JAKARTA: Concerns are mounting in Indonesia over the ability of its regions to cope with a spike in coronavirus cases, according to its health minister, as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads quickly across the world's largest archipelago....

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: At least 10 people, including at least six Chinese nationals and two Pakistani soldiers, were killed in a blast targeting a bus in a remote region of northern Pakistan on Wednesday (Jul 14), multiple sources told Reuters, adding t...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported 11,618 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday (Jul 14), yet another record as the country battles to stem a sharp increase in new infections.  This comes one day after its previous record of 11,079 new cases on Tuesday and...

BEIJING: Several areas in China will start vaccinating teenagers this month against COVID-19, state media and local authorities said, as the country steps up its inoculation campaign. China, which has managed to rein in domestic infections, has admi...

HANOI: Vietnam's government is seeking to increase scrutiny of livestream content on social media such as Facebook and Google, in its latest move to rein in online activities it deems to be anti-state. In a draft decree by the information and commun...

About 100 opponents of military rule in Myanmar marched through the centre of its biggest city of Yangon on Wednesday (Jul 14), as the United States called on Southeast Asian nations to take action to restore democracy and end violence in their neigh...

TOKYO: A coronavirus cluster has been detected at a Japanese hotel where dozens of Brazilian Olympic team members are staying, officials said on Wednesday (Jul 14), raising concerns of COVID-19 infections spreading between locals and Olympic staff an...

BEIJING: Trading will commence on China's long-awaited national carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) later this month, the environment ministry said on Wednesday (Jul 14), giving an update for the launch that had been expected to take place in June....

HANOI: The United States rejects China's "unlawful" maritime claims in the South China Sea and stands with Southeast Asian nations faced with Beijing's "coercion", Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday (Jul 14). Addressing a video conf...

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has cut back on imports of farm chemicals, cars and even its staple spice turmeric as its foreign exchange reserves dwindle, hindering its ability to repay a mountain of debt as the South Asian island nation struggles to recover fr...

BEIJING: The death toll in the collapse of a hotel in eastern China was raised to 17 Wednesday (Jul 14) as authorities ended the search and rescue mission. The city of Suzhou said on its social media feed that 23 people had been pulled from from the...

Japan's economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, tasked with leading the government's COVID-19 pandemic response, defended his job on Wednesday (Jul 14) after criticism of his handling of lockdown measures on bars and restaurants.

TOKYO: Olympics organisers have pledged to prioritise sustainability at the Tokyo Games in an attempt to demonstrate how countries such as Japan - a top carbon emitter - can work towards a greener future. Their initiatives include furnishing the Oly...

SEOUL: South Korea tightened social distancing rules across most of the country on Wednesday (Jul 14) to tackle its worst-ever outbreak of coronavirus a day after new cases soared to a new daily peak of 1,615. The latest daily tally easily surpassed...

TOKYO: Global interest in the Tokyo Olympics is muted, an Ipsos poll of 28 countries showed, amid concerns over COVID-19 in Japan and withdrawals of high-profile athletes, with the host country among the most disinterested. The poll released on Tues...

Vietnam’s embrace of Western vaccines – and distrust of Chinese ones – reflect the country’s zeitgeist, says a researcher.

Sher Bahadur Deuba is a master of alliances that swept dividends again on Tuesday (Jul 13) when he was named Nepal's prime minister for the fifth time.

Nepal's main opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba was sworn in as prime minister on Tuesday (Jul 13) after the country's highest court ousted his predecessor following months of political turmoil.

WASHINGTON: The US State Department issued a supply chain business advisory related to China's Xinjiang province on Tuesday (Jul 13), warning of potential risks related to forced labor and human rights abuses. "Given the severity and extent of thes...

DHAKA: Bangladesh will lift its nationwide coronavirus lockdown for the country's second-biggest religious festival, the government said Tuesday (Jul 13), even as new infections soared to record levels. The cabinet said all restrictions would be eas...

Facial recognition tech linked to personal health codes has been rolled out in a Chinese city bordering Myanmar as authorities seek to squash a coronavirus outbreak.

The Philippines' defence minister on Tuesday ordered the military to investigate a report by a U.S.-based tech firm that hundreds of Chinese vessels were dumping sewage into contested areas of the South China Sea.

Philippine police have a won a battle for the bulge after the force dropped a requirement for officers seeking promotion to meet body fat targets, an official document showed Tuesday.

Thailand on Tuesday defended mixing two different Covid-19 vaccines to battle a surge in infections, after the WHO's top scientist warned it was a "dangerous trend" not backed by evidence.

Vietnam will offer the coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech as a second dose option for people first inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, the government said on Tuesday.

JAKARTA: Indonesia reported on Tuesday (Jul 13) a record increase of coronavirus infections, as authorities unveiled plans to order liquid oxygen and tens of thousands of concentrators from abroad to treat patients suffering from the coronavirus. ...

KUALA LUMPUR: Over the last year, a Malaysian health ministry contract doctor, who wanted to be identified only as Dr Yeo, spent most of his working hours wearing full personnel protective equipment. Each time he was on the frontline handling COVID-...

HONG KONG: For the first time, veteran Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Pang will not display any political books at his booth as the global financial hub holds its first book fair since the event began in 1990 under a new national security law. Cancelled ...

BEIJING: A heavily injured baby elephant left behind by a migrating wild herd in southwest China has been rescued, state media reported on Tuesday (Jul 13), the latest twist in a chaotic odyssey. The herd of Asian elephants has spent months roaming ...

NEW DELHI: At least two people were dead and 10 missing after heavy rains in a hilly northern Indian state triggered landslides and flash floods that destroyed homes, damaged roads and swept away cars, a senior government official said on Tuesday (Ju...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported a record 11,079 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday (Jul 13), a sharp increase from already high infection levels in the past week.   This is also the first time that daily COVID-19 cases have hit five figures. Only 27 ...

PUTRAJAYA: A total of 204 workers at a vaccination centre in the Malaysian state of Selangor have tested positive for COVID-19, Malaysia's national coordinating minister for COVID-19 immunisation Khairy Jamaluddin said on Tuesday (Jul 13). The vacc...

BANGKOK: Thailand has given the go-ahead for home isolation of COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms and use of home self-test kits, as a stubborn coronavirus outbreak puts pressure on its capital's healthcare and testing capacity. Thailand has so fa...

Olympics chief Thomas Bach praised Tokyo on Tuesday as the "best-ever prepared" host city, as athletes began entering the Olympic Village 10 days before the opening ceremony.

TOKYO: Japan will make additional donations of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan and other Asian neighbours this week, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday (Jul 13). Japan will ship out 1 million doses each to Indonesia, Taiwa...

LHASA: Under towering mountains, cranes and newly-built blocks of flats stretch up to blue skies around the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, as a construction boom creates a two-tier system of property wealth between state workers and everyone else. A huge...

The donation of oxygen concentrators to Indonesia was "made possible by the generosity" of Indonesian businesses in Singapore, as well as Singapore firms.

BEIJING: At least eight people have died and nine were missing in a hotel collapse in Suzhou city in eastern China, said authorities on Tuesday (Jul 13). The Siji Kaiyuan hotel collapsed on Monday afternoon, the Suzhou government said. Most people ...

TOKYO: Growing military tension around Taiwan, as well as economic and technological rivalry between China and the United States, raises the prospect of crisis in the region as the power balance shifts in China's favour, Japan said in its annual defe...

BEIJING: China reported on Tuesday (Jul 13) 29 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the mainland for Monday, up from 27 a day earlier, according to the National Health Commission. Of the new infections, two were locally transmitted, one in Jiangsu provin...

SEOUL: South Korea's rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations to people aged 55-59 has stuttered to a week-long halt after a spike in new cases sparked a rush for shots, booking up available supplies and crashing the official reservation website. The halt i...

KUALA LUMPUR: Securing an ambitious new global pact to protect nature at a UN biodiversity summit later this year will require stronger political leadership from host nation China, officials and observers have warned. About 195 countries are expect...

Muhyiddin Yassin is keeping his friends close and his frenemies closer, while Zahid Hamidi has nifty moves of his own but will he prevail, asks a researcher.

Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi is facing four additional criminal charges, filed in a court in the country's second biggest city Mandalay, her lawyer said on Monday (Jul 12). The legal team has little information about what Aung San Suu K...

KATHMANDU: Nepal's Supreme Court on Monday (Jul 12) reinstated its parliament, which was dissolved by caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in May, and ordered that his rival Sher Bahadur Deuba be appointed as prime minister. The move deals a major...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported 8,574 new COVID-19 cases on Monday (Jul 12), a slight decrease from the record numbers registered in the past days. More than half the cases were once again from the Klang Valley area with 4,308 in Selangor and 609 i...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's office on Monday described as "nonsense" a suggestion by a former foreign minister that Beijing may have helped to determine the outcome of a 2016 election that swept the mercurial leader to power.

SEOUL: Plenty of gym-goers rely on a good tune to get themselves through that workout, but in South Korea their musical options have just reduced significantly under new COVID-19 rules. To the standard restrictions such as social distancing and trav...

BANGKOK: Thailand is planning to combine the Sinovac and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines in its national inoculation programme to boost public immunity against the coronavirus variants, the Public Health Ministry announced on Monday (Jul 12).  “T...

A critically endangered Sumatran elephant has been found decapitated with its tusks missing in Indonesia, the conservation agency said Monday, as it opened a poaching investigation.

JAKARTA: Indonesian minister Luhut Pandjaitan said he expected the COVID-19 curve to flatten and the situation to improve by next week, as the country battles a surge in COVID-19 cases that has overwhelmed the nation’s healthcare system.   ...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s national security police on Monday (Jul 12) arrested five more people in relation to an alleged bomb plot, as political tensions rise amid Beijing's tightening control over the city. The five — four males and one female â€...

NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar's spiralling coronavirus count struck the trial of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday (Jul 12), her lawyers said, with a witness for the prosecution failing to testify after becoming infected. Cases are spiking in Myanmar, w...

The number of Filipinos willing to get inoculated against the coronavirus rose to 43per cent in June from just 16per cent in February, an opinion poll showed on Monday, as concerns over the safety of vaccines eased.

TOKYO: The coronavirus might top the risks at the Tokyo Olympics, but organisers in Japan have other deadly, unpredictable threats to contend with: Natural disasters. Japan is regularly rattled by earthquakes and battered by typhoons, and experts wa...

In his white gloves, dark suit and tie, taxi driver Yuki Kawaguchi is ready to ferry passengers around Tokyo in style.

4 tourists ordered off Bali for violating COVID-19 restrictions

JAKARTA: Indonesia's central bank has cut its forecast for 2021 economic growth to 3.8 per cent based on early assessment of the impact of recent coronavirus restrictions, from a previous forecast of 4.6 per cent, its governor said on Monday (Jul 12)...

BANGKOK: More than 10 million people were placed under fresh COVID-19 restrictions and a curfew in the Thai capital Monday (Jul 12), as the country battled a surge of cases worsened by the highly infectious Alpha and Delta variants. Thailand has so...

BEIJING: China's military said it "drove away" a US warship that illegally entered Chinese waters near the Paracel Islands on Monday (Jul 12), the anniversary of an international court ruling that Beijing has no claim over the South China Sea.  Th...

TOKYO: A Tokyo hotel has apologised and removed signs saying "Japanese only" and "foreigners only" from elevators after the anti-COVID-19 precaution sparked outrage on social media ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics. Tokyo entered a state of emergenc...

NEW DELHI: More than 50 people were killed in lightning strikes across several states in India, authorities said on Monday (Jul 12), including 11 people at a historic fort. Hundreds of people are killed each year in intense storms at the start of th...

LONDON/MADRID: Just 25 big cities – almost all of them in China – accounted for more than half of the climate-warming gases pumped out by a sample of 167 urban hubs around the world, an analysis of emissions trends showed on Monday (Jul 12). In ...

LONDON: Just 25 big cities – almost all of them in China – accounted for more than half of the climate-warming gases pumped out by a sample of 167 urban hubs around the world, an analysis of emissions trends showed on Monday (Jul 12). In per cap...

United States humanitarian aid is a "sinister political scheme" to put pressure on other countries, a North Korean researcher said, after suggestions from US allies such as South Korea that COVID-19 vaccines or other help could promote cooperation...

WELLINGTON: New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday (Jul 12) announced a hastily convened virtual meeting of APEC leaders this week to discuss the Asia-Pacific region's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact. Arder...

SITTWE, Myanmar: A shadow government is breaking taboos in Buddhist-majority Myanmar by welcoming Rohingya into its anti-junta coalition, but many in the long-persecuted Muslim minority are wary after living through decades of discrimination and dea...

Hundreds of flights were cancelled in Beijing as schools and tourist sites were shut due to torrential downpours and gale-force winds on Monday.

TOKYO: Searing heat, dripping humidity, and face masks: It's going to be a sweaty Tokyo Olympics and while COVID-19 measures are top priority, heatstroke remains a serious risk, experts warn. Long before the pandemic forced Tokyo 2020's postponement...

TOKYO: Olympic host city Tokyo entered a fresh state of emergency on Monday (Jul 12), less than two weeks before the Games begin amid worries whether the measures can stem a rise in COVID-19 cases. Organisers last week announced that spectators woul...

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration on Sunday (Jul 11) upheld a Trump-era rejection of nearly all of China's significant maritime claims in the South China Sea. The administration also warned China that any attack on the Philippines in the flashpoi...

SEOUL: South Korea reported 1,100 new coronavirus cases for Sunday (Jul 11), the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Monday, as the country's toughest anti-coronavirus curbs take effect in Seoul in an attempt to quell its wors...

TAIPEI: Taiwan's Foxconn and TSMC said on Monday (Jul 12) they had reached deals to buy 10 million doses of Germany's BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, putting the total cost of the highly politicised deal at about US$350 million. Taiwan's government ha...

TOKYO -Japan's core machinery orders rose for the third straight month in May, a welcome sign for an economy struggling to overcome the hit from the coronavirus pandemic. The government imposed a new state of emergency in Tokyo that will run throug...

SHANGHAI: Chinese authorities in the southwestern province of Yunnan reported nine new confirmed locally transmitted cases for Jul 11, of which seven were detected in the city of Ruili bordering Myanmar. This compared with 12 locally transmitted inf...

HANOI: Vietnam will impose movement restrictions in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho for 14 days starting on Monday (Jul 12), the government said on Sunday, as the country battles its worst outbreak of the pandemic. After successfully containing the...

The pandemic has raised uncomfortable questions regarding whether digital transformation will displace workers, fuel wage gaps and weaken data protections, says Professor Lee Jong-Wha.

Afghanistan's Kabul airport has been fitted with an air defence system to counter incoming rockets, officials said Sunday, as the Taliban pressed on with a blistering offensive across the country.

SHANGHAI: Heavy rains and flooding have forced thousands of people to evacuate in China's southwestern province of Sichuan, with authorities on Sunday (Jul 11) urging citizens across the country to brace for more downpours. In Sichuan, torrential ra...

BANGKOK: Thailand's health ministry said on Sunday (Jul 11) more than 600 medical workers who received two doses of China's Sinovac vaccine have been infected with COVID-19, as authorities weigh giving booster doses to raise immunity. Of the 677,348...

BANGKOK: Thai beauty queens who took part in a pageant last month could face criminal charges for not wearing masks, police warned Sunday (Jul 11), after a cluster of 22 infections emerged from the event. Thirteen contestants and nine others associ...

MUMBAI: India said on Sunday (Jul 11) it had temporarily brought back officials from its consulate in Kandahar, a major city in southern Afghanistan, as Taliban fighters continue to gain control amid the withdrawal of international forces. "Due to t...

Japan stands ready to pump more money into the economy to ease the pain of a prolonged pandemic, the top government spokesman said on Sunday, nodding to growing political calls for additional stimulus to prop up growth.

SEOUL: Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have vowed to bring their relations to a "new stage" as the two countries mark the 60th anniversary of a friendship pact, Pyongyang's state media reported on Sunday (Jul 11). Ch...

SINGAPORE: Singapore has sent a second shipment of emergency oxygen supplies and equipment to Indonesia amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.  A Republic of Singapore Navy ship, bound for Tanjung Priok Port in Indonesia, left Changi Naval Base on Sunda...

Scuttled listings and share prices hammered by official threats: Beijing has launched a withering and very public assault on some of China's biggest tech names.

HONG KONG: One of Hong Kong’s most established pro-democracy civic organisations said it is letting go its paid staff and halving the size of its steering committee after Beijing stepped up its crackdown on opposition activity in the semi-autonomou...

The Tokyo Olympics will provide a model for hosting the Games during a pandemic after rising COVID-19 infections forced organisers to ban spectators at most events, Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said on Sunday.

South Korea reported 1,324 new coronavirus cases as of midnight on Saturday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Sunday, down from a record 1,378 the day before as the country battles a surge of infections.

The alarmist chorus against the Tokyo Games fanned by Japanese newspapers and medical groups could benefit from a greater sense of proportion, says Bill Emmott.

JAKARTA: Indonesia has been grappling with a surge in COVID-19 infections for the past few weeks, consistently recording more than 30,000 new daily cases.    On Friday (Jul 9), the country reported 38,124 cases. There are now more than 2.4 mill...

Hundreds of people are ignoring COVID-19 restrictions and flocking to a farm in Bangladesh to see a 51cm tall cow that its keepers say is the world's shortest. The miniature cow, named Rani, is 51cm tall and 66cm long, weighing 26kg and so small i...

PARIS: Nations across the globe hit new pandemic highs and reimposed COVID-19 restrictions on Saturday (Jul 10) as the highly contagious Delta variant forced governments to put the brakes on plans to return to normality. The highly transmissible Del...

The owner of a factory where 52 people died in a fire was arrested for murder on Saturday (Jul 10) along with seven others, as it emerged that children as young as 11 had been working there.

A Frenchman in Japan who says his children were abducted by their Japanese mother began a hunger strike in Tokyo Saturday, in a protest he hopes will bring international attention to his fight to be reunited with his family.

NEW DELHI: Police in India are investigating how dozens of Muslim women were offered for sale in fake "auctions" online without their knowledge, in a case the victims say illustrates growing Islamophobia across the country. Photos of more than 80 wo...

SINGAPORE: Singapore will reduce entry approvals for travellers from Indonesia who are not Singapore citizens or permanent residents with immediate effect, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (Jul 10). "Entry approvals may be considered ...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases for a second consecutive day on Saturday (Jul 10) with 9,353 new infections. More than half of the new cases were from the Klang Valley area with 4,277 in Selangor and 1,398 in K...

BANGKOK: A prominent ethnic rebel group in Myanmar suspended one of its key leaders this week, a spokesman said on Saturday (Jul 9), as it investigates an alleged massacre of civilians on its territory. Myanmar has been in turmoil since a February c...

TOKYO: Japan's northern Hokkaido region has decided to ban spectators at the Olympic football matches hosted in the area, expanding unprecedented steps to hold the Games mostly behind closed doors due to the pandemic. Local governor Naomichi Suzuki ...