorities step up disinfection measures amid a flare-up in COVID-19 cases, causing the biggest backlog since at least 2019. More than 150 coronavirus cases have been...

KUNMING: A herd of wild elephants trekking across China took a break to forage and play in a forest in China's Yunnan province, after one animal became separated from the group. The main herd of 14 foraged and played in the forest after passing thro...

BEIJING: A new Chinese law against foreign sanctions is designed to boost Beijing's power against international pressure, but could spark compliance dilemmas for foreign businesses operating in the world's second-largest economy. It comes just a wee...

BEIJING: Solar panel "wings" spread out and two camera "eyes" pointing ahead, China's Mars rover Zhurong struck a birdlike pose as it explored the Red Planet in photos released by the country's space agency on Friday (Jun 11). Zhurong's touchdown in...

BANGKOK: Thailand has signed a purchase order for 20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine develop by Pfizer and BioNTech to be delivered before the end of this year, its health minister said. Details of the deal, delivery time frame and the vaccine...

MANILA: The Philippines will exempt elderly people who have been fully vaccinated from stay-at-home orders to encourage more to get inoculated and help authorities meet COVID-19 immunisation targets, officials said on Friday (Jun 11). Seniors living...

Thailand is prioritising AstraZeneca Plc COVID-19 vaccines produced in the country for itself due to the severity of the pandemic there, which has delayed deliveries to Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday.