More than 2,000 people have fled from a volcano eruption that has filled the air near the Philippine capital with toxic gas, officials said Saturday.

TikTok was running again in Pakistan Saturday after a provincial court lifted suspension of the popular social media service but ordered it to address complaints that it hosted objectionable content.

TOKYO: A huge landslide swept away homes and left 19 people missing at a popular resort town in central Japan on Saturday (Jul 3) after days of heavy rain, local officials said. Television footage showed a torrent of mud obliterating some buildings ...

FAIRFAX: Journalist Nathan Maung turned to meditation when he was jailed for reporting on Myanmar's bloody coup, but even back home in sleepy Virginia, he can't forget those left behind, including a colleague still at the mercy of their jailers. In ...

The Indonesian unit of AirAsia Group Bhd will temporarily stop all flights for a month from July 6 to support the government's effort to limit a spike in COVID-19 cases, the company said on Saturday.

JAKARTA: Indonesia imposed a partial lockdown on Saturday (Jul 3) in the capital Jakarta, across the main island of Java and on Bali as the Southeast Asian nation grapples with an unprecedented wave of coronavirus infections.  Mosques, restaurants ...

NEW YORK: A US judge on Friday (Jul 2) said a South Korean man wanted on embezzlement charges related to a 2014 ferry sinking that killed 304 people, mainly high school students, is subject to extradition to his home country. US Magistrate Judge J...

WASHINGTON: The United States will ship 4 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine to Indonesia as it battles a coronavirus outbreak, the US national security adviser told the Indonesian foreign minister on Friday (Jul 2). In a call with Retno M...

It emerged as a party tapping into youthful idealism but can it keep the current generation of young Chinese plugged into its revolutionary genes, asks an observer.

With pressures mounting on the northern frontier, India knows it cannot afford escalating tensions to its west, says Shashi Tharoor.

Louis Lee distributed a few hundred packets of nasi lemak and chicken rice for Malaysians based in Singapore as well as cabbies from his stall at Owen Road.

WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee will resume work later this month on Democratic-led legislation intended to boost competitiveness with China and push Beijing on human rights, after two days of debate on the meas...

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration on Friday (Jul 3) hit 22 senior Myanmar officials and family members with sanctions over the government’s crackdown on democracy protests after the coup.  The action was accompanied by the removal of sanctions...

GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO), which is advising the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the run-up to the Tokyo Games opening later this month, is urging caution so as to stem the spread of the coronavirus, a senior WHO official s...

TOKYO: Tokyo Olympics organisers will not insist on allowing spectators "at all costs", the head of the Games organising committee said on Friday (Jul 2), amid concerns about a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections three weeks before the sports extravaga...

SRINAGAR, India: Five suspected rebels and a soldier were killed on Friday (Jul 2) in the latest of a series of clashes in Indian Kashmir that have left 17 dead in two weeks, police said. The six died in a gunfight in the Rajpora area of the Kashmi...

Indonesia will increase social assistance and healthcare spending in response to a spike in COVID-19 cases and to soften the economic blow of tougher restrictions taking effect this week, its finance minister said on Friday (Jul 2).

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong police officer who was stabbed in the back has been moved from critical to serious condition, officials said on Friday (Jul 2), indicating a likely recovery from the incident in which the assailant later stabbed himself and die...

Malaysian palm oil giant IOI Corp will undergo an audit to assess the compliance of its labour policies and working conditions at its plantations, the firm said on Friday, following a report by a human rights group alleging violations.

BANGKOK: Thailand will speed up inoculations of elderly and medically vulnerable people to reduce the number of coronavirus patients in critical condition, officials said on Friday (Jul 2), as the country reported a third successive day of record dea...

TOKYO: Japanese prosecutors said on Friday (Jul 2) they are seeking jail sentences of nearly three years for an American father-son duo who admit helping former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn jump bail and flee Japan. Former special forces operative Micha...

TAIPEI: Hundreds of people from Taiwan eager to get the COVID-19 vaccine have booked tours to Guam after the US Pacific territory offered jabs to foreign visitors, a travel agency said on Friday (Jul 2).  Guam, for which tourism is a major economic...

NEW DELHI: Tens of millions of people in India were suffering on Friday (Jul 2) as a severe heatwave pushed the temperature to a nine-year high in Delhi as monsoon rains run behind schedule.  Heatwaves have killed more than 6,500 people in the worl...

TAIPEI: Taiwan will postpone four referendums due late next month because of fears about the spread of COVID-19, the election commission said on Friday (Jul 2), as the government raced to contain a new outbreak at a Taipei wholesale food market. Tai...

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong court denied bail on Friday (Jul 2) to pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-tung, who was re-arrested on the eve of the anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Beijing and the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party...

YANGON: Myanmar authorities imposed stay-at-home-measures on the country's second city on Friday (Jul 2) as coronavirus cases in the coup-wracked country surge, with many health workers striking to protest against the junta. Inhabitants of Mandalay...

HONG KONG: A Philippine domestic worker who was sexually abused by her Hong Kong employer will take the city's police to court over their decision not to classify her as a victim of human trafficking, her lawyers said on Friday (Jul 2). Activists ha...

China's market regulator issued draft rules on Friday to punish illegal pricing activities, including heavy subsidies and the practice by online platforms of charging different prices based on a customers' purchasing behaviour.

HANOI: Netflix has removed Australian spy drama Pine Gap from its services in Vietnam after a complaint from broadcast authorities in the Southeast Asian country about the appearance of a map which depicts Chinese claims in the South China Sea. The...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's highest court on Friday (Jul 2) ordered news portal Malaysiakini to pay RM550,000 (US$132,180) in damages for a defamation case filed by a now-defunct Australian mining firm. The ruling comes amid concern among activists abo...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Takiyuddin Hassan said on Friday (Jul 2) that parliament will be reconvened before Aug 1.  In a statement, he said: "The federal government has always upheld the views of the k...

SHANGHAI: China will provide funding to build new institutions and infrastructure to fight infectious diseases and improve healthcare, the state planning body said in a "five-year plan" for the sector. The central government will subsidise the const...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Friday (Jul 2) said it had received the first payment of RM1.8 billion (US$432.38 million) from banking group AMMB Holdings (AmBank), as part of a settlement deal related to multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1Malays...

Cambodia reported 32 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday (Jul 2), a record daily increase, as authorities warned of the risk of a new wave of infections driven by the Delta variant.

Malaysia's predominant human trafficking crime is forced labour, the U.S State Department said on Friday, after downgrading the Southeast Asian country to the worst tier in its annual report on human trafficking.

SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in exchanged letters exploring prospects for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ahead of his own meeting in May with US President Joe Biden, the South's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said on Friday (Jul 2)....

MUMBAI: India's official death toll from the coronavirus topped 400,000 on Friday (Jul 2), though experts say the actual number of dead could have reached 1 million or even higher, with a possible third wave of infections looming. India added 100,00...

TOKYO: It might not make the cut for Olympians at Tokyo 2020, but each day in Japan's parks, schools and offices millions perform the country's most popular stretching routine: Radio taiso. The three-minute drills, usually done to piano music with e...

SYDNEY: Australia announced a dramatic cut in the number of people who will be allowed to enter the country on Friday (Jul 2), as it struggles to contain coronavirus clusters that plunged major cities into lockdown. With almost half of the nation's ...

TOKYO: Japan's prime minister has warned that the Tokyo Olympics could be held behind closed doors, as COVID-19 cases rise in the city just three weeks before the Games begin. Organisers decided last month to set a limit of 10,000 spectators or half...

BANGKOK: A court in Myanmar on Thursday (Jul 1) extended the pretrial detention of Danny Fenster, a US journalist employed by an online news magazine who was arrested in May on an incitement charge that carries a penalty of up to three years’ impr...

HONG KONG: The 50-year-old man who stabbed a Hong Kong policeman on the anniversary of the city's return to Chinese rule on Thursday (Jul 1) was a "lone wolf" who committed a terrorist act, Secretary for Security Chris Tang said. Police said late on...

TAIPEI: Taiwan has chosen to get the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine via the COVAX global sharing scheme for lower income countries, the company said on Friday (Jul 2), which would add much needed shots to the island's immunisation programme. Taiwan's vacc...

SEOUL: South Korea's daily count of coronavirus cases topped 800 on Thursday (Jul 1), the highest since Jan 7 due to new cluster infections and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, officials said on Friday. The government had relaxed...

South Korea's central bank will need to adjust the extent of loose monetary policy to better tackle the growing financial imbalances, a joint statement from the Bank of Korea and the finance ministry showed on Friday.

The notion of pop music-loving teenagers challenging the state is rather fanciful, but the hope for change still lies in them, says Robert Kelly.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Myanmar's military on Thursday to release Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint now, a UN spokesperson said on Thursday, a day after thousands of other detainees were freed.

WASHINGTON: The United States said on Thursday (Jul 1) that the coronavirus pandemic has created an "ideal environment" for human trafficking to thrive as governments divert resources to the health crisis and traffickers take advantage of vulnerable...

French magistrates have opened an inquiry into allegations four fashion groups including Uniqlo and the owner of Zara profited from forced labour of the Uyghur minority in China, a judicial source said on Thursday (Jul 1).

WASHINGTON: The United States said on Thursday (Jul 1) China's rapid build-up of its nuclear forces was concerning and called on Beijing to engage with it "on practical measures to reduce the risks of destabilising arms races". The build-up had b...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday landed an insulting verbal blow on boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, seen as a possible successor in next year's presidential election.

YANGON: Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Myanmar's biggest city Yangon on Thursday (Jul 1), setting fire to an army uniform and chanting calls for democracy five months after a military coup ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The p...

KUALA LUMPUR: The U.S. State Department will downgrade Malaysia to the worst ranking in its closely watched annual report on human trafficking to be released later on Thursday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The downgrade com...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian budget airline AirAsia Group said on Thursday (Jul 1) its fintech unit has bid for a digital banking licence in the country as part of a consortium. BigPay, the unit, has partnered with Malaysian Industrial Development Financ...

PHNOM PENH: The United States has ended its programme with Cambodia to send students to top American military academies, a US embassy official said on Thursday (Jul 1), marking the latest sign of strains in the relations between the two countries. ...

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government will implement an enhanced movement control order (EMCO) in many parts of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur for a period of 14 days, said Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Thursday (Jul 1). The curbs will b...

South Korean military prosecution demanded a five-year prison term for disgraced former K-pop star Seungri over charges stemming from a sex and drug scandal, reports said on Thursday (Jul 1).

Bangladesh's 168 million people on Thursday began a strict coronavirus lockdown while Indonesia announced emergency curbs as infections surged across parts of the Asia-Pacific.

MANILA: Authorities in the Philippines started evacuating thousands of people on Thursday (Jul 1) after the alert status was raised on a restive volcano that spewed a 1km-high plume of gas and steam. The alert for the Taal volcano, about 70km south ...

BANGKOK: The popular Thai resort island of Phuket reopened to tourists from overseas on Thursday (Jul 1) after more than a year without international arrivals due to COVID-19. It is the first province in Thailand to welcome back international visit...

JAKARTA: Indonesian business groups on Thursday (Jul 1) urged authorities to ensure there is enough financial support for companies, warning that otherwise new restrictions to tackle a surge in COVID-19 cases could result in layoffs and bankruptcies....

MELBOURNE: Japan's prime minister said on Thursday (Jul 1) it was possible the Olympics would be held without spectators as Samoa withdrew its weightlifting team from the Games, in the latest setback for Tokyo's fraught efforts to stage the world's b...

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: Police deployed in the streets of Hong Kong in large numbers on Thursday (Jul 1) to prevent protests on the anniversary of its return to Chinese rule, and its acting leader said a national security law had brought order back to the city ...

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...

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...