India reported the year's biggest daily increase in COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with 25,320 new infections, a day ahead of a lockdown in the western state of Maharashtra, the epicentre of the renewed surge.

PONTIAN: About 100,000 Malaysians working in Singapore are expected to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the second phase of Malaysia's coronavirus immunisation programme.  Johor's chief minister Hasni Mohammad said that together with Science, Te...

HONOLULU: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday (Mar 13) he was traveling to Asia to boost military cooperation with American allies and foster "credible deterrence" against China. Austin kicked off via Hawaii, seat of the American mili...

North Korea has not responded to behind-the-scenes diplomatic outreach since mid-February by President Joe Biden's administration, including to Pyongyang's mission to the United Nations, a senior Biden administration official told Reuters on Saturday...

Singapore and other cities in Asia are losing all kinds of food. And most of this wastage happens even before consumers can make their purchases. In a three-part series, CNA Insider hits the food trail for a deeper look.

Today, climate change offers a mission that is greater in scale and scope than even the Cold War, says a private equity firm partner.

SINGAPORE: Mr Koh Jie Meng has driven from Singapore to different parts of Malaysia more than 20 times in his electric Hyundai Kona SUV since he bought the car in 2019. He described the journeys as “smooth and seamless” now, but he acknowledged ...

SINGAPORE: Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations Kyaw Moe Tun has urged the international community to step up pressure on the military regime, while vowing to continue resisting the junta for as long as he can. In an interview with CNA in Ne...

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Saturday (Mar 13) announced plans to ban the wearing of burqas and said it would close more than 1,000 Islamic schools known as madrasahs, citing national security. Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekara said he signed ...

YANGON: At least two people were killed when security forces fired on protesters in Myanmar on Sunday (Mar 14), witnesses and domestic media said, while the acting leader of the parallel civilian government said it will seek to give people the legal...

Some law firms and banks in Hong Kong face compulsory testing for coronavirus as most of the 47 news cases recorded on Saturday were linked to a gym used by the financial and expatriate community.

China is now no longer compliant with Hong Kong's Joint Declaration after Beijing announced sweeping changes to the region's electoral system, the United Kingdom said on Saturday (Mar 13).

HONG KONG: China's foreign ministry office in Hong Kong said that it will simplify mainland China visa applications for foreigners in the city who have been inoculated with Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines. The simplified process, effective from Monda...

China aims to vaccinate 70% to 80% of population by mid-2022

Sri Lanka will ban the wearing of the burqa and shut more than a thousand Islamic schools, a government minister said on Saturday, the latest actions affecting the country's minority Muslim population.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's High Court on Saturday (Mar 13) released on bail three more activists but remanded two in custody in a widely monitored case involving the most sweeping use yet of the city's national security law. The High Court was ruling on...

Thailand held a fruit banquet for dozens of elephants in the ancient capital Ayutthaya on Saturday (Mar 13), continuing an annual event which has been a big draw for foreign tourists in the hope they will return soon and revive the key tourism indust...

4 killed as Myanmar forces continue crackdown on protesters

The Philippines on Saturday reported its first case of the highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in Brazil, while confirming nearly 100 infections of a new variant discovered locally.

India will carry out a deeper review of post-vaccination side effects from the AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot next week although no cases of blood clots have been reported so far, an official told AFP on Saturday (Mar 13).

SEOUL: South Korea reported a three-week high of 490 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday (Mar 13), with infections creeping higher as the authorities prepare for a broad vaccine roll-out. The daily tally as of midnight on Friday was up slightly from 48...

WASHINGTON, DC: The US government said Friday (Mar 12) that Myanmar citizens stranded by the violence following the country's military coup would be able to remain inside the United States under "temporary protected status." "Due to the military cou...

An attempt to save the nation from COVID-19 or to preserve power? Either way, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is staking his political future on emergency rule. The programme Insight explores whether it will help or hurt him.

UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is typically the embodiment of calm. Going forward, however, Zahid and his faction will have to hunker down to confront multiple challenges, says ISEAS-Yusof Ishak’s Francis E Hutchinson.

Around 600 terrorism inmates are currently held in Indonesia's prisons, where attempts are made to turn them away from a life of radicalism and violence. CNA explores the competing dynamics behind bars, and how COVID-19 has curbed some initiatives to...

Group of Seven powers on Friday demanded that China honor commitments in Hong Kong and end "oppression" against democratic activists after Beijing forced sweeping changes of the city's election system.

WASHINGTON: The United States, India, Japan and Australia on Friday (Mar 12) announced a joint drive to ramp up the COVID-19 vaccine supply in Asia, mounting a challenge to China in the first-ever summit of the four like-minded powers. US President ...

TOKYO: Myanmar's first satellite is being held on board the International Space Station following the Myanmar coup, while Japan's space agency and a Japanese university decide what to do with it, two Japanese university officials said. The US$15 mil...

Scores of Myanmar policemen and their families have now fled to India, security officials said Friday, with one officer telling AFP that the authorities are "beating and torturing" protestors.

South Korea will host North Korea for a series of World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers later this year, the Asian Football Confederation said on Friday.

A Chinese hotel built around a central polar bear enclosure for the non-stop viewing pleasure of its guests opened Friday to immediate condemnation from conservationists.

The Philippines' health ministry on Friday reported 4,578 new coronavirus infections, the biggest daily increase in cases in nearly six months.

Japan PM to US in April for 1st in-person summit with Biden

LONDON: Britain urged its citizens on Friday (Mar 12) to leave Myanmar or, if they are unable to exit the country, to stay at home, saying violence was rising after the army ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government in a Feb 1 coup. The move comes a day...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's government on Friday (Mar 12) defended a new law aimed at tackling rampant fake news related to COVID-19 and an ongoing state of emergency, as critics warned it could be used to silence dissent and curtail free of speech. Th...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong recorded 60 COVID-19 cases on Friday (Mar 12), the city's government said, as it scrambled to contain transmissions mainly among its expatriate community after a cluster at a gym spilt into the financial sector and internationa...

TOKYO: Coronavirus cases in the Greater Tokyo area are showing signs of creeping up, Japanese Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said on Friday (Mar 12), raising questions about whether a state of emergency can be lifted on schedule on Mar 21. The Japa...

BEIJING: China denied on Friday (Mar 12) it was planning to hit e-commerce giant Alibaba with a fine of almost US$1 billion for allegedly flouting monopoly rules, as authorities put the screws on the firm as part of a crackdown on the technology sec...

SEOUL: South Korea will suspend defence exchanges with Myanmar and ban arms exports to the country after a military coup and violent suppression of pro-democracy protests, the foreign ministry said on Friday (Mar 12). The ministry also said Seoul wo...

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Friday (Mar 12) holds the first-ever four-way summit with the leaders of Australia, India and Japan, ramping up efforts to cement alliances as concerns grow over a rising China. In a flurry of diplomacy, Japan a...

BEIJING: China's plans for electoral reform in Hong Kong, coupled with the imposition of a security law, amount to a "combination of punches" to quell unrest in the southern city, a top Beijing official said on Friday (Mar 12). Hong Kong was rocked ...

Myanmar activists held more rallies on Friday (Mar 12), a day after a rights group said security forces killed 12 protesters and as the lawyer of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi ridiculed new bribery allegations against her. Protests were held in Ya...

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and members of his cabinet cancelled on Friday plans to receive AstraZeneca vaccine shots after the country delayed use of the vaccines over reports of blood clots in some European nations, a health officia...

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Thursday (Mar 12) condemned what he called "vicious hate crimes" committed against Asian Americans since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, calling such acts "un-American" and demanding they stop. "Too often...

A Hong Kong court hears on Friday an appeal by about two dozen activists against a decision last week to deny them bail in a widely monitored case of 47 opposition figures charged with conspiracy to subvert the government.

China will "soon" hold its first trial for Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who have been held in China since late 2018 and who were formally charged with espionage in June 2020, the Global Times reported, citing an unnamed source.

South Korea will extend social distancing rules with a ban on private gatherings of more than four people in a bid to stamp out the possibility of a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Friday.

It may be premature to assume China’s outreach efforts to Myanmar and Southeast Asia will increase its influence in the region, says a researcher.

Myanmar's military is likely committing "crimes against humanity", the UN's top expert on rights in the country said Thursday, adding that at least 70 people had reportedly been "murdered" since the February 1 coup.

Malaysia on Thursday brought in a law to tackle fake news related to COVID-19 and the state of emergency imposed nationwide since January, with the threat of hefty fines and jail terms of up to six years.

A rumbling volcano on Indonesia’s Sumatra island unleashed an avalanche of searing gas clouds down its slopes during an eruption on Thursday (Mar 11). No casualties were reported.

Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees plunged into India's Ganges river on Thursday as the country kicked off one of the world's largest religious festivals, even as officials reported the biggest spike in coronavirus cases for three months.

The Chinese Olympic Committee has offered vaccine doses to be used for participants at this summer's Tokyo Olympic Games and next year's Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the International Olympic Committee said on Thursday.

China and the United States have common interests and many areas for cooperation and should strive for a healthy development in relations, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday.

The Philippines' health ministry on Thursday recorded 3,749 new coronavirus infections, the highest daily increase in cases in nearly six months, and 63 additional deaths.

BANGKOK: Northern Thailand is choking on toxic air. Its hills and mountains are ablaze with forest fires, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) crossing the hazardous threshold.  According to AQI readings by the Pollution Control Department, five north...

Pakistan on Thursday (Mar 11) blocked the popular social media app TikTok after a court order over a complaint that it ran indecent content, a spokesman for the country's telecoms regulator said.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the country would continue to work with the World Health Organization (WHO) in trying to find the origins of COVID-19, in response to a question on U.S. criticism that it was not transparent in sharing data on early ca...

Knife-wielding men who stole hundreds of toilet rolls during panic-buying shortages in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong were jailed for more than three years on Thursday.

YANGON: Eight protesters were killed in Myanmar on Thursday (Mar 11) when security forces opened fire on protests against the Feb 1 coup, witnesses and local media said.  Six people were killed in the central town of Myaing when forces fired on a ...

BEIJING: China's parliament voted overwhelmingly on Thursday (Mar 11) for changes to Hong Kong's electoral system including plans to grant Beijing veto powers over who gets to be nominated and elected to run the Asian financial hub, as leaders move ...

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia reported its first death from the coronavirus on Thursday (Mar 11) amid its biggest COVID-19 outbreak so far, after a 50-year-old man succumbed to the virus after testing positive less than two weeks ago. With 1,124 coronaviru...

Myanmar's military junta has removed Arakan Army (AA) insurgents from its list of terrorist groups because the faction has stopped attacks and in order to help establish peace across the country, state media said on Thursday.

TAIPEI: Taiwan's classic beef noodle soup has taken on a sweet and sour twist. Taipei chef Hung Ching Lung created a pineapple beef noodle soup at his eponymous restaurant Chef Hung, in what he says is a modest attempt to support Taiwanese pineapple...

KATHMANDU: Hundreds of climbers are set to return to Mount Everest for the first time next month under strict conditions, government officials and mountaineers said, as the world's tallest peak reopens after a year closed due to the coronavirus pande...

BEIJING: China has slammed a BBC report, days after summoning the British ambassador to Beijing to register displeasure over a recent article she penned defending press freedom. The Chinese embassy in London posted a statement on its website on Thu...

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook has decided to halt its efforts to build a trans-Pacific undersea cable that would have connected California and Hong Kong, due to tensions between the United States and China. "Due to ongoing concerns from the US government ...

JAKARTA: A tourist bus plunged into a ravine on Indonesia's main island of Java after its brakes apparently malfunctioned, killing at least 27 people and injuring 39 others, police and rescuers said on Thursday (Mar 11). The bus was carrying a grou...

IWAKI, Japan: With a moment of silence, prayers and anti-nuclear protests, Japan on Thursday (Mar 11) mourned about 20,000 victims of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan 10 years ago, destroying towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's High Court released on bail on Thursday (Mar 11) one activist charged with conspiracy to commit subversion but remanded another in a widely monitored case that saw the most sweeping use yet of the city's national security law...

BANGKOK: Thailand is considering an expansion of prison space as it arrests more political prisoners, the justice minister said on Wednesday (Mar 10). Somsak Thepsuthin said Bangkok Remand Prison and Klong Prem Central Prison, where most recently de...

South Korea will extend vaccination for people aged 65 years and older with AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine to ramp up its immunisation drive, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a government meeting on Thursday.

SYDNEY: Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Hui is welcome to campaign on political issues in Australia and his arrival was not a matter for China, the chair of the Australian parliament's intelligence committee said on Thursday (Mar 11). In the fi...

NEW YORK: The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations called on Wednesday (Mar 10) for a "de-escalation" in the crisis in Myanmar, where the junta has pursued a violent crackdown against peaceful anti-coup demonstrators. "Now it's time for de-escal...

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday (Mar 10) imposed sanctions on two children of Myanmar's military leader Min Aung Hlaing and six companies they control in response to the military's Feb 1 coup and the killing of protesters since the takeov...

NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council unanimously called for a reversal of the military coup in Myanmar on Wednesday (Mar 10), strongly condemning the violence against peaceful protesters and calling for "utmost restraint" by the military. ...

US dependence on Taiwan's microelectronics supply chain may just be the thing keeping the peace in the Taiwan Strait, says a researcher.

With investors having pumped in billions, it comes as no surprise that pressure for an exit is mounting, say Joel Shen, Leong Chuo Ming and Gabriel Li of Withers KhattarWong.

Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin will travel to Japan and South Korea next week, in the first overseas and in-person trip by top Cabinet members of the Biden administration.

Google said on Wednesday it is reviewing recent advertisements run by a Myanmar military-backed telecommunications firm and has disabled some army-linked accounts on its services in the wake of the country's coup.

Pfizer Inc has told the Indian government it wants to produce its coronavirus vaccine locally if assured of faster regulatory clearance and freedom on pricing and exports, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Sri Lanka has invited the new foreign minister of Myanmar's junta to a regional meeting next month, sparking accusations on social media that Colombo is tacitly endorsing the military coup.

In a handful of South Korean hospitals, designated nurses are using specially designed syringes to squeeze extra doses of coronavirus vaccine out of each vial in a bid to stretch the still limited number of vials to cover more people.

BEIJING: China on Wednesday (Mar 10) accused a top US commander of attempting to "hype up" the threat of an invasion of Taiwan to inflate Washington's defence spend and justify its own military chicanery in Asia. The US' top military officer in Asia...

Japanese swim star Rikako Ikee will enter four events at next month's national championships, reports said Wednesday, as she vies for a Tokyo Olympics spot in her comeback from leukaemia.

KUALA LUMPUR: In a landmark ruling, Malaysia’s high court said on Wednesday (Mar 10) that Christians are allowed to use the word “Allah” in religious publications for educational purposes.  Three other words: Baitullah (the Arabic word for G...

South Korea has agreed to a 13.9per cent increase in its contribution to the cost of hosting some 28,500 U.S. troops for 2021, the biggest annual rise in nearly two decades, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Fortnite maker Epic Games launched legal action against Google in Australia on Wednesday, opening another front in its global fight against the stranglehold of tech titans on app marketplaces.

SEOUL: South Korea said on Wednesday (Mar 10) it will exempt business people working to secure supply of auto chips from two-week COVID-19 quarantine requirements and prioritise the vaccination of people key to auto chip procurement. The move comes ...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways said on Wednesday (Mar 10) it was focused on preserving cash after it posted a record annual loss of HK$21.65 billion ($2.79 billion), caused by travel downturn, restructuring costs and fleet writedowns. ...

The families of athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics could be barred from entering Japan to watch them, the Games president has suggested in an interview with local media.

WASHINGTON: An Israeli-Canadian lobbyist hired by Myanmar's junta will be paid US$2 million to "assist in explaining the real situation" of the army's coup to the United States and other countries, documents filed with the US Justice Department show....

BEIJING: Until recently, few people had even heard of the Chinese billionaire with a gruff reputation who built a fortune on China's seemingly unquenchable demand for his ubiquitous red-capped bottled water. But reclusive Zhong Shanshan has become A...

MINAMISANRIKU, Japan: For nearly a decade, a Japanese hotel has been giving bus tours to show visitors the history of the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan's northern Pacific coast in 2011. The 9.1 magnitude earthquake and the tsunami it...

YANGON: Myanmar security forces launched tear gas and surrounded hundreds of anti-junta protesters at two places in Yangon on Wednesday (Mar 10), witnesses said, prompting the US embassy to call for their withdrawal. In New York, the UN Security ...

BEIJING: China's factory gate prices rose at the fastest pace since November 2018 in February, official data showed on Wednesday (Mar 10), underscoring expectations for robust growth in 2021 as the world's second-largest economy gathers momentum. Th...

When Tokyo won the right to host the Olympic Games, enthusiastic buyers flocked to purchase luxury condominiums planned for the sprawling development that will house athletes during the event.

TAIPEI: A new magazine in support of Hong Kong's struggle for democracy is reaching out to the diaspora and those still living in the former British colony, offering unvarnished commentary from the safety of Taiwan where it is published. Taiwan has ...

SHANGHAI: China reported five new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday (Mar 9), down from eight a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Wednesday. The National Health Commission said all of the new cases were imported infections from o...

BANGKOK: Myanmar's military-controlled government is cracking down on coverage of mass protests, raiding media companies and detaining dozens of journalists since its Feb 1 coup. The crackdown comes as the military has escalated violence against m...