Japan's Health Ministry said on Sunday it has officially approved Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine, the first such approval in the country as it steps up efforts to tame a third wave of infections in the run-up to the Summer Olympic Games.

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani lab will soon receive Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for commercial sale, a company official said on Sunday (Feb 14), making Pakistan one of the first countries to market shots privately as it scrambles to secure supplies....

Thousands of people from Myanmar living in Japan marched in downtown Tokyo on Sunday (Feb 14) to protest the military coup back home, some holding photos of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and signs deploring the loss of human rights.

China fired back on Sunday (Feb 14) at the US over allegations from the White House that Beijing withheld some information about the coronavirus outbreak from World Health Organization investigators.

Singaporean Sue-Anne Chng used to wear a different outfit on all 15 days of the Chinese New Year, when it is customary to don new clothes to symbolise a fresh start.

IWAKI, Japan: The stench of alcohol filled the small bar on Sunday (Feb 14) as Aoi Hoshino swept up glass from whiskey bottles smashed in a strong earthquake the night before, one appearing to be an aftershock from a devastating quake that hit the Fu...

YANGON: Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Myanmar’s major cities for a ninth straight day of anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday (Feb 14), after a fearful night as residents formed patrols and the army rolled back laws protecting freed...

More than 100 people were injured and trains halted over a wide swathe of northeastern Japan on Sunday after the region was jolted by a major earthquake in the same area as the 2001 Fukushima quake that set off a tsunami nearly 10 years ago.

BEIJING: China reported seven new coronavirus cases in the mainland for Saturday (Feb 13), compared to eight cases a day earlier, the health commission said on Sunday. All of the new cases were imported infections, the National Health Commission sai...

YANGON: Myanmar's new military regime warned the public not to harbour fugitive political activists on Sunday (Feb 14) after issuing arrest warrants for veteran democracy campaigners supporting massive nationwide anti-coup protests. Much of the cou...

BEIJING: Chinese state TV included dancers in blackface portraying Africans in a holiday gala for the second time in three years, prompting criticism online, as Asia welcomed the Year of the Ox with muted festivities amid travel curbs to contain rene...

BANGKOK: The air that sweeps gently through the rows of vines in the GranMonte estate is cool. In the middle of winter here, on the flank of Khao Yai National Park, the temperature drops and grapes can flourish. The vineyard, northeast of Bangkok, ...

Rejecting an emergency appeal, US Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer has cleared the way for the extradition to Japan of two Americans accused of helping former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn flee the Asian nation.

Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka face their toughest tests so far when the Australian Open enters the last 16 stage on Sunday, while Novak Djokovic faces a battle to recover from a potentially tournament-ending injury.

BENGALURU: Billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla will set up an electric-car manufacturing unit in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, according to a government document seen by Reuters on Saturday (Feb 13). "The US firm Tesla will be opening an electr...

TOKYO: A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 hit off the coast of eastern Japan on Saturday (Feb 13), shaking buildings and triggering widespread blackouts, but there appeared to be no major damage and no tsunami warning was issued....

Thai pro-democracy protesters scaled a massive Bangkok monument Saturday, draping it in a crimson cloth and calling for the kingdom to abolish its draconian royal defamation laws.

Beijing was once again shrouded in smog on Saturday after several days of heavy pollution which have plagued China’s capital during the Lunar New Year national holiday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported 3,499 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday (Feb 13), bringing the total number of cases in the country to 261,805.  Five new deaths were recorded as well, compared to 17 the previous day. The death toll in Malaysia stand...

EU calls on China to reverse ban on BBC World News channel

India's top court tackles social media in free speech case

China refused to give raw data on early COVID-19 cases to a World Health Organization-led team probing the origins of the pandemic, one of the team's investigators said, potentially complicating efforts to understand how the outbreak began.

Indian authorities on Saturday said there were no initial reports of critical damage to buildings and infrastructure, or casualties, in its northern states after intense tremors from a quake in the central Asian nation of Tajikistan on Friday night.

China holiday train travel down nearly 70per cent amid restrictions

Thailand on Saturday reported 126 new coronavirus cases, taking its total infections to 24,405.

LAHORE: Two 11-week-old white tiger cubs that died in a Pakistani zoo last month appear to have died of COVID-19, officials said. The cubs died in the Lahore Zoo on Jan 30, four days after beginning treatment for what officials thought was feline pa...

Myanmar's stateless, conflict-scarred Rohingya community are on edge with the return of military rule, fearing further violence in a restive part of the country where others have shown support for the new regime.

Opposition to Myanmar's new military regime intensified on Saturday as spontaneous neighbourhood watch groups mobilised to thwart arrests of anti-coup activists and the UN demanded the release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

WASHINGTON: North Korea's nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programmes are an urgent priority for the United States and Washington remains committed to denuclearisation of the country, the US State Department said on Friday (Feb 12). The Biden a...

The employment of slick, sophisticated messaging in the far reaches of the Internet is worrying but more alarming is the appropriation of popular culture in redpilling, says Gareth Tan.

While majority religious and ethnic groups in Myanmar might not be reliable allies for the military, they are a powerful force with a large grassroots base, say two political science professors from American University.

JAKARTA: Saat menyebut “makanan Indonesia”, bagi sebagian besar warga negara asing mungkin yang terlintas di benak adalah nasi goreng dan nasi padang. Namun, masakan Indonesia sangat beragam mengingat luas wilayahnya dan terdapat lebih dari 6...

JAKARTA: When “Indonesian food” is mentioned, most foreigners would probably think of ubiquitous staples like nasi goreng and nasi padang. But Indonesian cuisine is extremely diverse, thanks to the country’s geographical expanse and over 600 e...

Hundreds of Nepalis staged a mock funeral procession in the capital Kathmandu Friday after the rape and murder of a teenage girl drew attention to a rise in sexual assault cases.

The top United Nations human rights body called on Myanmar on Friday to release Aung San Suu Kyi and other officials and to refrain from using violence on people protesting against the military coup.

TAPOVAN, India: A newly formed Himalayan lake raised fears Friday (Feb 12) of another flash flood above a disaster-hit valley in northern India, prompting authorities to conduct helicopter surveys and send a team on a 16-hour climb to investigate. ...

US President Joe Biden faces "serious dilemmas" in Afghanistan as a deadline to withdraw troops nears and the Taliban show no sign of ending their bloodshed, a top US official warned.

Hundreds rally in Nepalese capital for women's rights

India has won plaudits for gifting and selling COVID-19 vaccines around the world, but it will have to crank up the pace of immunisations at home to meet its targets.

KUALA LUMPUR: The UN refugee agency said on Friday (Feb 12) Malaysia should not deport refugees after Reuters reported that it was planning to send 1,200 Myanmar nationals back to their country. Malaysia agreed to return them after the Myanmar milit...

MELBOURNE: The Australian Open endured a rocky build-up during the coronavirus pandemic and was hit again Friday (Feb 12) as Victoria state ordered a five-day lockdown from Saturday over a new cluster in Melbourne. Here, AFP Sport looks at major pro...

Japan's first batch of COVID-19 vaccine arrived on Friday, local media reported, with official approval for the Pfizer Inc shots expected soon as the country races to control a third wave of infections ahead of the Olympic Games.

From a historic coronavirus postponement, to a sexism row prompting its top organiser to resign, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics have faced many hurdles.

Supporters of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi defied the junta's call to halt mass gatherings on Friday as hundreds of thousands joined nationwide demonstrations, with many urging Washington to toughen sanctions imposed on the ruling generals.

TOKYO: Tokyo 2020 Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori resigned on Friday (Feb 12) after making sexist comments that caused an international outcry with less than six months until the virus-postponed Games. "My inappropriate statement has caused a lot of ch...

Equality activists called for more radical reform by Tokyo Olympics organisers on Friday, as Games chiefs prepared to replace one octogenarian male president with another after a sexism row.

Wearing a bowler hat and familiar toothbrush moustache, Pakistan's Usman Khan darts through traffic swinging a cane, teasing motorists and shopkeepers for laughs and a few rupees with a Charlie Chaplin impersonation that has become a viral sensation.

China reported 12 new mainland COVID-19 cases on Feb. 11, official data showed on Friday, up from two cases a day earlier but there were no new locally transmitted infections as the Lunar New Year holiday began.

KOTA KINABALU: As the sun began to set, fisherman Lan Tumpat docked his rickety wooden boat. The 30-year-old then hoisted his oar, a fishing rod and an empty pail onto the battered wooden planks in front of his home. “No fish today. The winds we...

China's broadcasting regulator on Thursday banned BBC World News, accusing it of flouting guidelines after a controversial report on its treatment of the country's Uighur minority.

The United States on Thursday (Feb 11) slapped sanctions on the leaders of Myanmar's military government, warning that more punishment could come even as the generals in Yangon ordered demonstrators to get back to work or face "effective actions".

Among the hundreds of thousands who have taken to the streets of Myanmar in recent days have been members of the Southeast Asian nation's many faiths – majority Buddhists as well as Christians, Muslims and Hindus, and dozens of distinct ethnic grou...

As a young female anti-coup protester fights for her life after being shot in Myanmar's capital this week, a potentially dangerous hunt to find the shooter has been launched on social media.

BANGKOK: Thailand announced plans on Thursday (Feb 11) to inoculate 1 million of its most vulnerable people against COVID-19 by May and start mass vaccinations in June, with the aim of administering 10 million doses a month. The announcement was the...

The opposition-ruled Indian state of Chhattisgarh said on Thursday (Feb 11) that it had asked the federal government to halt the supply of a homegrown COVID-19 vaccine until its efficacy could be proven in an ongoing late-stage trial.

SEOUL: On Lunar New Year holidays, Lee Soon-ai's pancake house in Seoul is usually packed with customers while others queue outside. This year, however, the "pancake alley" where she and a number of competitors run their businesses is eerily quiet. ...

Indian technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad warned U.S. social media firms on Thursday to abide by the country's laws, a day after a face-off between Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration and Twitter over content regulation.

Hong Kong's Chinese New Year fairs, usually an opportunity to sell creative merchandise critical of the government alongside festive foods and decorations, are subdued this year amid COVID-19 restrictions and a sweeping national security law.

WUHAN: People thronged the streets of China's central city of Wuhan this week, as they made final preparations for Chinese New Year to bring the curtain down on a year marred by the COVID-19 pandemic that killed thousands. The outbreak, which first...

SEREMBAN, Malaysia: World War II veteran Ujang Mormin, who fought alongside war hero Lieutenant Adnan Saidi in the historic Battle of Pasir Panjang, died in Malaysia on Tuesday (Feb 9) after contracting COVID-19.  He was 100. Affectionately known...

TAIPEI: Taiwan's government expressed its thanks to and "admiration" for US President Joe Biden on Thursday (Feb 11) after he told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping of his concerns about Beijing's pressure against the island, which China claims as i...

A new visa scheme is offering millions of Hong Kongers a pathway to British citizenship as the city's former colonial master opens its doors to those wanting to escape China's crackdown.

Kyaw Tint Swe, a close aide to Aung San Suu Kyi, was detained in a new wave of arrests following last week's military coup. Meanwhile Washington has moved a step closer to imposing sanctions on the junta.

Hundreds of protesters opposed to Myanmar's coup demonstrated at the Chinese embassy in Yangon on Thursday (Feb 11) accusing Beijing of supporting the military junta despite Chinese denials. "Support Myanmar, Don't support dictators," read one placa...

NEW DELHI: India and China have agreed to pull back troops from a bitterly contested lake area high in the western Himalayas, the Indian defence minister said on Thursday (Feb 11), in a breakthrough after a months-long standoff on the disputed border...

Indian rescuers began drilling from above a debris-filled tunnel Thursday in a desperate bid to reach dozens of people missing since a flash flood likely caused by a breaking glacier four days earlier.

Malaysia’s COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Committee says Malaysians will be prioritised to receive the vaccination doses.

SYDNEY: Authorities in Australia stepped up contact tracing and called for people in the city of Melbourne to come forward for coronavirus testing on Thursday (Feb 11) as the number of infections in a cluster linked to a quarantine hotel rose to 11....

TOKYO: Yoshiro Mori, president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organising committee, is set to step down over sexist remarks he made that women talked too much, the Fuji News Network reported on Thursday (Feb 11). The comments, made at a Japanese Olympi...

WASHINGTON: Joe Biden on Wednesday (Feb 10) held his first call as president with Xi Jinping, pressing the Chinese leader about trade and Beijing's crackdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong as well as other human rights concerns. The two leaders...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday he had assured Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau that India would do its best to supply Canada with vaccines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially easing shortages faced in the country.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced concern Wednesday over China's incursions into Japanese territorial waters, recommitting to the ally's defense.

China reported the fewest number of new COVID-19 cases in over five months, official data showed on Thursday, after a combination of robust countermeasures helped stamp out a new wave of the disease in the northeast that emerged last month.

The United Nations' top human rights body is to consider a resolution on Friday drafted by Britain and the European Union that would condemn Myanmar's military coup and demand urgent access for monitors, a text seen by Reuters shows.

Whichever factors flipped the country’s political fortunes overnight, a revival of military dictatorship is materialising fast for the people of Myanmar, says Van Tran.

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday (Feb 10) the United States was taking action against Myanmar's military including freezing access to US-based assets as he urged its generals to relinquish power.

US President Joe Biden announced sanctions on Wednesday (Feb 10) against Myanmar's military leaders and demanded they relinquish power, after tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the Southeast Asian nation's biggest city for a fifth con...

Cyber-security laws floated by Myanmar's new junta to allow it to ban content it dislikes, restrict internet providers and intercept data would violate human rights, a group of civil society organisations said on Wednesday.

WUHAN: A World Health Organization (WHO) team is leaving China on Wednesday (Feb 10) after gaining some new insights into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic that has now killed more than 2.3 million people worldwide, but with the major question...

A plan to force the sale of TikTok to American investors has been put on hold as the administration of President Joe Biden reviews the security risks of the popular Chinese-owned video app, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday (Feb 10).

BANGKOK: Hundreds of Thai protesters gathered in Bangkok on Wednesday to demand the release of four activists remanded in custody pending trial on charges of insulting Thailand's king, a crime punishable by 15 years in prison. Many protesters banged...

SUMATRA: A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, but there was no tsunami warning or immediate reports of damage. The strong offshore quake hit about 217km south-southw...

Hong Kong will ease strict coronavirus restrictions from Feb. 18, re-opening sports and entertainment facilities and extending dining hours, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Wednesday, as the city logged a steady decline in daily cases.

Twitter said on Wednesday (Feb 10) that it had blocked some accounts in India over comments on mass farmers' protests in New Delhi, but the social media giant refused to shut down others despite the threat of criminal action by the government.

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong Internet radio host was denied bail on Wednesday (Feb 10) under Beijing's new national security law - even though he has not been charged with an offence under the sweeping legislation. The court's decision illustrates how t...

Japan will start coronavirus vaccinations next week, its prime minister said Wednesday, but it is scrambling to secure suitable syringes so doses won't go to waste.

SINGAPORE: Images and videos of protests across Myanmar have been broadcast and shared online in the past week almost immediately as events unfolded in the country, a far cry from how it was in the past. With smartphones in the hands of more than 20...

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who himself first seized power in a coup, said on Wednesday (Feb 10) that he had received a letter from Myanmar's new junta leader asking for help to support democracy.

South Korea's drug safety ministry on Wednesday said it will approve use of AstraZeneca PLC's COVID-19 vaccine for all people, including those aged 65 and over.

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee said on Wednesday (Feb 10) that investigations into Sriwijaya Air SJ 182 that crashed last month would focus on the plane's autothrottle system.  Preliminary investigations showed ...

Time was running out to save dozens of people trapped inside a tunnel three days after a devastating flash flood likely caused by a glacier burst in India's Himalayan north, officials said Wednesday.

SINGAPORE: Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke via telephone on Wednesday (Feb 10), in which they discussed regional developments including the situation in Myanmar.  The call came abou...

While many hope the Year of the Ox will herald times of plenty, a herd of wild cows in Hong Kong is going hungry after visitors to their habitat surged during the coronavirus pandemic.

China's consumer prices fell in January after a brief improvement at the end of last year, as the world's second-biggest economy was hit by the impact of fresh coronavirus outbreaks and decreased travel, official data showed Wednesday.

Protesters returned to the streets of Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw on Wednesday after the most violent day yet in demonstrations against a coup that halted a tentative transition to democracy under elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

SEOUL: South Korea's unemployment rate soared to a 21-year high in January, while the number of people employed fell at the sharpest pace in more than two decades, as curbs to contain the coronavirus continue to hurt the job market. The seasonally a...

A Muslim cleric convicted of leading an Australian terror cell that plotted to kill thousands will have his detention extended for up to three years beyond his original sentence, a court ruled Wednesday.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand said on Wednesday (Feb 10) that it was urgently seeking clarification from Chinese authorities after being informed that exports from two of its seafood facilities have been suspended. Exports from a Sanford facility that pro...

China reported 14 new COVID-19 cases on the mainland on Feb. 9, official data showed, unchanged from a day earlier, as the latest wave of the disease appears to have subsided ahead of the Lunar New Year break that begins on Thursday.

Korean American K-pop stars promote mental health awareness