Search results for: Asia

India's govt adviser says second-wave of Covid-19 not over yet

Reuters 2021-07-10 11:26:11

India's devastating second coronavirus wave, which has raged since March and killed thousands of people, is not over yet, a senior government official said on Friday, warning citizens to avoid crowdin...

We control over 85pc of Afghan territory, Taliban says

-- 2021-07-09 18:27:38

A Taliban delegation in Moscow said on Friday that the group controlled over 85 per cent of territory in Afghanistan and reassured Russia it would not allow the country to be used as a platform to att...

Five years after South China Sea ruling, China's presence around Philippines growing

Reuters 2021-07-09 12:24:51

Filipino fisherman Randy Megu has often braved the storms that spring up in the South China Sea, but these days he has a greater fear: seeing a Chinese maritime enforcement vessel on the horizon. Fiv...

Lebanese teachers flee as financial crisis builds

Reuters 2021-07-08 17:26:10

Sorbonne-educated Chryssoula Fayad spent nearly two decades teaching history and geography at Lebanon's elite French schools, ultimately heading departments. Now she is a substitute teacher in Paris,...

Afghan forces retake provincial capital after Taliban incursion

Reuters 2021-07-08 16:46:21

Afghan government forces on Thursday wrested back control of a western provincial capital stormed by the Taliban a day earlier and hundreds of fresh troops have been deployed to the region, the defenc...

Thailand's plans to fully re-open in doubt as Covid cases surge

-- 2021-07-08 13:40:11

Thailand's plan to re-open the country to foreign tourists in about 100 days has been thrown into doubt as it sees a new spike in Covid cases. Some 7,000 cases and 75 deaths were reported on Thur...

Russia offers North Korea Covid vaccines once again as crisis deepens

-- 2021-07-08 12:08:48

Russia has offered North Korea Covid vaccines once again, amid reports that a harsh lockdown is leading to extreme hunger. Pyongyang has refused vaccines and aid from a number of countries....

Global COVID death toll tops 4 million

-- 2021-07-08 10:27:20

More than four million people around the world have died of COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU). In total, three countries account for more than a third of all global deat...

Japan set to declare coronavirus emergency for Tokyo

Reuters 2021-07-08 09:37:27

Japan is set to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo through August 22 to contain a new wave of coronavirus infections, a key minister said on Thursday, as the organisers consider banning all specta...

Modi govt inducts 43 new ministers

-- 2021-07-07 22:06:42

Under fire for its poor handling of the Covid second wave and the economy, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government carried out a mega Cabinet rejig Wednesday, inducting as many as 43 new Mini...

India’s 12 ministers resign ahead of big cabinet reshuffle

-- 2021-07-07 20:25:53

Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mega cabinet expansion, 12 ministers and state ministers of the central government of the country have resigned from their posts. India’s ce...

Taliban fighters enter capital of northwestern Afghan province

REUTERS 2021-07-07 19:42:23

Taliban insurgents on Wednesday stormed the capital of Afghanistan's northwestern Badghis province, officials said, briefly taking over police headquarters and sparking panic among local people. Offi...

India will resume vaccine exports this quarter, global alliance hopes

-- 2021-07-07 18:53:52

The GAVI vaccine alliance hopes the Serum Institute of India (SII) will resume exports of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from this quarter, it told Reuters, earlier than the firm's forecast of the e...

Sydney’s lockdown extended by another week as Delta Covid-19 variant spreads

-- 2021-07-07 13:42:54

The leader of Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state on Wednesday ordered a week-long extension of Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown, warning new cases are bound to rise as the country's biggest city grappl...

ASEAN aims to speed up plan to end Myanmar crisis

Reuters 2021-07-07 12:22:58

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was working to expedite the implementation of a five-point consensus reached by their leaders to deal with the crisis in Myanmar, Singapore's foreign...

Iran takes steps to make enriched uranium metal

Reuters 2021-07-07 09:45:11

Iran has begun the process of producing enriched uranium metal, the UN atomic watchdog said on Tuesday, a move that could help it develop a nuclear weapon and that three European powers said threatene...

Israel blocks law that keeps out Palestinian spouses

AP 2021-07-06 18:46:33

Israel’s parliament early on Tuesday failed to renew a law that bars Arab citizens from extending citizenship or residency rights to spouses from the occupied West Bank and Gaza, in a tight vote...

Rescuers resume search for 24 missing in Japan landslides

REUTERS 2021-07-06 18:43:28

Rescuers in Japan waded through mud, rock and splintered wood in search of 24 people still missing on Tuesday after heavy rain triggered massive landslides in the seaside city of Atami three days ago,...

Modi greets Dalai Lama on birthday in rare phone call

-- 2021-07-06 16:14:26

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi let the world know on Tuesday that he had rung Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to wish him a happy 86th birthday, disregarding any potential disapproval fro...

Plane with 28 people on board goes missing in Russia

Reuters 2021-07-06 12:04:14

A Russian AN-26 airplane with 28 people on board has gone missing in the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia's far east, the country's emergencies ministry said on Tuesday. The plane, en route from regiona...

Israel, South Korea agree Covid vaccine exchange deal

-- 2021-07-06 11:35:34

Israel will deliver about 700,000 expiring doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine to South Korea later this month, and South Korea will give Israel back the same number, already on order from...

Israel sees drop in Pfizer vaccine protection against Covid-19 infections

Reuters 2021-07-06 09:02:20

Israel reported on Monday a decrease in the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in preventing infections and symptomatic illness but said it remained highly effective in preventing s...

Tajikistan mulls setting up camps for Afghan refugees

Reuters 2021-07-05 20:15:39

Tajikistan is looking into setting up camps for potential refugees from neighbouring Afghanistan amid escalating violence across the border, government sources told Reuters on Monday. Taliban insurge...

Hundreds of Afghan troops flee into Tajikistan as Taliban advance

REUTERS 2021-07-05 19:35:59

More than 1,000 Afghan security personnel fled across the border into Tajikistan on Sunday after Taliban advances in northern Afghanistan, the Tajik border guard service said, while dozens of others w...

Malaysia to review recruitment fees after US trafficking report

REUTERS 2021-07-05 18:55:35

Malaysia will examine recruitment fees charged to workers and review its agreements with the home countries of migrant workers, the Human Resources Ministry said, after the Southeast Asian nation was...

Saudi Arabia approves security plan for 2021 Hajj

-- 2021-07-05 13:19:12

Saudi Arabia has approved the security plan for the 2021 Hajj season that takes into account precautions against COVID-19, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. According to the plan issued by the S...

S Korea in talks with mRNA vaccine makers to produce up to 1 billion jabs

Reuters 2021-07-05 13:04:56

South Korea is in talks with mRNA vaccine makers including Pfizer and Moderna to produce Covid-19 shots in the country and is ready to offer the capacity to make up to 1 billion doses immedi...

Australia's NSW says next two days would be 'critical' amid rising covid cases

-- 2021-07-05 12:23:20

Australia's New South Wales (NSW) on Monday said the next two days would be "absolutely critical" in deciding whether a two-week anti-coronavirus lockdown in Sydney, set to end on July 9, will have to...

Worsening Covid surge leads to oxygen shortage in Indonesia

-- 2021-07-05 11:32:09

Indonesia's government has ordered oxygen producers to prioritise medical needs as a surge in Covid cases has led to shortages in a number of cities. Hospitals say they are struggling at the limi...

Myanmar's junta bans senior telecom executives from leaving the country

Reuters 2021-07-05 10:43:57

Senior foreign executives of major telecommunications firms in Myanmar have been told by the junta that they must not leave the country without permission, a person with direct knowledge of the matter...