News Headlines

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday (Oct 15) that her annual policy address this week would focus on land and housing measures as months of anti-government protests showed no sign of abating in the Chinese territory. Lam, speaking at a news conference, said ...

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong court has granted an injunction to ban anyone from blocking or damaging areas used to house married police officers and other disciplined services that have been targeted in more than four months of anti-government protests. Demonstrators have besieged police quarters amid ...

TOKYO: Japan manages a rare feat for a developed country when it comes to feeding its children - high scores for nutrition but very low obesity rates. One major key? School lunches. A landmark report by the UN's children agency UNICEF released Tuesday (Oct 15) shows Japan topping the charts for ...

China's Huawei Technologies is ready to enter into a "no backdoor" agreement with India to allay security concerns, the telecom group's local head said on Monday, as the giant South Asian country prepares to launch next generation 5G networks.

The body of Choi Jin-ri, who was a member of the group f(x), was discovered at her home in Seongnam, south of Seoul.

BEIJING: Exposure to airborne pollutants increases the risk of "missed" miscarriages in which a foetus dies without a pregnant woman experiencing any noticeable symptoms, researchers said on Monday (Oct 14). Previous studies have shown a correlation between air pollution and pregnancy ...

Having only started producing whisky in 2006, the small subtropical island is well positioned to cash in on the global boom in whisky sale, says Martin Quinn.

ISLAMABAD: Prince William and his wife Kate arrived in Pakistan to a red carpet welcome late on Monday (Oct 14) for their "most complex" tour to date, with Islamabad eager to tout improved security after years of violent militancy. The couple - the Duchess of Cambridge in a sea-green shalwar ...

A man digging a grave in northern India found a newborn girl buried alive, police said Monday, in the latest case to shine a spotlight on female infanticide in the country.

TOKYO: Fresh rain threatened to hamper efforts by tens of thousands of Japanese rescuers searching for survivors after a powerful typhoon that by early Tuesday (Oct 15) had killed 58 people. Typhoon Hagibis crashed into the country on Saturday night, unleashing high winds and torrential rain ...

BEIJING: Exposure to airborne pollutants increases the risk of "missed" miscarriages in which a foetus dies without a pregnant woman experiencing any noticeable symptoms, researchers said on Monday (Oct 14). Previous studies have shown a correlation between air pollution and pregnancy ...

Indian politicians and academics cheered the Nobel economics prize awarded on Monday to Indian-born American Abhijit Banerjee, whose proud mother told visitors crowding into her apartment that he came from "a family of economists".

HONG KONG: Huge crowds of people filled Hong Kong's commercial district on Monday evening (Oct 14), urging US lawmakers to pass a Bill that would make Chinese and Hong Kong officials deemed to have undermined autonomy in the city vulnerable to sanctions. The rally, attended by tens of thousands of ...

LAUSANNE: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has given Chinese Olympic and world champion swimmer Sun Yang, accused of smashing a doping test sample with a hammer, a November court date, swimming's governing body said Monday (Oct 14). "The CAS hearing concerning the swimmer Sun will take ...

LONDON: Notorious British paedophile Richard Huckle, convicted of sexually abusing children in Malaysia, has been found stabbed to death in prison, British media said on Monday (Oct 14).   He was reportedly attacked at Full Sutton Prison in York with a makeshift knife.   A Prison Service ...

HANOI: Vietnam has pulled DreamWorks' animated film Abominable from cinemas over a scene featuring a map which shows China's unilaterally declared "nine-dash line" in the South China Sea, state media reported on Monday (Oct 14). The U-shaped line is a feature used on Chinese maps to illustrate its ...

HONG KONG: Police said that a remote-controlled homemade bomb, similar to those used in "terrorist attacks", was set off for the first time during the protests in Hong Kong on Sunday (Oct 13). The device was remotely controlled by a mobile phone and detonated as a police car drove past and ...

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat will co-chair a top bilateral meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, as he embarked on a four-day visit to China on Monday (Oct 14).

TOKYO: At least 56 people have been killed in Japan by Typhoon Hagibis, national broadcaster NHK said Monday (Oct 14), as rescuers worked into the night searching for survivors. The broadcaster said 15 people were still missing after the deadly storm, which slammed into Tokyo and surrounding areas ...

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian police have their own reasons for the arrests of individuals suspected of having links to the now-defunct Sri Lankan Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) separatist group, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday (Oct 14). “I was briefed by the police (on the ...

Strife-torn Hong Kong is sliding towards becoming a police state, US senator Josh Hawley warned Monday, as the financial hub braces for a rally calling on Washington to punish China over sliding freedoms.

Malaysia is considering banning the sale of electronic cigarettes, its health minister said on Monday, citing growing reports of deaths in the United States linked to e-cigarettes and vaping.

Parents lined up from sunrise holding sleeping infants as the Philippines launched a campaign on Monday (Oct 14) to vaccinate millions of children against polio, which has re-emerged nearly two decades after the nation's last cases.

China's pig herd in September was 41.1per cent smaller than it was a year earlier, the agriculture ministry said on Monday, as a year-long African swine fever epidemic continued to slash the world's largest herd.

India has barred public gatherings in the town of Ayodhya as the Supreme Court started hearing final arguments on Monday to decide whether a Hindu temple should be built on the ruins of a mosque in a long-running dispute.

Hong Kong activists plan to rally on Monday evening after another weekend of unrest that saw protesters hurl petrol bombs and police reply with tear gas and rubber bullets, as violence in the Chinese-ruled city shows no signs of letting up.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong and riot police clashed in chaotic scenes around the city on Sunday (Oct 13) with police in full riot gear chasing protesters through crowds of horrified lunchtime shoppers. Several rallies in shopping mall started peacefully around midday with a few hundred people at each ...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's more hardline protesters have embraced increased violence towards private property, businesses and even people, triggering some soul-searching within the movement. But few moderates are willing to abandon their more radical comrades. Even by the standards of Hong Kong's ...

SEOUL: South Korea's recently appointed justice minister Cho Kuk resigned on Monday (Oct 14), saying a graft scandal swirling around his family had become a political burden for President Moon Jae-in's government. Selected by Moon to lead the ministry, Cho had been tasked with reforming the ...

South Korean footballers departed for Pyongyang on Monday to play a World Cup qualifier against North Korea amid deadlocked talks over the North's nuclear arsenal.

Mobile phone networks were restored in Indian Kashmir on Monday after a 72-day blackout, authorities said, but the internet remains off-limits to the region's seven million-plus people.

TOKYO: Canada's players helped the local community in Kamaishi recover from Typhoon Hagibis on Sunday (Oct 13) after their final Rugby World Cup match against Namibia was cancelled due to the impact of the storm. Canada, without a win at the tournament, had been due to play Namibia in Kamaishi but ...

China is still a long way from forking out US$50 billion for farm goods from the United States, agriculture industry analysts said on Monday, cautioning that getting there is contingent on removing substantial technical and political hurdles.

BANGKOK: Thailand has unveiled eight puppies related to the pet dog of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, as the country observed the third anniversary of the monarch's death. The black, brown and white puppies were born from two royal dogs artificially inseminated with semen from two male offspring of ...

JOHOR BAHRU: The decision to continue with the construction of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) project will be announced by the end of the month, Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on Monday (Oct 14). “(During) the 2020 Budget, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has ...

After a sleepless night replaying Japan's historic Rugby World Cup victory over Scotland in his head, captain Michael Leitch has warned quarter-final opponents South Africa that lightning can strike twice.

HANOI: Vietnam has pulled the animated DreamWorks film Abominable from cinemas over a scene featuring a map which shows China's unilaterally declared "nine-dash line" in the South China Sea, state media reported on Monday (Oct 14). The U-shaped line is a feature used on Chinese maps to illustrate ...

The Philippines' police chief stepped down on Monday less than a month before his retirement, after he was accused of involvement in "recycling" confiscated drugs, an allegation that could undermine the government's anti-narcotics campaign.

BEIJING: China's exports fell at a faster pace in September while imports contracted for a fifth straight month, pointing to further weakness in the economy and underlining the need for more stimulus as the Sino-US trade war drags on. The downbeat data is likely to reinforce expectations that ...

NAGANO, Japan: Japan sent tens of thousands of troops and rescue workers on Sunday (Oct 13) to save stranded residents and fight floods caused by one of the worst typhoons to hit the country in recent history. At least 30 people were killed in the typhoon that left vast sections of towns under ...

Years after resisting pressure to move to China, Lee Hung Lung says his bet has paid off. Sales at his Malaysia-based Hotayi Electronic are surging, it's hiring more workers, considering an expansion, and picking and choosing orders.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said his government will monitor the trade situation with India, which is reported to be considering trade curbs on the Southeast Asian nation over his criticism of actions in Kashmir, news wire Bernama reported.

Years after resisting pressure to move to China, Lee Hung Lung says his bet has paid off. Sales at his Malaysia-based Hotayi Electronic are surging, it's hiring more workers, considering an expansion, and picking and choosing orders.

SINGAPORE: For the past nine years, Filipino domestic worker Grace and her friends have congregated in Central - the business and retail heart of Hong Kong - on most of her days off. The last Sunday of September was no different. Grace left her employer’s home in Kowloon, took a train and headed ...

YANGON: Suspected ethnic Rakhine rebels disguised as a sports team stormed a bus in rural Myanmar and took 31 hostages - mostly off-duty firefighters and construction workers - authorities said on Sunday (Oct 13). The state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar said the bus - travelling to the ...

BEIJING: The Chinese high-tech companies blacklisted by Washington over alleged ties to rights abuses are rising stars in China's ambitious drive to overtake the United States in the technology sector. They make surveillance cameras, facial recognition software and other technology that has become ...

TOKYO: Tens of thousands of rescuers worked through the pre-dawn hours on Monday (Oct 14) to reach people trapped by landslides and floods in Japan caused by a powerful typhoon that has killed up to 35, officials and local media said. Typhoon Hagibis moved away from land on Sunday morning, but ...

NEW DELHI: Authorities have tightened security restrictions in the northern Indian flashpoint city of Ayodhya ahead of a crucial Supreme Court ruling over the disputed site fiercely contested between Hindus and Muslims. Hindus and Muslims have for decades been bitterly divided over the 16th ...

SHANGHAI: Daniil Medvedev won his fourth title of a spectacular year with a thumping 6-4, 6-1 victory over Alexander Zverev in the Shanghai Masters final on Sunday (Oct 13). Victory for the 23-year-old Russian, contesting a sixth final in a row, was more evidence that he is the prime contender to ...

KATHMANDU: Chinese President Xi Jinping wound up two days of meetings in Nepal on Sunday (Oct 13) with separate deals for a rail link to Tibet and a tunnel, an official said, as the Himalayan nation seeks to end an Indian dominance over its trade routes by increasing connectivity with Beijing. The ...