World / Asia

Record COVID cases in Tokyo, heavy snow curtail New Year celebrations in Japan 31 Dec 2020 - 11:50 am

TOKYO: New coronavirus infections in Tokyo hit a record high of more than 1,300 on Thursday raising fears of an explosion in cases,...

Australia's biggest city tightens COVID-19 curbs for New Year's Eve 30 Dec 2020 - 12:54 pm

SYDNEY: Authorities restricted movement and tightened curbs on gatherings in Australia's biggest city on Wednesday, hoping to avoid a coronavirus "super spreader" event...

US sale of Hong Kong consulate property held up by China 30 Dec 2020 - 12:46 pm

Hong Kong: The sale of property owned by the US consulate in Hong Kong failed to be completed as scheduled on Wednesday after...

Taiwan firms up AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, finds new UK variant 30 Dec 2020 - 10:45 am

TAIPEI: Taiwan has agreed to buy almost 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including 10 million from AstraZeneca Plc, the government said on...

Singapore begins COVID-19 vaccinations marking "new chapter" in virus fight 30 Dec 2020 - 09:55 am

SINGAPORE: Singapore began vaccinating healthcare workers with Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, kicking off one of Asia's first inoculation programmes against a pandemic...

China Sinopharm’s vaccine has 79.34% protection rate against COVID-19 30 Dec 2020 - 08:07 am

BEIJING: A COVID-19 vaccine developed by a Beijing firm linked to Sinopharm has a protection rate of 79.34% against the disease, the firm...

Moderna in talks with South Korea to supply about 40 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccine 30 Dec 2020 - 12:41 am

SEOUL - Moderna Inc said on Tuesday it was in discussions with the South Korean government to potentially provide 40 million or more...

Thailand warns of stricter measures if virus not contained 29 Dec 2020 - 02:36 pm

BANGKOK: Thailand warned on Tuesday that more intensive measures might be necessary to halt its worst coronavirus outbreak yet and urged the public...

China's capital locks down part of district in coronavirus fight 29 Dec 2020 - 01:24 pm

BEIJING: Beijing sealed off 10 areas of its northeastern Shunyi district on Tuesday, the first lockdown in the Chinese capital since the last...

Bangladesh moves biggest group of Rohingya to isolated island 29 Dec 2020 - 12:15 pm

Bhashan Char, Bangladesh: Four Bangladesh navy ships on Tuesday took the second and biggest group of Rohingya Muslims yet from crowded refugee camps...

Indonesia secures vaccine deals with Pfizer, AstraZeneca 29 Dec 2020 - 10:31 am

JAKARTA: Indonesia is finalising deals to secure 50 million doses of coronavirus vaccines from drugmakers Pfizer and AstraZeneca, the new health minister said...

First U.S. troops vaccinated in S.Korea as country reports record coronavirus deaths 29 Dec 2020 - 09:41 am

SEOUL: American troops stationed in South Korea received the first doses of coronavirus vaccine to be administered in the country on Tuesday, as...

Philippines expands travel ban to limit spread of coronavirus variant 29 Dec 2020 - 08:20 am

MANILA: The Philippines will ban travellers from 19 countries and territories until mid-January as a measure to keep out a new variant of...

India finds six cases of new coronavirus variant in UK arrivals 29 Dec 2020 - 08:13 am

Bengaluru: India has found six people who returned from Britain in recent weeks infected with a more infectious strain of the coronavirus that...

Coronavirus variant from South Africa found in Japan 28 Dec 2020 - 10:21 pm

TOKYO - Japan on Monday detected a coronavirus variant found in South Africa, the government said, the first such discovery in a nation...

Second Taiwan-born panda cub makes media debut 28 Dec 2020 - 04:06 pm

Taipei: A second Taiwan-born giant panda made her media debut on Monday, clambering over a wooden climbing frame and playing with sawdust to...

Philippine president signs $93.7 bln national budget for 2021 28 Dec 2020 - 02:40 pm

MANILA: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte signed on Monday a 4.5 trillion pesos ($93.7 billion) budget for next year, the country's largest yet, to...