MOSCOW: The first test batch of Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 has been produced in Vietnam, Russia's sovereign wealth fund RDIF and Vietnamese pharmaceutical firm Vabiotech said on Wednesday.

A group of seven airlines are seeking a combined 5 billion baht in low interest loans from the government to help weather the effects of the coronavirus crisis, the Thai Airlines Association said on Wednesday.

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has reiterated details of businesses and public venues that are closed or allowed to open from Tuesday.

The ban on domestic passenger flights to or from 13 dark-red zones of maximum and strict Covid-19 control took effect on Wednesday.

State-run Transport Company has suspended all bus services on the northern, northeastern, eastern and southern routes, except parcel deliveries, from July 21-Aug 2.

HONG KONG: Police arrested the former executive editor-in-chief of the now-closed pro-democracy Apple Daily tabloid on Wednesday, local media reported, the latest arrest in a national security investigation of media tycoon Jimmy Lai's newspaper.

TOKYO: The Tokyo Olympics sports programme finally opened after a year's pandemic delay with softball in disaster-hit Fukushima on Wednesday as the Games suffered their first drugs controversy.

A plan has been drawn up to help people infected with Covid-19 return to their home provinces for treatment, health permanent secretary Kiatiphum Wongrajit said on Wednesday.

The Social Security Office (SSO) on Tuesday clarified the latest aid payouts to workers affected by Covid-19, apparently to dispel confusion over eligibility and compensation amounts.

The cabinet has agreed to extend the "Ying Chai Ying Dai" scheme aimed at spurring public spending, according to the government spokesman team.