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: Thailand implemented its toughest coronavirus restrictions in more than a year on Monday (Jul 12) in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, with new curbs on movement and gatherings imposed and widespread suspensions by airlines and bus firms. ...

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 ...

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.