News Headlines

JAKARTA: Rahima Malik, 29, has dreamed of being a teacher since she was pursuing a teaching degree with a major in Indonesian literature.  Her dream came true eventually, with her accepted as a temporary contract teacher at the Folangkai public primary school in her hometown in rural Central ...

US President Donald Trump said he is severing ties with the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as the death toll from the disease spiked again in the United States and Brazil.

A roadside bomb killed a television journalist in Kabul on Saturday, soon after a top Afghan official appointed to lead peace talks with the Taliban said his team was ready for the long-delayed dialogue.

Thailand reported one new coronavirus case on Saturday and no new deaths, taking the total number of infections to 3,077 as local transmission of the new virus appears to wane.

Work on the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of a crashed Pakistani airliner will begin in France on June 2, investigators said on Saturday.

India reported a record daily jump of 7,964 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, with a recent surge in cases as lockdown restrictions start to ease raising the possibility that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could extend curbs beyond May 31.

India reported a record daily jump of 7,964 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, with a recent surge in cases as lockdown restrictions start to ease raising the possibility that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could extend curbs beyond May 31.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's health ministry reported 30 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday (May 30), bringing the national total to 7,762.  For the eighth consecutive day, the country reported no more death, leaving the death toll at 115.  Of the 30 new cases, three were imported cases who got infected ...

India reported a record daily jump of 7,964 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, with a recent surge in cases as lockdown restrictions start to ease raising the possibility that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could extend curbs beyond May 31.

HONG KONG: A Chinese-made coronavirus vaccine could be ready for market as early as the end of this year, China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said in a social media post. In trials, more than 2,000 people have received vaccines developed by the Wuhan ...

HONG KONG: Senior Hong Kong government officials lashed out on Saturday (May 30) at moves by US President Donald Trump to strip the city of its special status in a bid to punish China for imposing national security laws on the global financial hub. Speaking hours after Trump said the city no ...

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States will restrict Chinese students and start reversing Hong Kong's special status in customs and other areas, as Beijing imposes a controversial security law.

When the world looked to Asia for successful examples in handling the novel coronavirus outbreak, much attention and plaudits were paid to South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) memberships for five federal lawmakers, including veteran politician Mahathir Mohamad, were ceased after they acted against the party's constitution, said Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Saturday (May 30).  In a media ...

The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said on Saturday it was "a sad day" for the global financial centre, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump moved toward stripping the city of its special treatment in a bid to punish China.

North Korea on Saturday expressed its support for China's decision to impose new national security laws in Hong Kong, calling it a "legitimate step" to safeguard the state security.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bluer skies, the central Titiwangsa mountain range visible from Klang Valley and the normally turbid Klang River clean enough for people to swim in it. Such local news reports and similar photos of the environment “recovering” have gone viral, while the majority of the country ...

US President Donald Trump on Friday ordered a probe into the actions of Chinese companies listed on American financial markets as tensions flared anew between the world's two biggest economies.

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States will restrict Chinese students and start reversing Hong Kong's special status in customs and other areas, as Beijing imposes a controversial security law.

The United States and Britain on Friday defied China's anger by raising Hong Kong's autonomy at the UN Security Council as President Donald Trump prepared new measures against Beijing.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's health ministry reported 103 new COVID-19 cases on Friday (May 29), bringing the national total to 7,732.  For the seventh consecutive day, the country also reported no new deaths, leaving the death toll at 115.  READ: Putrajaya defends detention of illegal immigrants ...

BRUSSELS: The European Union said on Friday (May 29) that China's imposition of a security law on Hong Kong had damaged ties with Beijing, but that imposing sanctions would not solve the crisis. "The EU expresses its grave concern at the steps taken by China on May 28, which are not in conformity ...

North Korea accused the United States of smear tactics on Friday after Washington renewed accusations last month that Pyongyang was responsible for malicious cyberattacks.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has insisted that where he sat during the one-day parliament sitting should not be the cause for his dismissal from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), a political party he founded in 2016.  His impromptu press conference at ...

SINGAPORE: Singapore is considering Malaysia’s request to extend the suspension period of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Railway (HSR) project, said Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Friday (May 29). "In the last two weeks, Malaysia asked to extend the suspension period, to allow both ...

A troop of monkeys in India attacked a medical official and snatched away blood samples of patients who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, authorities said on Friday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and four other federal lawmakers have been sacked from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) on Thursday (May 28). In a letter addressed to Dr Mahathir by Bersatu's executive secretary Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya, the former prime ...

TAIPEI: Taiwan's top court decriminalised adultery Friday (May 29), ruling the law against it breached constitutional protections of sexual autonomy and equality, in a move hailed by rights groups. "The Criminal Code should not be used to punish actions that hurt personal feelings," Hsu Tzong-li ...

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite being removed as chairman of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Dr Mahathir Mohamad is likely to fight on, even as Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin consolidates his power in the party.  Analysts interviewed by CNA expect the former prime minister to challenge the ...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump about the south Asian nation's military standoff with China, a government source said on Friday, after Trump suggested Modi was upset about border tension.

An Indonesian minister is under fire after he compared coronavirus to rebellious wives, in remarks aimed at soothing public fears about easing COVID-19 restrictions across the Southeast Asian archipelago.

BEIJING: China said on Friday (May 29) it will take any necessary countermeasures if the United States insists on interfering in Beijing's internal affairs and taking action in response to the Hong Kong security Bill ratified by China's parliament on Thursday. Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao ...

BEIJING: China's foreign ministry said on Friday (May 29) it firmly opposes the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile defence system in South Korea and urged the US not to harm bilateral relations between Beijing and Seoul. American and South Korean troops brought replacement ...

SEOUL: The former leader of an advocacy group for South Korean victims of Japanese wartime sexual violence on Friday (May 29) denied allegations of misusing funds meant for the victims but apologised for "banking errors". Yoon Mee-hyang is under prosecution investigation over allegations she had ...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's government warned Washington that withdrawing its special US status, which has underpinned the city as a global financial hub, could be a "double-edged sword" and urged the United States to stop interfering in internal affairs. The statement came as US President Donald Trump ...

South Korean health authorities said on Friday they would request imports of Gilead Sciences Inc's anti-viral drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19, as new outbreaks of the disease flare as social distancing restrictions are eased.

Thailand will next week shorten curfew hours and ease restrictions on more businesses, the government said on Friday, in response to its low numbers of locally transmitted cases of the coronavirus.

Victims of a horrifying 1984 gas leak in the Indian city of Bhopal, who have long suffered the debilitating fallout of the world's worst industrial disaster, are now dying from coronavirus, with relatives and activists accusing the government of abandoning them and withholding treatment.

Vietnamese police have smashed a massive online card ring with revenues estimated at $2.6 billion, the biggest ever bust of its kind in a country where most gambling is banned but remains rampant.

Indonesian officials are forcing social distancing violators to recite Koran verses, stay in "haunted" houses and submit to public shaming on social media as the country battles to contain surging coronavirus infections.

Had it not been for the coronavirus, Nepali climbing guide Tashi Lakpa Sherpa would have been on Mount Everest now, guiding clients and trying to add another feather in his cap - a ninth ascent.

China faced growing international pressure Friday over its move to impose a security law on Hong Kong that critics say will destroy the city's autonomy, with the United States and Britain placing the issue before the UN Security Council.

TOKYO: Curbs in Japan's capital of Tokyo to contain the coronavirus are to be eased further from Monday (Jun 1), Governor Yuriko Koike said, citing the recommendation of an advisory panel. Cram schools, gyms, and theatres are among the facilities that will be allowed to reopen in a phased ...

NEW DELHI: India's coronavirus death toll passed neighbouring China's on Friday (May 29), with 175 new fatalities in 24 hours taking the total to 4,706, according to official data. India, home to some of the world's most packed cities and a creaking healthcare system, is emerging as a new hotspot ...

SEOUL: South Korea on Friday (May 29) imposed limits on the number of pupils going to schools in and around Seoul as officials scramble to tackle fresh coronavirus cases that threaten the country's success in containing the epidemic. Only one in three pupils at kindergartens, elementary and middle ...

BEIJING: China will attack Taiwan if there is no other way of stopping it from becoming independent, one of the country's most senior generals said on Friday (May 29), a rhetorical escalation between China and the democratically ruled island Beijing claims as its own. Speaking at Beijing's Great ...

TOKYO: The phones at the Tokyo suicide hotline start ringing as soon as it opens for its once-weekly overnight session. They don't stop until the lone volunteer fielding calls from hundreds of people yearning to talk signs out early the next morning. Both operating days and volunteer numbers at ...

False alerts about a man shot dead at a coronavirus checkpoint, old footage of a supermarket stampede in reports of panic buying, and a 2015 video of a police raid on a brothel recirculated with a misleading claim.

BEIJING: China will use all means to prevent pro-independence forces separating Taiwan from China but non-peaceful action against the Chinese-claimed island is a last resort, the ruling Communist Party's third most senior leader said on Friday (May 29). Li Zhanshu, who is also the head of China's ...

Twitter has flagged a tweet written in March by a Chinese government spokesman that suggested the U.S. military brought the novel coronavirus to China, as the social media platform ramps up fact-checking of posts.