HONG KONG: The return of more stringent travel restrictions in Hong Kong is likely to weigh on the city's battered hotels sector, which is expected to record among the slowest recoveries in Asia, analysts said.

LE LUC, France: Hundreds of firefighters struggled for a third day Wednesday to contain France's worst wildfire of the summer near the glitzy Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez which has forced thousands of residents and tourists to flee.

The death toll as a result of Myanmar's Feb 1 coup passed 1,000 on Wednesday, according to an official of the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP) activist group, which has been recording killings by security forces.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking legal action against Pimradaporn Benjawattanapat, an online trader better known as "Pimrypie", for offering a set of antigen test kits (ATK) as a free gift to purchasers of her mineral water.

The Bangkok Post has lost a noted journalist in former deputy editor Sonchai Nokplub, who died on Wednesday. He was 66.

Southeast Asian countries need more help securing Covid-19 vaccines, as the region struggles to contain record infections and deaths driven by the Delta variant, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.

HONG KONG: Four student leaders from Hong Kong's top university were arrested on Wednesday for "advocating terrorism", police said.

ATHENS: As devastating wildfires ravage Greece, experts say the blazes cast a harsh light on the failure to prepare against and contain them, threatening irreversible damage to the country's rich biodiversity.

Two members of Thailand's monetary policy committee who pushed unsuccessfully for a rate cut earlier this month argued preemptive action was needed because of the risks of an economic slowdown in the period ahead, minutes of the meeting showed.

China allowed 56 longan packaging companies to resume exporting Thai longan to China on Aug 17, reversing a ban imposed on Aug 13, according to the Commerce Ministry.