JAKARTA: The Indonesian government has unveiled broad emergency community restrictions on Thursday (Jul 1) for the islands of Java and Bali, as the country battles a spike in COVID-19 infections. Under the PPKM (community-level public activity restr...

TOKYO: When Kohei Jinno was evicted from his family home to clear the way for the construction of the National Stadium for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, he was sad but proud to contribute to Japan in a moment of national triumph. But when he was evicted ...

TOKYO: Japan is likely to extend coronavirus containment measures in the greater Tokyo area by at least two weeks, four government sources said on Thursday (Jul 1) as infection numbers creep up less than a month before the Olympics start.  Japan's ...

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Thursday (Jul 1) he would push to upgrade relations with China, his main ally, as he struggles to guide his country out of a deepening COVID-19 crisis.  Kim made the comments in a message to Chinese P...

Breastfeeding athletes will be allowed to bring children to the Tokyo Olympics "when necessary", organisers have announced, after criticism from mothers over tough rules on bringing family to the Games.

HONG KONG: Police were out in force across Hong Kong on Thursday (Jul 1), ready to stamp down on any sign of dissent as China's Communist Party celebrated its centenary, in a vivid illustration of how the once-outspoken finance hub has been muzzled....

TOKYO: Balancing a new software programming job and caring for a toddler in Tokyo, LaShawn Toyoda saw increasing confusion in her social media feeds among non-Japanese speakers about how they could get a COVID-19 vaccine. The 36-year-old, a former E...

BANGKOK: Thailand on Thursday (Jul 1) reported a daily record of 57 deaths from the coronavirus, the second day in a row of record-high fatalities as the Southeast Asian country struggles to quell a stubborn third wave of COVID-19 infections. The re...

SHANGHAI: Claims that Chinese solar firms are benefiting from forced labour in Xinjiang are unfounded and unfairly stigmatise firms with operations there, the country's solar association said. The United States last week banned imports from five Chi...

JAKARTA: Indonesian president Joko Widodo said on Thursday (Jul 1) that tougher social restrictions would be in place from Jul 3 until Jul 20 to stem a spike in coronavirus cases. "With cooperation from all of us and the grace of God, I'm certain th...

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Thursday (Jul 1) to complete "reunification" with self-ruled Taiwan and vowed to "smash" any attempts at formal independence, drawing a stern rebuke from Taipei which lambasted the Communist Party as a...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong has returned to order from chaos since China imposed a sweeping national security law on the global financial hub last year, the city's chief secretary John Lee said on Thursday (Jul 1).  Beijing imposed the security law just ...

BEIJING: President Xi Jinping hailed China's "irreversible" course from humiliated colony to great power at the centenary celebrations for the Chinese Communist Party on Thursday (Jul 1), in a speech reaching deep into history to remind patriots at h...

South Korea unveiled a 33 trillion won (US$29.2 billion) supplementary budget on Thursday, the largest on record for extra spending outside its annual budget, to offer pandemic relief to households, aid small businesses and create jobs.

SHENYANG, Liaoning: The monotonous purr of traffic on Zhaogong South Street is interrupted incessantly by the whirrs and chatter from a small row of car workshops. Rising up from behind - a block of peach coloured low-rise apartments. The smell of pa...

BANGKOK: The popular resort island of Phuket in southern Thailand reopened to international tourism on Thursday (Jul 1) after COVID-19 halted arrivals for more than a year. Tourists are no longer required to undergo any quarantine if they have been ...

With the pandemic inducing lockdowns and affecting migration patterns, food security is the unexpected collateral damage, says NUS’ Vani Swarupa Murali.

Tokopedia complements Gojek’s core business and extends its reach even further into Indonesia, say business researchers.

Myanmar authorities released more than 2,000 anti-coup protesters from prisons across Myanmar on Wednesday, including local journalists jailed after reporting critically on the junta's bloody crackdown.

Hong Kong authorities have used a new national security law to target dissent and justify "censorship, harassment, arrests and prosecutions that violate human rights", Amnesty International said on Wednesday, a year after the law was implemented.

Hong Kong police rearrested a prominent democracy activist after revoking her bail Wednesday, the eve of a sensitive double anniversary of the city's handover to China and the Communist Party's centenary.

Cambodia on Wednesday reported record daily rises in coronavirus deaths and cases, reaching what its government called the "red line" in its biggest outbreak so far.

TAIPEI: A seven-year-old Taiwanese boy who was in a coma for more than two months after he was repeatedly thrown to the floor during a judo class has died, a hospital said on Wednesday (Jun 30). The boy, who was only identified by his family name ...

BANGKOK: The inter-governmental Mekong River Commission (MRC) has urged China and Southeast Asian countries to share more data on hydropower operations that can contribute to abnormal rises and falls in water levels on the vital waterway. The change...

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Writing in his capacity as secretary-general of the People’s Action Party (PAP), Mr Lee not...

South Korea's capital Seoul and its neighbouring regions will delay by a week the relaxation of social distancing rules due to a sudden increase in COVID-19 cases, authorities said.

China will mark the centenary of the founding of its ruling Communist Party on Thursday with pomp, spectacle, and what state media described as an "important" speech by President Xi Jinping in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

TAIPEI: The United States and Taiwan on Wednesday (Jun 30) restarted trade talks after five years as Washington moves to boost its ties with the island despite China's objections. The talks resumed after the two sides reconvened the Trade and Invest...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Senate President Rais Yatim and House of Representatives Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun on Wednesday (Jun 30) proposed that a special sitting be held before Aug 1, following a decree by the king. The parliament leaders made the ...

PHUKET: As Thailand's government prepares to celebrate its reopening to foreign tourists this week, many businesses on the holiday island of Phuket aren't so enthusiastic about the return of visitors. Phuket is a pilot programme for Thailand's reboo...

KUALA LUMPUR: The deputy speaker of Malaysia's lower house of parliament Mohd Rashid Hasnon apologised on Wednesday (Jun 30) for causing confusion over a viral video showing him attending an event in his constituency in Batu Pahat, Johor.   His a...

Indonesia is finalising emergency social restrictions aimed a containing a surge in coronavirus cases in the world's fourth most populous country, President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong media group Next Digital, owned by jailed tycoon Jimmy Lai, will cease operating from July 1, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. The memo, shared by two of its employees separately, said assets linked to the comp...

The outback town of Alice Springs became the latest Australian population centre to lockdown Wednesday, as anger mounts over the country's slow coronavirus vaccine rollout.

Myanmar is negotiating the purchase of 7 million doses of Russia's Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine, the head of its junta said, as authorities try to tackle a new wave of coronavirus infections.  In an interview with Russia's RIA news agency, Senior Gene...

HONG KONG: For 22-year old Timmin Lam, who is studying in Manchester, the ban on flights from the United Kingdom to Hong Kong this week is the latest in a series of unrelenting measures that have prevented him from travelling home for almost two year...

Hong Kong authorities have arrested 117 people under a national security law imposed one year ago, charging more than 60, mostly democratic politicians, activists, journalists and students.

DENPASAR: Indonesian rescuers were searching for 11 people still missing after a passenger ferry sank off the coast of Bali in rough seas, killing at least seven, authorities said Wednesday (Jun 30). Dozens of survivors were plucked from the water ...

KUALA LUMPUR: Five Asian countries are responsible for 80 per cent of new coal power stations planned worldwide, with the projects threatening goals to fight the climate crisis, a report warned on Wednesday (Jun 30). China, India, Indonesia, Japan a...

YANGON: With bars shuttered, universities empty and hook-up apps poleaxed by Internet blackouts, dating got much harder in post-coup Myanmar, but young people are still finding love - often in the heady rush of anti-junta protests. Since the militar...

JAKARTA: The Indonesian government is formulating tighter measures to curb a second wave of COVID-19 infections, said a minister’s spokesperson, while urging the public to stay calm amid speculation on social media over a possible lockdown. This c...

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un replaced several senior officials after a "grave incident" in the country's efforts to defend itself against the coronavirus pandemic, state media reported on Wednesday (Jun 30). Pyongyang closed its borders in...

GENEVA: China was certified as malaria-free on Wednesday (Jun 30) by the World Health Organization (WHO) following a 70-year effort to eradicate the mosquito-borne disease.  The country reported 30 million cases of the infectious disease annually ...

TOKYO: Japan is considering an extension of its COVID-19 prevention measures in Tokyo and other areas by two weeks to a month, Japanese media said, with less than a month to go until the Tokyo Summer Olympics are set to open. The Japanese capital an...

SEOUL: A former South Korean prosecutor-general announced on Tuesday (Jun 29) his candidacy in next year's presidential election with a fierce attack on what he called the "corrupt and incompetent" administration of President Moon Jae-in. Moon is li...

SEOUL: A drone spraying red and yellow chemicals was taken down by South Korea special forces on Tuesday (Jun 29) as they conducted a drill in Seoul to prepare for any attack as growing numbers of the remotely controlled devices take to the skies abo...

When it comes to Washington’s relations with Southeast Asia, the Biden Administration is not faring much better than its predecessor but vaccines can help, says an analyst.

Suppression laws are unlikely to stop South Korean influence and are certain to exacerbate the country’s current woes, says a writer.

Police in India have registered three new cases against Twitter for allegedly hurting sentiments and promoting child pornography, marking an escalation in the row between the US firm and Indian authorities.

Thailand lost 550,000 tourism jobs in the second quarter, a private industry group said on Tuesday, as the tourism-reliant economy struggles with a third wave of coronavirus infections.

HONG KONG: A former senior journalist at Hong Kong's now-closed newspaper Apple Daily was released from custody on Tuesday, two days after he was arrested at the airport, media reported. Fung Wai-kong, 57, became the latest person from the media out...

Workers at Malaysian palm oil company IOI Corp are mistreated by managers, face poor living conditions and pay high recruitment fees, according to a report to be published on Wednesday by human rights group Finnwatch.

India on Tuesday authorised the emergency use of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine as it seeks to ramp up its vaccination drive in the wake of a record-breaking surge in infections and deaths.

YANGON: Ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi asked the people of Myanmar to stay "united" in the face of military rule, her lawyers said on Tuesday (Jun 29), as she reappeared in a junta court. The Nobel laureate, and daughter of independence hero General...

SINGAPORE: Forty-one suspects were arrested or investigated in Hong Kong and Singapore for their involvement in transnational job scams, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Tuesday (Jun 29). Fourteen alleged "core members" of the scam syndicate...

Indonesia's COVID-19 surge is on the edge of a "catastrophe" as the more infectious Delta variant dominates transmission and chokes hospitals in Southeast Asia's worst epidemic, the Red Cross said on Tuesday.

Zuellig Pharma, Moderna Inc's supply partner for COVID-19 vaccines in Southeast Asia, said on Tuesday that regional orders for the mRNA vaccine were almost fully booked for this year.

MUMBAI: India's western state of Maharashtra is training thousands of health workers in how to care for children afflicted with COVID-19 as a first line of defence against surges involving new variants, health officials and experts said on Tuesday (J...

China has announced a temporary ban on its fishing fleet -- the world's biggest -- from catching squid in parts of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans after overfishing pushed populations to the brink of collapse.

BANGKOK: The military takeover in Myanmar has given the junta full control of the country’s lucrative and conflict-ridden jade mining, providing it with profits and leverage for consolidating power, researchers said on Tuesday (Jun 29). A flareup...

U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor told a Tokyo court on Tuesday he regretted helping Carlos Ghosn flee Japan and said the former Nissan Motor Co Ltd chairman should have stayed to face trial for alleged financial misconduct.

A deputy speaker of parliament indicated after the royal audience that proceedings could resume "soon".

Tokyo tattoo artist Ichi Hatano's usual business has dwindled during the pandemic, but now he's keen to mine a new stream of income at Japan's first crypto art exhibition.

TOKYO: Tokyo has decided to move the first half of the 15-day Olympic torch relay scheduled to take place in the capital off public roads, the metropolitan government said on Tuesday (Jun 29), as coronavirus infection numbers show signs of surging ag...

Asia is seeing a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections. What challenges does this pose for global supply chains and will these disruptions push up prices for consumers? Money Mind finds out.

NEW DELHI: India has administered more COVID-19 vaccine doses in the last two weeks than the number of people who signed up for shots during the period, government data showed on Tuesday (Jun 29), signalling improving supplies after widespread shorta...

South Korea plans to secure more mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 to use them as a booster shot next year for its entire population, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on Tuesday.

JAKARTA: Indonesia's government will wait until COVID-19 cases fall significantly before opening Bali to foreign tourists, the country's tourism minister said in an interview. The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the economy of Bali, for decades ...

MANILA: President Rodrigo Duterte has prolonged restrictions on movement and businesses in the Philippine capital and nearby provinces until mid-July, and retained stricter COVID-19 curbs in central and southern areas, an official said on Tuesday (Ju...

Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi sent a message to the people from detention on Monday (Jun 28) urging them to be "more cautious" of COVID-19, her lawyer said, as the number of daily cases hit the highest since mid-December. Myanmar's he...

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Chinese Communist Party members to remain loyal and continue to serve the people, after awarding a new medal of the highest honour to 29 party members on Tuesday.

A Hindu group has filed a complaint with police against Twitter's country head for showing regions outside a map of India on its website, kickstarting an investigation in a fresh headache for the U.S. tech firm.

South Korea's large manufacturing employers have received permission from the country's health authorities to administer COVID-19 vaccines at in-house clinics, hoping to speed up inoculation of their employees.

A further 410,000 doses of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in Taiwan on Wednesday, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen said on Tuesday, further boosting the island's efforts to fight a cluster of local infections.

At the height of her eating disorder Zhang Qinwen was the weight of a child. Her hair fell out, she was unable to walk and she could barely see.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani expatriate workers desperate to obtain a Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot so they can travel to work in Saudi Arabia stormed a vaccination centre in Islamabad on Monday (Jun 28), witnesses said.  Saudi Arabia, whic...

SHANGHAI: At the house where Mao Zedong and 12 others met 100 years ago to found the Chinese Communist Party, President Xi Jinping recently led his politburo in reciting an oath to uphold principles and "sacrifice everything" for the party and the pe...

Japan's deputy defence minister on Monday warned of the growing threat posed by Chinese and Russian collaboration and said it was necessary to "wake up" to Beijing's pressure on Taiwan and protect the island "as a democratic country".

BANGKOK: Owners of eateries in Bangkok and nearby provinces were left frustrated after a ban on dining-in was reimposed on Monday (Jun 28), a week after the government relaxed COVID-19 control measures. The ban was announced late Saturday night afte...

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday (Jun 28) that Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao should name corrupt government offices to prove that the boxer-turned-lawmaker is not just politicking ahead of a presidential election next year.

GENEVA: Australia has filed a formal complaint to the World Trade Organization over China's duties on bottled wine imports, the WTO confirmed on Monday (Jun 28). The dispute is the second that Canberra has launched at the global trade body against C...

NAYPYIDAW: A junta trial of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi will run longer than scheduled, her lawyers said on Monday (Jun 28), with the prosecution still to call nearly two dozen witnesses. The coup-ousted leader, who is under house arrest, faces an ec...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong will ban all passenger flights from the United Kingdom from Thursday (Jul 1) to curb the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19, the government said on Monday. Britain will be specified as extremely high-risk, and people who h...

Malaysia will roll out a 150 billion ringgit (US$36.22 billion) aid package to help the economy recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Monday.

HUAXI: It was a gilt-edged gift to Communist propaganda: A village led by a Party visionary who transformed farmers into millionaires while tacking close to China's collectivist ideals. But Huaxi's success story has soured, sunk by a pernicious brew...

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Monday (Jun 28) that COVID-19 vaccination for those aged 12 to 17 can start immediately.  This came after the country’s food and drug agency (BPOM) approved the emergency use of China's Sinova...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong police on Monday (Jun 28) denied permission for a rally on Jul 1, the 24th anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule, citing coronavirus restrictions, the organisers said. Tens of thousands of resident...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin unveiled a new economic stimulus package worth RM150 billion (US$36.2 billion) on Monday (Jun 28), in an attempt to mitigate the impacts of a continued total lockdown.  Speaking during ...

BEIJING: China is marking the centenary of its ruling Communist Party this week by heralding what it says is its growing influence abroad, along with success in battling corruption at home. Party officials on Monday (Jun 28) heaped praise on Preside...

Thousands of people were stranded in Bangladesh's capital on Monday (Jun 28) as authorities halted almost all public transport ahead of a sweeping lockdown imposed to combat a deadly resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

Taiwan reported on Monday its lowest daily rise in domestic COVID-19 infections in 1-1/2 months, as the island's outbreak stabilises, although the government remains wary about a cluster of the highly contagious Delta variant.

Indonesia's health minister is leading a push for stricter controls as coronavirus cases surge to unprecedented levels, according to sources familiar with government discussions.

Indonesia on Monday laid out a government proposal for an overhaul of tax regulations, including introducing a programme to report undisclosed assets, bringing in a carbon tax and hiking the value added tax rate, its finance minister said.

There is no way there will be zero coronavirus cases among athletes arriving for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, so border controls need to be stict to stop the spread, said Japanese Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita at a news conference o...

HAGATNA, Guam: The US territory of Guam will offer visitors a COVID-19 vaccine with their tropical holiday in a bid to restart its struggling tourism industry.  Dubbed "Air V&V" - vacation and vaccination - the programme is primarily aimed at US ex...

DHAKA: At least seven people were killed and more than 50 injured in an explosion in the Bangladesh capital late on Sunday (Jun 27), police said.  The cause of the blast, which occurred on the ground floor of a three-storey building on a busy stre...

SREENAGAR, Bangladesh: Tens of thousands of migrant workers fled Bangladesh's capital on Sunday (Jun 27) on the eve of a tightened lockdown that will curtail most economic activity and confine people to their homes as coronavirus infections soar. Re...

SEOUL: Huons Global Co said on Monday (Jun 28) its South Korean consortium plans to begin production of a single-dose Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine from as early as September. The plan followed a request by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)...

MULTAN, Pakistan: Pakistan’s foreign minister said on Sunday (Jun 27) that violence and lawlessness could reign in Afghanistan after the US' withdrawal, and that Pakistan would shut its border to the country if the Taliban takes control of it. Sha...

SEOUL: Everyone in North Korea is heartbroken over leader Kim Jong Un's apparent weight loss, said an unidentified resident of Pyongyang quoted on the country's tightly controlled state media, after watching recent video footage of Kim. The rare pub...