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 ...

HANOI: Vietnam has received the first shipment of 2 million doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine donated by the US government, the American embassy in Hanoi said on Saturday (Jul 10), as the country battles its worst outbreak. The shipment, del...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's government and state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) are seeking more than US$5.6 billion in damages from KPMG partners for alleged breaches and negligence linked to a corruption scandal at the fund, court documents ...

HONG KONG: China's Communist Party has abandoned its tradition of working from the shadows in Hong Kong as authorities pursue a sweeping crackdown on critics and remould the financial hub in the mainland's image. While Hong Kong was returned by col...

SEOUL: South Korea posted its highest-ever number of new daily COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Saturday (Jul 10), the third consecutive day of record highs in new infection case...

President Joe Biden on Friday nominated Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, an ambitious star in his Democratic Party, to be ambassador to India, with which the United States has an increasingly close relationship.

If international retailers divest from Myanmar, factories will close and workers will be made redundant, causing almost a decade worth of development and know-how to be lost, says a researcher.

The #BenderaPutih campaign underscores how Malaysians will go the extra mile to help each other out after widespread anger at the government says ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute's Serina Rahman.

How is the situation on the ground in Jakarta, where COVID-19 cases have been rising steeply? CNA's correspondent Nivell Rayda writes about his experience.

Pakistan's top body overseeing the pandemic response recommended on Friday that anyone who did not hold a COVID-19 vaccination certificate should not be allowed to travel by air after Aug. 1.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called Friday for international pressure to force a deal between the Kabul government and the Taliban to end the conflict in Afghanistan.

Myanmar's military ruler said on Friday Russia had agreed to supply two million doses of coronavirus vaccine from this month, as the Southeast Asian country reported another record in COVID-19 cases and deaths.

BANGKOK: A hospital in Thailand taking reservations this week for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine was sold out in minutes: After offering shots via e-commerce platform Shopee. With a worsening outbreak and worries about the efficacy of vaccines offered...

YANGON: A state-backed Myanmar power company warned its customers Friday (Jul 9) their electricity supplies could be disrupted if they continue refusing to pay their bills as part of a boycott that has hit the junta in the coffers. Myanmar has been...

Authorities in India's southern Kerala region have issued a statewide alert after a case of the Zika virus was confirmed, officials said Friday.

SEOUL: North Korea has rejected planned shipments of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine that were being organised under the global COVAX distribution scheme due to concerns over side effects, a South Korean think tank said on Friday (Jul 9). COVAX has s...

The United States is shipping 3 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Indonesia, with another 1.5 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine heading to Nepal and 500,000 Moderna doses to Bhutan, a White House official said on Friday.

HANOI: Vietnam brought in tighter COVID-19 measures on Friday (Jul 9) in more areas including the commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City, as authorities reported another daily record in new infections. After successfully containing the virus for much o...

BANGKOK: Bangkok and nine provinces will go into lockdown from Monday (Jul 12) as COVID-19 cases continue to surge in Thailand, the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) announced on Friday. Residents in Bangkok and its nearby provinc...

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Health Department has dismissed a claim that one COVID-19 vaccine recipient was injected with an empty syringe.  A video purportedly showing a man being injected with an empty syringe was shared on social media. Accordin...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported a new daily record of 9,180 new COVID-19 cases on Friday (Jul 9) with nearly 960 patients in intensive care as the country remained under its third nationwide lockdown.  Malaysia’s previous new daily case record w...

RUPGANJ, Bangladesh: A massive blaze tore through a Bangladesh factory killing at least 52 people trapped by flames that forced workers to leap for their lives from upper floors, emergency services said on Friday (Jul 9).  About 30 people were inju...

HANOI: Vietnam aims to vaccinate 50 per cent of people aged 18 or older by the end of this year and 70 per cent by the end of March next year, the health ministry said on Friday (Jul 8), as tighter coronavirus curbs were imposed in more cities includ...

China evacuates nationals from Afghanistan amid US pullout

Having escaped the worst when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted last year, Southeast Asia is now suffering record rises in deaths and cases, while vaccination shortfalls and highly contagious variants have derailed containment efforts. As countries like...

CATO, Philippines: Filipino fisherman Randy Megu has often braved the storms that spring up in the South China Sea, but these days he has a greater fear: seeing a Chinese maritime enforcement vessel on the horizon. Five years after a landmark intern...

TOKYO: Olympic fans in Japan reacted with weary resignation to a ban on Tokyo Games spectators on Friday (Jul 9), as newspaper editorials warned it may not be enough to stop COVID-19. Kyoko Ishikawa, who has attended every Summer Games over the past...

HONG KONG: With their heads in the clouds and their hands in the soil, a group of office workers are busy harvesting the fruits of their labour on the roof of a Hong Kong skyscraper. Invisible to those below, a sprawling garden of radishes, carrots ...

BEIJING: The northern Chinese port city of Qingdao has deployed thousands of boats and powered scoops to deal with a massive algae bloom that is threatening sea life, tourism and water transport. The thick layer of plants that has coated waters and ...

BANGKOK: Karmic fortune has arrived to the digital art market, with a kaleidoscopic splash of colours and the face of a revered Thai monk offering portable Buddhist good luck charms to tech-savvy buyers. Sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) - virtual...

ULSAN, South Korea: Using a toilet can pay for your coffee or buy you bananas at a university in South Korea, where human waste is being used to help power a building. Cho Jae-weon, an urban and environmental engineering professor at the Ulsan Natio...

The Olympic flame arrived in Tokyo on Friday (Jul 9) but with the public kept away at a low-key welcoming ceremony because of coronavirus fears.

TOKYO: Japan's currency in circulation and bank deposits hit a record high for the fourth straight month in June, data showed on Friday (Jul 9), as households and companies continued to pile up savings on uncertainty over the economic fallout from th...

SHANGHAI: China on Friday (Jul 9) reported 23 new COVID-19 cases in the mainland for Thursday, compared with 17 cases a day earlier, the national health authority said. Eight of the new infections were local cases, the National Health Commission sai...

SEOUL: South Korea will from Monday (Jul 12) tighten COVID-19 curbs to the strictest level possible in Seoul and neighbouring regions, as alarm spreads with new COVID-19 cases setting a second consecutive daily record nationwide. South Korea, which ...

Malaysians may remember this tussle between UMNO and Bersatu as one where the political establishment lost its ability to put the country above political, even personal interests, says James Chin.

Like airlines the world over, Indonesia’s flag carrier Garuda has found itself deep in debt but can it afford to wait out until demand for travel returns, asks NTU’s James Guild.

A Thai court on Thursday ordered a longtime political activist back to prison over an old offense, his lawyer said, months after he resumed street protests and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Veteran diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri became India's new oil minister on Thursday, an appointment welcomed by energy experts who expect him to strike better import deals and showcase New Delhi as an attractive destination for investment in the sector.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte might be barred from a second term in office, but don't be surprised if he's still running the country after a presidential election next year.

JAKARTA: A morbid grid of graves widens as excavators dig deep, piling up soil to make space for Indonesia's pandemic dead to be laid to rest. Ambulances, lights flashing, deliver bodies to the Jakarta burial site as trucks carry away dirt beside ro...

Thailand reported on Thursday 75 new deaths from the coronavirus, a new daily record, bringing the total number of fatalities in the Southeast Asian country to 2,462 since the pandemic started last year.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) has rejected allegations by United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that the government has failed to realise people’s asp...

BANGKOK: Evacuated residents warily began returning to their homes on Bangkok's outskirts on Thursday (Jul 8) after a chemical factory went up in flames earlier this week, as experts called for air and water to be thoroughly tested for any lingering ...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government is currently in a precarious position where it might not be able to govern effectively after the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) withdrew its support for Perikatan Nas...

JAKARTA: Indonesia's biggest coal-producing province of East Kalimantan has recorded a spike in coronavirus cases, with miners among those infected, but so far there has been no disruption to coal operations, a local official said. The Southeast Asi...

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his Cabinet ministers can continue to exercise their federal executive powers, as there is no clear evidence to show that he no longer has the support of the majority of lawmakers in parliament, sai...

SINGAPORE: This year's Southeast Asian Games due to take place in Vietnam has been postponed to 2022.  "The SEA Games Federation working committee met today and it was decided that the SEA Games will not be held this year," said the Singapore N...

JAKARTA: Indonesians have ignored health warnings to stock up on a "miracle cure" for COVID-19 backed by leading politicians and social media influencers as an outbreak of the virus sweeps the country. Authorities are reporting hundreds of deaths e...

COLOMBO: A brother of Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday (Jul 8) became finance minister, tightening the family's grip on power in the South Asian nation as it confronts growing economic troubles. Basil Rajapaksa, 70, took over th...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported 8,868 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday (Jul 8), the country’s second highest daily infection count since the start of the pandemic. More than half of the new infections were in the Klang Valley area with 4,152 in Sel...

TAIPEI: Taiwan has asked its office in Washington to remind the United States not to cause "unnecessary speculation or misunderstanding" after the White House deleted a social media post on COVID-19 vaccine donations that included Taiwan's flag. The...

Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor has sold its Myanmar operations to Lebanese investment firm M1 Group for US$105 million, Telenor said on Thursday (Jul 8), announcing its retreat from a country that slid into chaos after a military coup in Februar...

Chinese tech giant Tencent has rolled out a facial recognition "midnight patrol" function to snag children masquerading as adults to get around a government curfew on underage gamers.

A lone elephant who broke away from a herd marching through southern China has been captured and returned to a nature reserve, officials said, in the latest twist for a journey that has caused chaos but captivated Chinese social media.

SEOUL: South Korea on Thursday (Jul 8) reported its highest ever one-day number of new COVID-19 infections, as officials consider tightening social distancing restrictions. The 1,275 cases in the 24 hours to midnight on Wednesday, reported by the K...

TOKYO: Japan's government said on Thursday (Jul 8) it plans a new virus state of emergency stretching throughout the Olympics, as reports said organisers could bar fans from almost all events at the Games. With just two weeks until the Jul 23 openin...

SHANGHAI: Chinese authorities in the southwestern province of Yunnan reported two new confirmed locally transmitted cases for Wednesday (Jul 7), of which one was previously identified as an asymptomatic case. This compared with 15 confirmed locally...

LONDON: A group of British lawmakers urged the government to take tougher action against China on Thursday (Jul 8) over its treatment of minority groups, including a partial Winter Olympics boycott and cotton trade ban. In a report following a month...

KUALA LUMPUR: The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) has withdrawn its support for the Perikatan Nasional government led by Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and called for his resignation, said UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on We...

Dong Jingwei’s supposed disappearance coaxes China’s troubled history littered with past cases of state secrets being spilled, espionage and defection into view, says Professor Bo Zhiyue.

Taliban fighters in northern Afghanistan last month evicted families and looted and torched their homes in apparent retaliation for cooperating with the Kabul government, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday (Jul 7).

The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday it was concerned about reports that China had restricted use of social media accounts of LGBTQI Plus student groups and non-governmental organizations.

Myanmar authorities announced stay-at-home measures in parts of commercial capital Yangon on Wednesday (Jul 7), as the country reported its highest daily coronavirus caseload in months.

A United Nations human rights investigator called on countries on Wednesday (Jul 7) to impose economic sanctions on Myanmar's oil and gas sector to cripple the junta that took power five months ago.

NEW DELHI: In a massive Cabinet revamp, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi dropped 12 senior Cabinet ministers on Wednesday (Jul 7) and inducted a younger team aimed at refurbishing his government’s image after widespread criticism of its handling...

HANOI: Nine million people in Ho Chi Minh City have been ordered into lockdown, state media said Wednesday (Jul 7), as the commercial hub struggles to contain Vietnam's most serious COVID-19 outbreak so far. Beginning in the early hours of Friday, ...

Customs agents in southwest China have seized 2.2 tonnes of pangolin scales and busted an endangered wildlife smuggling gang, state media reported.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday gave the strongest hint yet that he might seek the vice presidency in next year's election, saying he was now "seriously thinking" about running.

BANGKOK: Thailand’s popular resort island Phuket reported its first COVID-19 case from overseas on Wednesday (Jul 7) after reopening to international tourism last week. The patient is a male traveller from the United Arab Emirates, who arrived in...

Rescuers in Japan were searching on Wednesday for 27 people still missing after heavy rain triggered landslides in the seaside city of Atami four days ago, killing seven people.

Huawei has struck a licensing deal that will allow use of its 4G technologies in connected vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen Group, the Chinese tech giant said on Wednesday.

Japan's government is floating proposals that would ban fans from all Olympic events, the Mainichi newspaper reported on Wednesday, as officials scramble to address public concerns about the spread of the coronavirus.

Indonesia expanded nationwide coronavirus curbs Wednesday to battle its deadliest COVID-19 wave yet, as the death toll rocketed with the government warning that the worst may be yet to come.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mr Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been appointed as Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, while Mr Hishammuddin Hussein is now a senior minister.  Their respective defence and foreign affairs portfolios remain unchanged. As senior minister, Mr...

BEIJING: China has designated 25 per cent of its onshore territory "ecological conservation" areas, limiting development and human activities in order to improve the environment and conserve resources.  The Ministry of Ecology and Environment was ...

Anticipation of stricter movement curbs triggered panic-buying in Vietnam's economic hub Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday, the epicentre of its coronavirus outbreak, while media reported unrest at a city jail where dozens of inmates were infected.

Multiple social media accounts belonging to major university lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights groups in China have been blocked from the popular WeChat app, prompting fears of targeted censorship and calls on Wednesday (Jul 7) for...

North Korea is facing a food shortage of around 860,000 tonnes this year, the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) forecast, warning that the country could experience a "harsh lean period" as early as next month.

The Philippines will send black boxes of a Lockheed C-130 aircraft that crashed at the weekend to the United States to seek expert help in opening and analysing them, its military chief said on Wednesday (Jul 7).

SINGAPORE: As vaccinations gather pace, a number of places around the world have lifted COVID-19 restrictions and some countries have begun reopening borders to immunised travellers. Singapore authorities have signalled that living with the corona...

SEOUL: South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics forecast on Wednesday (Jul 7) a 53.37 per cent rise in second-quarter operating profit, thanks to strong chip prices and operations resuming at a key US factory after a shutdown. The world's bigge...