Thailand is negotiating to buy five to 10 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, the country's prime minister said on Tuesday.

MANILA: Nick Yanez, a 28-year-old ambulance nurse in a satellite city of Manila, says she sometimes spends six to seven hours in her emergency vehicle caring for a COVID-19 patient before a bed can be found in a hospital. Already facing one of the w...

Japan's third most populated region will on Tuesday ask the central government to impose a state of emergency over the coronavirus as infections rise just three months before the country hosts the Olympics.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's government will seek a vote in parliament on Tuesday (Apr 20) on whether to expel the French ambassador after violent anti-France protests by Islamists demanding action over cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammad, the interior mini...

UBON RATCHATHANI: Thailand is close to completing one the world's biggest floating hydro-solar hybrid projects on the surface of a dam, a step toward boosting renewable energy production after years of criticism for reliance on fossil fuels. About 1...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he is willing to deploy military ships to the South China Sea to assert the country's claim over oil deposits in a contested part of the waterway.

JOHOR BAHRU: Johor's chief minister said on Tuesday (Apr 20) his state government will propose measures that will limit the movement of workers who cross the border from Johor to Singapore. Hasni Mohammad said the reopening of the border was an "on...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday (Apr 20) accused the federal government of stonewalling efforts by state governments and private sector to procure COVID-19 vaccines directly. In a statement released, Mr Anwar s...

TOKYO: The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many businesses in Japan to the edge of financial ruin, but Takumi Tezuka, who owns a makeup and hair salon for men in Tokyo, has seen his customer base expand. Japanese businessmen in their 40s, 50s and 60s w...

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had hoped a fight over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed would result in an easy win - placating the ultra-conservative quarters at home while being hailed as a defender of Islam abroad.

HONG KONG: At least 49 passengers on a flight from New Delhi to Hong Kong have tested positive for COVID-19, authorities said, as the financial hub introduced an emergency ban on all flights from India as it battles a new wave of cases. All of the p...

LOS ANGELES: Yong Sin Kim, an 85-year-old Korean immigrant living in a senior apartment complex in downtown Los Angeles, says he rarely leaves home these days. When he does, he carries a whistle with him; at least he could call for help if he's atta...

BOAO, China: Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday (Apr 20) that the global governance system should be made more equitable and fair, and that rules set by one country or some nations cannot be imposed on others. Building barriers and pushing...

An earthquake of magnitude 6 struck in the Nias region in western Indonesia, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said on Tuesday (Apr 20). EMSC said the quake was at a depth of 10km, after reporting a depth of 2km earlier with 5.9...

While the economy’s growth momentum looks strong at the moment, there are signs that China may risk tightening fiscal and monetary policy too soon, says Yu Yongding.

As farmers become older and their children become more educated, experienced hands that can till the land are becoming scarce, says Ronny Sasmita.

China is guilty of ongoing "crimes against humanity" in its oppressive treatment of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, Human Rights Watch said in a detailed report released on Monday (Apr 19).

NEW DELHI: India on Monday (Apr 19) opened its COVID-19 vaccination drive to all adults from May 1, as the vast nation battles a massive spike in infections that has forced the capital into a week-long lockdown. India, which currently limits shots t...

BRUSSELS: The European Union on Monday (Apr 19) announced sanctions on 10 Myanmar junta officials and two conglomerates linked to the military over the coup and bloody crackdown on protesters in their country. The individuals "are all responsible f...

YANGON: Sleeping by their makeshift barricades, knots of young men at Tahan in the western Myanmar town of Kale had not expected an attack in the pre-dawn darkness. Armed with a few hunting guns made by village blacksmiths, catapults, some airguns ...

JAKARTA: Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed trade and economic issues in a meeting in Jakarta on Monday (Apr 19) with his Indonesian counterpart, the two countries said. Zarif emphasized the importance of finalizing a p...

NEW DELHI: Many Indians are pillorying Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his response to a scary surge in coronavirus cases, sickened by him addressing tens of thousands of people at state election rallies and letting Hindu devotees congregate for a ...

BRUSSELS: The European Union resolved on Monday (Apr 19) to step up its influence in the Indo-Pacific region, using areas from security to health to protect its interests and counter China's rising power, although the bloc insists its strategy is no...

BEIJING: China's exports to North Korea in March rose to a six-month high, with outbound shipments to its neighbour that month nearly 400 times more than January to February combined, in a sign of easing border restrictions imposed due to COVID-19. ...

MANILA: Strong winds and high waves lashed the eastern Philippines on Monday (Apr 19) as the strongest typhoon ever recorded in April barrelled past in the Pacific Ocean, killing one man and triggering flooding in lower-lying communities, disaster o...

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday (Apr 19) cancelled a planned trip to India, scheduled to take place next week, due to the current coronavirus situation in India, Johnson's office said. It had initially been scheduled for Janua...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) said it is aiming to create a healthier political funding system through launching its official store on e-commerce platform Shopee.   It is the first Malaysian political party ...

TAIPEI: Taiwan is seeking to acquire long-range, air-launched cruise missiles from the US, a defence official said on Monday (Apr 19), as the Chinese-claimed island bolsters its forces in the face of increasing pressure from Beijing. While Taiwan is...

HONG KONG: China has imposed a sweeping restructuring plan on Jack Ma's Ant Group, the fintech conglomerate whose record US$37 billion IPO was derailed by regulators in November, that will see the group become a financial holdings company among other...

India's capital New Delhi will impose a week-long lockdown from Monday night, officials said, as the megacity struggles to contain a huge surge in Covid-19 cases with hospitals running out of beds and oxygen supplies low.

HONG KONG: A Chinese painting from 1924 is expected to fetch at least US$45 million in an auction in Hong Kong, as collectors' appetite for art continues to rise even amid economic uncertainty brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. The painting ...

SYDNEY: New Zealand said it is "uncomfortable" with expanding the role of the Five Eyes, a post-war intelligence grouping which also includes the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada, recently criticised by China. China is New Zealand's lar...

The Philippines will resume administering AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to people below 60 years of age, health officials said on Monday, ending a temporary suspension over reports of rare blood clots in younger recipients overseas.

BEIJING: China could see its number of births slide below 10 million annually in the next five years if the government does not quickly abolish its policy of limiting families to two children, an expert was quoted in domestic media as saying. China'...

BANGKOK: Thailand reported 1,390 new coronavirus cases on Monday (Apr 19), slowing slightly after a run of record daily highs, amid a new wave of infections that has seen a third of the country's cases recorded this month alone. The new infections w...

Japan journalist arrested in Myanmar, govt asks for release

BENGALURU: India's daily COVID-19 cases jumped by a record 273,810 on Monday (Apr 19) as the health system crumbled under the weight of patients, bringing total infections closer to that of the United States, the world's worst hit country. India's ...

Eleven Pakistani police officers seized by supporters of a radical Islamist group as part of their campaign to get the French ambassador expelled have been released, officials said Monday.

NEW DELHI: HS Panno, an independent contractor living in a spacious two-story penthouse in New Delhi, had his doubts when he bought his first electric car in September. So far, he's pleased with his savings on gas and maintenance, which are down by...

KUALA TERENGGANU: The number of vaccinated healthcare workers in Malaysia testing positive for COVID-19 is 10 times lower than the number of cases among healthcare workers before the inoculation regime, said Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and...

TOKYO :A recent surge in COVID-19 cases could see major parts of Japan slide back into states of emergency with authorities in Tokyo and Osaka looking at renewed curbs to stop the spread.

SHANGHAI: Mainland China reported 11 new COVID-19 cases on Apr 18, down from 16 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Monday (Apr 19). The National Health Commission, in a statement, said all of the new cases were impo...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong will suspend flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines for two weeks from Tuesday (Apr 20), after the N501Y mutant COVID-19 strain was detected in the Asian financial hub for the first time, authorities said in a statement...

CHENNAI: India may build new coal-fired power plants as they generate the cheapest power, according to a draft electricity policy document seen by Reuters, despite growing calls from environmentalists to deter use of coal. Coal's contribution to el...

The ban on Taiwanese pineapples is reminiscent of China’s ban on Philippine bananas in the aftermath of the Scarborough Shoal standoff in April 2012, says Dalton Lin.

More government hospital beds will be freed for COVID-19 patients, India's health ministry said on Sunday (Apr 18), as the vast nation grappled with a worsening virus crisis and states appealed for additional supplies of oxygen and treatment drugs.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday (Apr 18) defended the US decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, saying the terror threat had moved elsewhere and that Washington needed to refocus resources on challenges such as China and the pandemic.

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia began setting up thousands of hospital beds in two wedding party halls on Sunday (Apr 18) to cope with an influx of COVID-19 patients in a country that up until recently had largely managed to contain infections. Cambodia also ...

DHAKA: Hundreds of hardline Islamists have been arrested by Bangladesh police over the past week, officials said on Sunday (Apr 18), after deadly protests against the visit of India's Hindu-nationalist leader. At least 13 protesters died during the ...

Myanmar's shadow government on Sunday urged Southeast Asian leaders to give it a seat at the table during crisis talks next week, and not to recognise the military regime that seized power in a February coup.

India reported a record daily increase of 261,500 coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Sunday.

SEOUL: South Korea raised concerns over Japan's decision to release contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea with visiting US climate envoy John Kerry, its foreign ministry said, but Kerry reaffirmed Washington's co...

SHANGHAI: China and the United States agree that stronger pledges to fight climate change should be introduced before a new round of international talks at the end of the year, the two countries said in a joint statement on Sunday (Apr 18). The sta...

They are a familiar sight in hospitals round the world, yet their country faces a nursing shortage. COVID-19 has exposed a healthcare system in the Philippines that is failing its nurses, and the programme Undercover Asia looks at the issues.

JAKARTA: Saat suara sirene ambulans terdengar memecah keheningan, seketika itu pula tiga orang pengendara roda dua berseragam jaket merah bergegas memasang helm mereka dan menyalakan mesin motor. Ketiga pengendara sepeda motor itu pun memacu kencang...

Barring failures to contain potential COVID-19 waves, Malaysia’s economy and labour market look poised to recover, says a researcher.

JAKARTA: As soon as the wailing sound of an ambulance sirens were heard, three motorcyclists in matching leather jackets immediately sprang into action, hastily putting on their helmets and hopping on their motorcycles.  With their hands revving t...

TOKYO: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has agreed to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's request to supply additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the vaccine minister of Japan said on Sunday (Apr 18). "They have agreed on the essentials of the matt...

Western governments should treat people who insult the Prophet Mohammed the same as those who deny the Holocaust, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said Saturday.

HONG KONG: Ant Group is exploring options for founder Jack Ma to divest his stake in the financial technology giant and give up control, as meetings with Chinese regulators signalled to the company that the move could help draw a line under Beijing's...

DHAKA: At least four people were shot dead and many injured on Saturday (Apr 17) as police opened fire at workers demanding a pay rise at a Chinese-backed coal-fired power plant in southeastern Bangladesh, police said. Police were forced to open fi...

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing will attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Indonesia on Apr 24, a Thai foreign ministry spokesman said on Saturday (Apr 17), for his first known foreign trip since he staged a Feb 1 coup. Mya...

Japanese chip manufacturer Renesas on Saturday restarted production about a month after a factory fire that threatens to worsen a global chip shortage, local media said.

New Delhi led major cities across India into a weekend lockdown Saturday as the country confronts a fierce new coronavirus wave, with more than 230,000 fresh daily cases and families clamouring for drugs and hospital beds.

BANGKOK: Hundreds waited in grim silence at a Bangkok stadium to get free COVID-19 tests on Saturday (Apr 17) as a spiraling infection rate gripped Thailand, on a fourth consecutive day of more than 1,000 new cases. The capital appears to be the epi...

KUALA LUMPUR: Forty healthcare workers in Malaysia have tested positive for COVID-19 despite completing both doses of the vaccination, said health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on Saturday (Apr 17). According to Dr Noor Hisham, nine of t...

The global coronavirus death toll was expected to reach three million on Saturday, as the race for immunisation continues and countries like India grapple with rising infections and new lockdowns.

MANILA: Philippine authorities said on Saturday (Apr 17) they have seized about 200 tonnes of illegally harvested giant clam shells worth nearly US$25 million in one of the biggest known operations of its kind in the country. Conservationists have e...

WASHINGTON: The US Treasury Department on Friday (Apr 16) said Vietnam, Switzerland and Taiwan tripped its thresholds for possible currency manipulation under a 2015 US trade law, but refrained from formally branding them as manipulators. In the fir...

YANGON: Myanmar's junta released 23,184 prisoners from jails across the country on Saturday (Apr 17) under a New Year amnesty, a Prisons Department spokesman said, although few if any democracy activists arrested since a Feb 1 coup were thought to ...

BEIJING: China reported 15 new COVID-19 cases on Friday (Apr 16), up from 11 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Saturday. The National Health Commission, in a statement, said one of the new cases was a local infecti...

WASHINGTON: The United States and Japan vowed on Friday (Apr 16) to stand firm together against an assertive China and to step up cooperation on climate change and next-generation technology as President Joe Biden made his first summit a show of alli...

OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's special immigration initiative for Hong Kong residents received more than 500 applications in its first three weeks, a spokesman for Canada's immigration ministry said on Friday (Apr 17). In November,...

WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday (Apr 16) condemned the sentencing of several Hong Kong democracy activists for their roles in protests that triggered a crackdown on dissent by China, again accusing Beijing of denying Hong Kongers freedoms the...

Japan's prime minister told US President Joe Biden Friday that the Asian nation would do everything in its power to contain Covid-19 infections and hold a "safe and secure" Olympic Games this year.

Anwar Ibrahim and Zahid Hamidi do have history and there is political convergence of two of the nation’s prominent politicians, say two ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Malaysia experts.

NAKHON PHANOM, Thailand: From a distance, it is hard to make sense of the small patches of green emerging from the cracking mud flats of the Mekong River.  They are not oases, nor sprouts of river grass along dusty channels where water normally flo...

China said Friday that the United States needed to take more responsibility on climate change but welcomed greater cooperation after a visit by envoy John Kerry, state media said.

ROME: Italy will ease coronavirus curbs in many areas from Apr 26, the government said on Friday (Apr 16), warning caution was still needed to avoid any reversals in the reopening of many long-shuttered activities. Restrictions on business and move...

The 39-year-old son of Turkmenistan's leader replaced him as head of the national horse association, state television reported Friday, paving the way for hereditary succession in the autocratic state.

PODGORICA, Montenegro: Montenegro's finance minister on Friday (Apr 16) tried to ease concern over a near US$1 billion Chinese-backed road project, insisting the country could afford to repay the debt and did not need EU help. The project is part of...

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping slammed the European Union's plan for a carbon tax system on Friday (Apr 16) in a call with the leaders of France and Germany, state media reported. The European Parliament on Wednesday endorsed the creation of ...

A Hindu seer has died from COVID-19 and 80 other holy men have tested positive after attending a vast Indian religious festival where millions of pilgrims have been ignoring coronavirus advice despite a national surge in infections.

MUMBAI: The head of the world's largest vaccine maker directly tweeted US President Joe Biden on Friday (Apr 16) urging him to lift an export ban on raw materials desperately needed to make more COVID-19 shots. The unusual step by Serum Institute (S...

TAIPEI: Taiwan prosecutors on Friday (Apr 16) charged a truck driver with negligent homicide over his role in the island's worst rail disaster in decades that left 49 dead and more than 200 injured. The Apr 2 crash was caused by a railway maintena...

SINGAPORE: Malaysian cargo drivers who have been vaccinated in Singapore may use vaccination cards issued to them, along with the TraceTogether (TT) token or app, as verification for their vaccination status at the Causeway. These will allow them ...

BANGKOK: Bangkok and 17 other provinces in Thailand were declared maximum control areas or "red zones" on Friday (Apr 16) as the country battles the third wave of COVID-19 infections. From Sunday, various measures will be implemented, including a ...

SURABAYA: Two Indonesian hackers have been arrested over an international scam in which US$60 million was stolen from a COVID-19 aid programme helping Americans left jobless by the pandemic, authorities said. Text messages were sent to 20 million Am...

TOKYO: Another leg of Japan's Olympic torch relay has been scrapped and a BMX test event postponed over rising COVID-19 cases as uncertainty about the viability of the Games grows ahead of their opening in July. The relay will be forced off public ...

YANGON: Opponents of Myanmar's junta announced a National Unity Government on Friday (Apr 16) including ousted members of parliament and leaders of anti-coup protests and ethnic minorities, saying their aim was to end military rule and restore democ...

JAKARTA: Planted on the ground near its main gate was a recent addition to the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park): a sign which says that the recreational area is under the control and management of the Indonesian State ...

TAIPEI: Chinese carrier drills and stepped-up incursions into Taiwan's air defence zone in recent weeks are meant to send a message to Washington to stand down and back off, security sources in Taipei say. The increased activity - which China, unusu...

Day workers fill trains out of Mumbai as COVID-19 dries up jobs

NANJING: On a grey and rainy morning, Chen Si patrols the Nanjing bridge soaring above China's Yangtze river, determined to stop the desperate from jumping into the swirling waters below. Every weekend for 18 years, Chen has volunteered to scout th...

India reported a record daily increase of 217,353 COVID-19 infections over the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Friday.

SEOUL: In a sweeping reshuffle, South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday (Apr 16) replaced the prime minister and six other Cabinet members in a bid to revive his party, after devastating local election defeats, and his policy agenda. Moon named...

SKorean steelmaker to end partnership with Myanmar military

HONG KONG: Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was jailed for 14 months on Friday (Apr 16) along with four other veteran democracy activists for their roles in protests that helped trigger a sweeping crackdown on dissent by China. Lai was given two ja...

South Korea's Huons Global Co Ltd said on Friday it will lead a consortium to produce 100 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine per month as Moscow ramps up production for supplies abroad.

BEIJING: China's economy expanded at its fastest pace in record in the first quarter, data showed on Friday (Apr 16), in a sharp turnaround from its historic contraction caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The world's second-largest economy was the on...