KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government has acknowledged the king's views and will take follow-up measures based on the Constitution and the laws, said the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday (Jun 17).  King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Mustafa...

A pig that became an unlikely national icon in China after surviving 36 days under rubble from a powerful 2008 earthquake has died at the age of 14, sparking an outpouring of emotion on Thursday (Jun 17).

JAKARTA: More than 350 Indonesian doctors and healthcare workers have contracted COVID-19 despite being vaccinated with Sinovac and dozens have been hospitalised, officials said, as concerns rise about the efficacy of some vaccines against more virul...

PARIS: Cathay Pacific is working with Airbus to introduce "reduced crew" long-haul flights with a sole pilot in the cockpit much of the time, industry sources told Reuters. The programme, known within Airbus as Project Connect, aims to certify its A...

SEOUL: South Korea has provided US$900,000 to a UN-led humanitarian aid initiative for Myanmar, UN data showed on Thursday (Jun 17). A spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said earlier data on its financ...

TOKYO: Japan said on Thursday (Jun 17) it will make a vaccine passport available from next month for Japanese travellers, as governments around the world experiment with ways to relaunch tourism and business trips. "We are preparing to issue a certi...

SHANGHAI: A senior Chinese epidemiologist said the US should be the priority in the next phase of investigations into the origin of COVID-19 after a study showed the disease could have been circulating there as early as December 2019, state media sai...

TOKYO: For Japanese condom makers, the Olympics was supposed to be a golden opportunity, with hordes of eager tourists and tens of thousands of their innovative, ultra-thin prophylactics given to athletes. But a ban on overseas fans, strict virus ru...

A spiked drink, a puff of dust, missing memories, and an empty bank account.

BANGKOK: Burner phones, safehouses, sheltering with rebels and months away from loved ones - Myanmar's anti-coup activists have been driven underground by a brutal crackdown but have no regrets about choosing a life on the run. Myanmar has been in t...

KUALA LUMPUR: A former Malaysian national team swimmer says she hopes to become a "catalyst for change" after her taboo-breaking decision to open up about alleged sexual assault by a coach. Cindy Ong's story is the latest to cast a harsh spotlight o...

HONG KONG: China is poised to unveil a much tougher than anticipated crackdown on the country's US$120 billion private tutoring industry, four sources told Reuters, including trial bans on vacation tutoring and restrictions on advertising. The new r...

JIUQUAN: The first astronauts for China's new space station blasted off on Thursday (Jun 17) for the country's longest crewed mission to date, a landmark step in establishing Beijing as a major space power. The trio launched on a Long March-2F rocke...

A goalkeeper from Myanmar's national team who raised an anti-coup salute during a match outside Tokyo has refused to fly home and will seek asylum in Japan, local media reported.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong police arrested five executives at the Apple Daily early Thursday (Jun 17) morning, including its editor-in-chief Ryan Law. It was the second time in less than a year that the newspaper's office has been raided. More than 50...

Democratic and Republican members of the US House of Representatives will introduce legislation this week seeking to boost US support for Taiwan, part of an effort in Congress to take a hard line in dealings with China.

US President Joe Biden said China was trying to project itself as a responsible nation in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it remained unclear whether Beijing was really trying to understand the origins of the coronavirus.

Apart from employing the “hammer and dance” to manage COVID-19, Malaysia needs to use the “shield” of vaccines as well, say researchers.

The first astronauts for China's new space station are set to blast off Thursday for the country's longest crewed mission to date, a landmark step in establishing Beijing as a major space power.

The global infrastructure plan announced by G7 leaders aims to offer developing nations a credible alternative to China's much-criticised Belt and Road Initiative - but it faces major hurdles on the ground, especially if Beijing's hiccups are any ind...

Animal activists in Bangladesh have warned of a growing crisis among horses used for tourism during the country's COVID-19 lockdown, after owners said on Wednesday (Jun 16) that five more had died of starvation in a popular resort town.

Myanmar junta troops burn village in escalation of violence

MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday (Jun 16) that a run for vice president in next year's elections was a "good idea" because he has unfinished business, including solving the country's drug problem. Duterte, who is barred...

KUALA LUMPUR: The rulers of Malaysia said there is no need to extend a state of emergency beyond Aug 1, while calling for the political temperature to be cooled down.  Keeper of the Rulers' Seal Syed Danial Syed Ahmad said in a statement on Wed...

BANGKOK: Thailand plans to reopen its borders to international tourists in 120 days, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced in a televised speech on Wednesday (Jun 16). “Now, it is time for us to look further into the future at reopening the c...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah said on Wednesday (Jun 16) that parliamentary sittings should reconvene as soon as possible, after he chaired a special rulers' conference.  A statement issue...

TOKYO: Japan will lift the state of emergency on Sunday (Jun 20) for nine prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka, public broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday, adding that the government will instead introduce "quasi-emergency" measures in seven of ...

PUTRAJAYA: Agricultural produce from areas placed under enhanced movement control order (EMCO) in Cameron Highlands can still be transported across Malaysia and to Singapore, said Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong on Wednesday (Jun 16). "The Cabi...

SEOUL: The newly appointed United States envoy for North Korea, Sung Kim, will make his first visit to neighbouring South Korea this week for a possible three-way meeting with counterparts from Seoul and Tokyo, the Kyodo news agency said on Wednesda...

MANILA: The Philippines' labour minister said on Wednesday (Jun 16) he will ask for government approval to allow 5,000 more healthcare workers to be deployed abroad, double the annual cap in a country that is one of the world's biggest sources of nur...

A Malaysian court on Wednesday (Jun 16) overturned an inquest verdict of "misadventure" in the death of a French-Irish teen who vanished in the jungle, replacing it with an "open" ruling in a victory for her family.

TOKYO: Workers scaled a giant statue of a Buddhist goddess in Japan on Tuesday (Jun 15) to place a custom-made mask on her face, an act meant to be a prayer for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. It took four workers three hours to carry the massive...

TOKYO: Japan's government will include a pledge to achieve a "safe and secure" Tokyo Olympic Games in its economic blueprint due out on Friday (Jun 18), according to a final draft seen by Reuters on Wednesday. An earlier draft blueprint only called...

China has tripled its daily COVID-19 vaccine rollout in June, inoculating 44per cent of its population with at least one dose, but its health experts warn against a quick border reopening, citing an uneven rollout and the low rate of full vaccination...

PARIS: French police on Wednesday (Jun 16) arrested a leading figure in conspiracy circles over the kidnapping of an eight-year-old girl in April, as he returned to the country on a flight from Singapore after living in Malaysia. Remy Daillet, who w...

BENGALURU: India's iconic Taj Mahal reopened to the public on Wednesday (Jun 16) as the country, still reeling from a disastrous second wave of the pandemic, rushes to lift restrictions in a bid to revitalise its economy. The 17th century monument,...

NEW DELHI: India's technology minister said on Tuesday (Jun 15) that Twitter had deliberately defied and failed to comply with the country's new information technology rules, which became effective in late May. The new rules or the so-called Interm...

HANOI: Vietnam has imposed an anti-dumping levy of 47.64 per cent on some sugar products from Thailand for five years to replace a temporary tax introduced in February, the country's industry and trade ministry said on Wednesday (Jun 16). The deci...

Macau said Wednesday it was closing its representative office in Taiwan, following neighbouring Hong Kong which made the same move last month in protest at Taipei's support for pro-democracy activists.

BEIJING/TAIPEI: China does not tolerate foreign forces intervening in Taiwan issues and has to make strong responses to such acts of "collusion", the government said on Wednesday (Jun 16) after the island reported the largest incursion to date of Chi...

China will send three men to space in its first crewed mission in nearly five years, including the country's oldest astronaut to go into space, part of an ambitious plan to complete a space station by the end of next year.

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian court will rule Wednesday (Jun 16) on a challenge by the family of a French-Irish teenager over an inquest verdict that she died by misadventure after vanishing in the jungle. The body of Nora Quoirin, a 15-year-old with le...

South Korean authorities are failing to properly tackle the country's widespread digital sex crimes against women, which have a devastating impact on victims, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report said Wednesday.

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said the country's economy improved this year but called for measures to tackle the "tense" food situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and last year's typhoons, state media said on Wednesday (Jun 16).  ...

The leaders pointedly reiterated liberal democracies’ commitment to multilateralism, says a foreign affairs observer.

Malaysia’s encounter with Chinese military aircraft in early June illustrates how tackling foreign aircraft coming close can be a grey area in a region of overlapping claims and different interpretations of airspaces, says Mike Yeo.

The nominee to be the top US diplomat for East Asia promised on Tuesday (Jun 15) that President Joe Biden would keep building relations with Taiwan, but balked at backing an overhaul of delicate arrangements on the issue with China.

Striker Ado Onaiwu bagged a six-minute first-half hat-trick as Japan confirmed their dominance in Group F of Asian 2022 World Cup qualifying with a crushing 5-1 win over the Kyrgyz Republic in Suita on Tuesday.

TOKYO: Japan's requirement of domestic clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines cost it precious time in inoculating its population, vaccine programme chief Taro Kono said on Tuesday (Jun 15). About 4.8 per cent of Japan's population has been fully v...

Aung San Suu Kyi confronted with sedition charge on 2nd day of trial

BANGKOK: Thailand's prime minister apologised and took the blame on Tuesday (Jun 15) for coronavirus vaccination delays, while thousands of private companies and public organisations raced to secure doses imported by a royal-backed academy.  Prime ...

HANOI: A Vietnamese conservationist working to save pangolins from the devastating multi-billion-dollar wildlife trade won a prestigious award Tuesday (Jun 15) for his role in rescuing more than a thousand of one of the world's most endangered creat...

TAIPEI: Twenty-eight Chinese air force aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday (Jun 15), the island's government said, the largest reported incursion to date. Whil...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's parliament, which has not met since the state of emergency was declared in January, can reconvene during the third phase of the national recovery plan, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Tuesday (Jun 15).   This is�...

TOKYO: Japan's lower house of parliament voted down on Tuesday (Jun 15) a no-confidence motion brought against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga by opposition parties angered over its refusal to extend the current parliamentary session. T...

China said on Tuesday (Jun 15) that radiation levels remained normal at one of its nuclear power plants and that there were no safety concerns, after the station's French operator reported a gas build-up.

A young Indian billionaire has admitted to cheating in a shock win over five-time chess world champion Viswanathan Anand, saying it was for "fun and charity".

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.