JAKARTA: Workers in Indonesia marked international labour day on Saturday (May 1) with significantly less attended marches due to COVID-19 restrictions but thousands still vented their anger at a new law they say harms their rights and welfare. Abou...

BEIJING: Millions of travellers criss-crossed China as the Labour Day holiday got underway on Saturday (May 1), packing out tourist sites, thronging restaurants and visiting family as the vast country edges towards life after COVID-19. The world's ...

NEW DELHI: India was due Saturday (May 1) to open up its jumbo vaccination drive to all adults, but many states do not have the stocks as hospitals reel from a vicious COVID-19 surge. Less then two months ago, the health minister said India was in ...

NEW DELHI: India recorded on Saturday (May 1) more than 400,000 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours for the first time, the first country to do so in the pandemic, official data showed. According to the health ministry, 401,993 new infections were regi...

The actress says that Manson also violated human trafficking law by bringing her to California from England under the false pretenses of roles in music videos and movies that never materialised.

BANGKOK: Thailand on Saturday (May 1) reported a new daily record of 21 coronavirus deaths, the health ministry said, as the Southeast Asian country prepared to open registration for a long-awaited mass vaccination campaign. The health ministry repo...

SHANGHAI: China reported 16 new COVID-19 cases on Friday (Apr 30), down from 13 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Saturday. All of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas, the National Heal...

TOKYO: A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan's northeastern coast on Saturday (May 1), authorities said, but no tsunami warning was issued. At least three people were injured by Saturday's jolt, which produced strong shaking along parts of th...

AHMEDABAD: At least 18 people, including two healthcare workers were killed in a fire at a COVID-19 hospital in the western Indian state of Gujarat late on Friday (Apr 30) night, officials said on Saturday, in the country's latest deadly hospital acc...

SYDNEY: Australian citizens and residents who have been in India within 14 days of the date they plan to return home will be banned from entering Australia as of Monday (May 3) and those who disobey will face fines and jail, government officials sai...

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Friday (Apr 30) imposed new travel restrictions on India in light of the COVID-19 epidemic, barring most non-US citizens from entering the United States. The new restrictions, which take effect at 12:01am ET (0...

February’s coup in Myanmar has turned the spotlight on other Southeast Asian countries whose militaries have played a significant political role. The programme Insight examines the situation in Indonesia and the prospects for its democracy.

It provides critical back-end staff to other countries, particularly in finance and health. Coupled with its role in pharmaceutical supply, it is imperative everyone pitches in to help India, says this economist.

Climate change has thrown monsoon, wind and wave patterns into disarray, affecting the fishermen’s operating costs and potential of pulling in a good catch.

TikTok has appointed Singaporean Shou Zi Chew as the new chief executive officer of the popular video-sharing platform.

China has taken initial steps to improve protection of US know-how under the "Phase One" trade pact, but must go further and implement those measures, the top US trade negotiator said Friday.

Sri Lanka announced Friday that its economy shrank 3.6 percent last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, making it the worst downturn since independence from Britain in 1948.

The United States on Friday renewed calls for the World Health Organization's decision-making body to include Taiwan over China's objections, pointing to the island's strong record on fighting Covid.

BANGKOK: A Thai anti-government protest leader held in pre-trial detention on charges of insulting the country's monarchy has been hospitalised following 46 days of a hunger strike, the corrections department said on Friday (Apr 30). Parit "Penguin...

BEIJING: Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday (Apr 30) offered additional assistance to India in battling the COVID-19 outbreak ravaging the country, putting aside a simmering rivalry and tensions along their disputed border. State media reported tha...

SINGAPORE: Singapore will stop entry or transit for visitors with recent travel history to Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force said on Friday (Apr 30). The ban starts on May 2 and covers all long-term ...

JAKARTA: Indonesia has greenlighted the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccine produced by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm on Friday (Apr 30), as the country looks to boost its vaccination programme by involving the private sector.   The auth...

TOKYO: This summer's virus-postponed Olympics could be held behind closed doors, Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto told AFP on Friday (Apr 30), pledging to ensure the Games will be safe. Former Olympian Hashimoto said the Games could only be a s...

Landslides have killed at least three people at a Chinese-backed power plant on Indonesia's Sumatra island, the disaster agency said Friday, with fears that the toll would rise.

The dual impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and Myanmar's post-coup political crisis could could result in nearly half the population, or as many as 25 million people, falling into poverty by 2022, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warns...

BEIJING: Gathered in a practice room, five generously proportioned young men in baggy black sweaters are patting their bellies and waggling their arms. Bearded with double chins, they shout “Hoo-Ha!” in time to upbeat African drums. The choreogr...

BANGKOK: A Myanmar swimmer has abandoned his dream of competing at the Tokyo Olympics in protest at the junta ruling his homeland, saying that taking part would be "propaganda" for the regime. Win Htet Oo is one of Myanmar's top swimmers but in ear...

BENGALURU :All vaccination centres in India's financial capital of Mumbai were shut for three days starting Friday due to a shortage of vaccines, said authorities, as the country posted another record daily rise in coronavirus cases.

A North Korea defector group this week twice defied a ban by Seoul on flying anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula, it said Friday.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong was among the four people who pleaded guilty on Friday (Apr 30) of participating in an illegal assembly on Jun 4 last year to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen incident. It was the first time the vigi...

MANILA: Community-run stalls offering free food to the needy have multiplied across the Philippines, with many struggling to feed their families as COVID-19 restrictions bite and government help falls short. Street sweeper Juliet Reyes regularly pic...

NEW DELHI: The first US emergency aid to India arrived on Friday (Apr 30) as the country battles a devastating surge in COVID-19 cases which has overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums. A Super Galaxy military transporter carrying more than 400 oxyge...

TOKYO: Tokyo consumer prices fell unexpectedly in April due to cuts in mobile phone fees by major carriers, government data showed on Friday (Apr 30), making the central bank's 2 per cent inflation target appear even more elusive. Major carriers hav...

TOKYO: Japan's industrial output posted a surprise increase in March, as a jump in car production helped keep an economic recovery from last year's deep coronavirus slump on track. The output rise will likely ease worries about the impact the health...

SYDNEY: Living half a world away from coronavirus-stricken Indian relatives, Sydney doctor Yadu Singh has beat back his frustration at being unable to help by providing lifesaving medical guidance via phone, text and video chat. It was 4am in easte...

BEIJING: China's factory activity expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in April as supply and transport bottlenecks weighed on production and overseas demand lost momentum. The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) fell to 51.1 ...

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit US President Joe Biden in Washington on May 21, the White House said Thursday.

RANSIH KALAN, India: Every year, Swarn Singh sows rice in his fields, knowing that the thirsty crop is draining northern India's Punjab of its groundwater. But Singh says he has no choice, adding, "We'd rather plant crops that need less water". The...

TOKYO: A Japanese sumo wrestler has died after landing on his head during a bout last month in a horrifying injury that caused shockwaves and calls for reform in the sport. Hibikiryu, a lower-tier wrestler whose real name was Mitsuki Amano, died of...

MAE SARIANG, Thailand: Thousands of ethnic Karen villagers in Myanmar are poised to cross into Thailand if, as expected, fighting intensifies between the Myanmar army and Karen insurgents, joining those who have already escaped the turmoil that foll...

BANGKOK: A shortage of hospital beds in Thailand has put a strain on its public health system as a new wave of COVID-19 infected more than 34,000 patients this month. On Thursday (Apr 29), the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) rep...

Among the five is the woman who returned the dogs, initially thought to be uninvolved in the robbery.

The United States is looking to help India quickly and sharply scale up oxygen supplies available for COVID-19 patients as it rushes in aid, officials said on Thursday (Apr 29).

Why were the Academy Awards show blocked in China? A nationalist backlash against Nomadland director Chloe Zhao isn’t quite it, says Professor Bo Zhiyue.

One can assess ASEAN’s recent emergency meeting in Jakarta in two ways. One scenario is cautiously optimistic; the other would be tantamount to pure fatalism, says a foreign affairs observer.

Chile, a global leader in vaccination, is considering issuing a "green card" to those inoculated against the coronavirus in an effort to encourage younger adults who may be reluctant to turn out for their shots, health officials said on Thursday (Apr...

Pakistan has purchased 13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from three Chinese companies, its health minister told Reuters on Thursday.

India's severe medical oxygen supply crisis is expected to ease by mid-May, a top industry executive told Reuters, with output rising by 25 per cent and transport infrastructure ready to cope with a surge in demand caused by a dramatic rise in corona...

NATO has started the withdrawal of its mission from Afghanistan following a decision by President Joe Biden to bring US forces home, an alliance official said Thursday.

BANGKOK: A court in Thailand on Thursday (Apr 29) denied bail for seven detained activists accused of insulting the king, two of whom have deteriorating health from more than a month of hunger strikes, their lawyer said, prompting concern from right ...

BEIJING: Financial regulators in China summoned 13 Internet companies on Thursday (Apr 29) to call for changes to their fintech operations, the central bank said in a notice, as Beijing ramps up scrutiny on monopolistic practices in the country's te...

Vietnam said on Thursday it had detected its first locally transmitted cases of the coronavirus in 35 days, as authorities ordered tighter surveillance to prevent a new outbreak.

TAIPEI: Taiwan began moving more than 400 people to a centralised quarantine facility on Thursday (Apr 29) from an airport hotel after a rare domestic outbreak of COVID-19, and will sterilise the entire hotel building. Taiwan has kept the pandemic w...

JAKARTA: Indonesia has formally designated Papuan separatists as "terrorists", its chief security minister said on Thursday (Apr 29), a move activists said could expand the powers of security forces, including lengthy detentions without charge. The ...

NEW DELHI: Ashish Poddar kept an ice pack on hand as he waited outside a New Delhi hospital for a black market dealer to deliver two drugs for his father, who was gasping for breath inside with COVID-19. But the drugs never arrived, the ice that was...

China warned the United States on Thursday (Apr 29) against imposing its democratic ideals, while criticising trade sanctions and military moves in Beijing's backyard just hours after President Joe Biden's speech on American geopolitical priorities.

Japanese business leaders and a Nobel Prize-winning biologist called upon the government to reform its vaccination programme, including allowing drive-through inoculations, as the nation struggles to contain a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BEIJING: China's population grew last year, the statistics bureau said on Thursday (Apr 29), in an apparent bid to quash reports that it had fallen, but authorities stopped short of saying from which year numbers had grown. On Tuesday, the Financial...

BANGKOK: Thailand's finance ministry on Thursday (Apr 29) reduced its 2021 economic growth forecast for a second time this year to 2.3 per cent from 2.8 per cent growth, after a third wave of coronavirus infections struck the tourism-reliant nation...

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Thursday (Apr 29) that authorities would build houses for the relatives of the crew of a submarine that went missing before being found in pieces on the bottom of the Bali Sea, with all 53 personnel ...

China became the country to have administered COVID-19 vaccinations to more people than any other this week, but health authorities will need to accelerate the rollout to meet a target to inoculate 40per cent of its population by the end of June.

In Hong Kong's famed party zone Lan Kwai Fong, dormant bars and clubs are revving up to serve customers again, but only if they have had at least one vaccine shot - one of the few examples globally of offering greater freedom for the vaccinated.

Unidentified attackers fired rockets at two Myanmar air bases on Thursday (Apr 29) but there were no casualties and only minor damage in another sign of deteriorating security since the military overthrew an elected government three months ago. Ther...

The team bus of Liaoning Hongyun will be auctioned to help pay its former players, but it will take much more than that to raise the $850,000 that Jacob Mulenga says he is owed.

BENGALURU: India's COVID-19 infections crossed the 18 million mark on Thursday (Apr 29) with almost 380,000 new cases, breaking another world record for new daily infections. The explosion in infections, blamed in part on a new virus variant as wel...

QINGDAO: Chinese officials were waiting for better weather before deciding whether to siphon off the remaining cargo from a stricken tanker after hundreds of tonnes of oil spilled into the Yellow Sea after a collision in dense fog two days ago. The ...

The United States said on Thursday it was "deeply concerned" by a new Hong Kong immigration law which includes powers to stop people leaving the city, raising fears Chinese mainland-style exit bans could be deployed there.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he will not withdraw navy and coast guard boats patrolling the disputed South China Sea, insisting the country's sovereignty over the waters is not negotiable.

BEIJING: China on Thursday (Apr 29) launched the first module of its new space station, state television showed, a milestone in Beijing's ambitious plan to place a permanent human presence in space. The Tianhe core module, which houses life support ...

A devastating surge in coronavirus infections has exposed India's dilapidated health infrastructure and a deep shortage of oxygen -- a key treatment for seriously ill Covid-19 patients.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines said on Thursday (Apr 29) it will trial the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass, a mobile app that allows passengers to verify their COVID-19 test results and vaccination status. The trial wil...

DUBAI: Indians from the millions-strong expat community in the UAE, stranded in their homeland during a catastrophic COVID-19 surge, are swamping private jet operators with requests to whisk them back to safety. Fearing a prolonged flight ban betwee...

With more than 300,000 new cases a day and the death toll evidently much higher than reported, India is no one’s idea of a global leader, says Shashi Tharoor.

If two of Indonesia’s most valuable tech companies come together, they can take on bigger rivals. The question is whether this is too late, says David Kuo.

Indians struggled to register online for a mass vaccination drive set to begin at the weekend as the country's toll from the coronavirus shot past 200,000 on Wednesday (Apr 28), worsened by shortages of hospital beds and medical oxygen.

BANGKOK:  Long queues have returned to Thailand's unusually quiet international airport this week, after it converted its check-in area into an immunisation centre as part of efforts to speed up its COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Cordons and suitcases w...

Myanmar's military launched air assaults for the second day in a row into rebel-held territory after gunfire was heard from neighbouring Thailand, a Thai official said on Wednesday (Apr 28), as fighting escalates along the border.

China criticizes Japan over Fukushima treated water release

Tokyo Olympics organisers Wednesday said they won't decide how many spectators - if any - can attend the Games until June, as coronavirus surges raise fresh uncertainty.

JAKARTA: Indonesian police said Wednesday (Apr 28) they have smashed a drug smuggling ring that moved 2.5 tonnes of methamphetamine into the country from Afghanistan, a haul worth about US$82 million. One Indonesian suspect was shot dead while 17 o...

Hong Kong passed a new immigration law on Wednesday (Apr 28) that includes powers to stop people from entering or leaving the city, raising fears that Chinese mainland style "exit bans" could be deployed in the international business hub.

TOKYO: Japan has only used about a fifth of the COVID-19 vaccine doses it has imported so far, government data showed on Wednesday (Apr 28), underscoring logistical hurdles such as a shortage of medical staff as it grapples with a sluggish inoculatio...

JAKARTA: At least 10 people were killed in a gun battle between police and rebels in Indonesia's restive Papua region, authorities said, in an apparent retaliation for the execution of a top intelligence chief. The hours-long shootout Tuesday (Apr 2...

TOKYO: Thomas Bach, head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said on Wednesday (Apr 28) he fully understood the decision to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo to fight the coronavirus pandemic, and was committed to holding a safe, succe...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will abolish its primary school leaving examination from 2021, said Senior Education Minister Radzi Jidin on Wednesday (Apr 28).  The decision to abolish the (Primary School Achievement Test) UPSR was made after getting view...

MELBOURNE: Australians involved in the Indian Premier League (IPL) are "anxious" about how they will get home from the tournament as the COVID-19 crisis continues in India but they are not looking for any "free rides", the head of the players' union ...

BERLIN: BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin on Wednesday (Apr 28) voiced confidence that the vaccine that his company jointly developed with Pfizer works against the Indian variant of the coronavirus. "We are still testing the Indian variant, but the In...

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo reshuffled his Cabinet on Wednesday (Apr 28), after parliament approved his plan to reorganise several agencies while creating a new investment ministry.   This was his second Cabinet reshuffle in just...

NEW DELHI: The Indian Premier League (IPL) will continue as scheduled, a senior Indian cricket board official told Reuters on Wednesday (Apr 28), despite fierce criticism of the popular Twenty20 competition being played in the midst of the national C...

The young widow of an ageing Japanese real estate mogul was arrested on Wednesday (Apr 28) on suspicion of murdering the self-described "Don Juan" just months into their marriage, local media said, citing police sources.

TAIPEI: Chinese vaccine makers are looking at mixing their jabs and whether a booster shot could help better protect against COVID-19. Sinovac and Sinopharm, the two Chinese manufacturers that combined have exported hundreds of millions of doses all...

KUALA LUMPUR: The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will not be used in Malaysia’s mainstream national COVID-19 vaccination programme, said Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin. Speaking at a joint press conference with Mi...

Pakistan recorded more than two hundred COVID-19 deaths in a day for the first time since the start of the pandemic on Tuesday (Apr 27), as the government said it was considering stricter lockdowns.

BENGALURU: India's giant IT firms in Bengaluru and other cities have set up COVID-19 "war rooms" as they scramble to source oxygen, medicine and hospital beds for infected workers and maintain backroom operations for the world's biggest financial fir...

TAIPEI: Taiwan's government on Wednesday (Apr 28) accused China of waging economic warfare against the island's tech sector by stealing technology and enticing away engineers, as parliament considers strengthening legislation to prevent this. Taiwan...

Myanmar's pro-democracy unity government, which includes members of parliament ousted by the military coup, has told Southeast Asia's regional bloc that it will not engage in talks until the junta releases all political prisoners. The 10-member Asso...

SEOUL: South Korea said on Wednesday (Apr 28) it will offer some exemptions to mandatory quarantine measures for people who have been fully inoculated against COVID-19, in an effort to encourage more vaccinations. South Korea has so far vaccinated 4...

NEW DELHI: India's toll from the coronavirus surged past 200,000 on Wednesday (Apr 28), the country's deadliest day yet, as shortages of oxygen, medical supplies and hospital staff members compounded a record number of new infections. The second wa...

Himanshu Verma sighed in relief as a mask was fitted over his mother's face, allowing the Covid-19 sufferer to breathe in oxygen as she sat alongside a busy road on the outskirts of New Delhi.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's exports jumped 31 per cent in March from a year earlier, rising at their fastest pace in nearly four years, as the Southeast Asian country continued to shake off the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, government data showed on...