News Headlines

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong teenager became the youngest person so far to plead guilty to rioting during 2019's huge protests on Wednesday (Mar 3), as he admitted throwing a petrol bomb at police when aged just 14. The judge accepted advice from the city's correctional services and sent the 16-year-old ...

HONG KONG: Bail proceedings for 47 Hong Kong democracy activists charged with conspiracy to commit subversion entered the third day on Wednesday (Mar 3), following marathon hearings that have gone on late into the night and led to some defendants falling ill. The charges are the most sweeping use ...

Protests against a military coup in Myanmar showed no sign of abating with more planned across the country on Wednesday (Mar 3), while Myanmar's ousted President Win Myint is said to be facing two new charges. Security forces fired warning shots into the air as protesters gathered at one site in ...

An overwhelming majority of Japanese said they were "interested in the Olympics", although 58 per cent said they did not want them to be held because of fears over COVID-19, a Yomiuri daily poll showed on Wednesday (Mar 3).

Myanmar's ousted President Win Myint is facing two new charges, his lawyer said on Wednesday (Mar 3), including a breach of the constitution that is punishable by up to three years in prison. Win Myint was arrested on Feb 1 along with Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi just hours before the ...

JOHOR BAHRU: There are signs that Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim may be interested in buying over Spanish La Liga club Valencia, currently owned by Singapore businessman Peter Lim. Tunku Ismail posted a series of Instagram stories on Tuesday (Mar 2), including screenshots of ...

Myanmar's military junta and the envoy sent by its toppled civilian government have launched contradictory claims over who represents the country at the United Nations, officials said Tuesday.

TAIPEI: Health experts in China say their country is lagging in its coronavirus vaccination roll-out because it has the disease largely under control, but plans to inoculate 40 per cent of its population by June. Zhong Nanshan, the leader of a group of experts attached to the National Health ...

Myanmar's military junta and the envoy sent by its toppled civilian government have launched contradictory claims over who represents the country at the United Nations, officials said Tuesday.

Hong Kong authorities on Tuesday (Mar 2) reported the death of a chronically ill man, two days after he received a COVID-19 vaccine and said that it is too early to conclude whether the vaccine was related to his death.

WASHINGTON: A China-linked cyber-espionage group has been remotely plundering email inboxes using freshly discovered flaws in Microsoft mail server software, the company and outside researchers said on Tuesday (Mar 2) - an example of how commonly used programmes can be exploited to cast a wide net ...

TOKYO: Last week, about 600 people were tested for the coronavirus in the city of Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo: The Japanese government's first stab at systematic random and targeted testing that it hopes will prevent a new wave of infections. About 300 people walking in the city and another 300 at ...

TOKYO: Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa on Wednesday (Mar 3) launched a search for eight people to join him as the first private passenger on a trip around the moon with Elon Musk's SpaceX. He had originally planned to invite artists for the week-long voyage slated for 2023. The rejigged ...

TOKYO: Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa on Wednesday (Mar 3) launched a search for eight people to join him as the first private passenger on a trip around the moon with Elon Musk's SpaceX. He had originally planned to invite artists for the week-long voyage slated for 2023. The rejigged ...

More than a third of Chinese-Australians surveyed reported facing discrimination last year, in a report released on Wednesday (Mar 2) that points to a souring relationship with Beijing and COVID-19 as driving forces.

The Chinese Communist party system needs entrepreneurs but curtails anyone who becomes too powerful, says the Financial Times' Jamil Anderlini.

"As a Southeast Asian woman, being able to have our first Disney princess be inspired by my culture and my people? I feel like that's a huge move in the right direction," said Adele Lim, who also penned Crazy Rich Asians.

Sri Lankan Roman Catholic Church officials declared a “Black Sunday” this weekend to demand justice for the victims of 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed more than 260 people.

The government assured Indians on Tuesday that there were plenty of COVID-19 vaccines for the country even though it has sent quantities overseas.

Tokyo will ask the Japanese government to extend a state of emergency by about two weeks for the capital and three neighbouring prefectures due to a slowdown in the decline of COVID-19 cases, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.

China on Tuesday rejected an allegation by a cyber intelligence firm that a state-backed hacking group targeted the IT systems of two Indian coronavirus vaccine makers.

JAKARTA: Southeast Asian foreign ministers urged a halt to violence and the start of talks on a peaceful solution in Myanmar, where the military seized power from an elected government and is escalating its use of mass arrests and deadly force against peaceful protesters. Myanmar's top diplomat ...

NEW DELHI: Amazon.com's Prime Video streaming service on Tuesday (Mar 2) issued a rare apology to its Indian viewers for some scenes in its original political drama series Tandav, which allegedly hurt Hindu religious beliefs. Tandav, a Hindi word meaning "fury", stars top Bollywood actors. In ...

BANGKOK: A Thai criminal court on Tuesday (Mar 2) approved an arrest warrant for an anti-government activist accused of burning a portrait of the country's king over the weekend. Police said activist Chaiamorn Kaewwiboonpan was responsible for setting fire to a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn ...

NEW DELHI: Amazon.com Inc's Prime Video streaming service on Tuesday issued a rare apology to its Indian viewers for some scenes in its original political drama series "Tandav", which allegedly hurt Hindu religious beliefs. "Tandav", a Hindi word meaning "fury", stars top Bollywood actors. In ...

China on Tuesday rejected an allegation by a cyber intelligence firm that a state-backed hacking group targeted the IT systems of two Indian coronavirus vaccine makers.

Foreign ministers of Southeast Asian countries prepared for a special meeting with Myanmar's ruling military on Tuesday in an effort to quell deadly violence and open a channel to tackle its escalating political crisis.

SINGAPORE: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must reiterate its guiding principles, including adherence to democracy and respect for human rights when it comes to the situation in Myanmar, failing which member states will have no choice but to state their individual positions on ...

TAIPEI: The de facto US and Canadian embassies in Taiwan on Tuesday (Mar 2) praised the quality of pineapples grown on the island, depicting photographs of their top diplomats in Taipei with the fruit after an import ban by China. China last week stopped the import of Taiwanese pineapples, citing ...

SINGAPORE: The Myanmar military's use of lethal force in ongoing demonstrations is a "disastrous" move, said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. At least 18 people died on Sunday, said the United Nations human rights office, as Myanmar authorities cracked down on protests against the ...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Tuesday (Mar 2) granted conditional approval for the use of vaccines made by UK firm AstraZeneca and China's Sinovac, just days after launching its nationwide COVID-19 inoculation programme. Malaysia began its vaccination drive on Feb 24 using a shot developed by ...

SINGAPORE: Malaysia's largest electricity utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), and Singapore-based solar firm Sunseap Group announced on Tuesday (Mar 2) they are forming a joint venture to trial clean electricity imports into Singapore from Malaysia. The partnership will import 100 megawatts of ...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia announced that it will ease COVID-19 restrictions and reinstate the conditional movement control order (CMCO) for Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang.  Making the announcement during a press conference on Tuesday (Mar 2), Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob ...

A decision by South Korean health authorities to allow more doses to be extracted from coronavirus vaccine vials sparked controversy on Tuesday as the country ramped up its vaccinations of healthcare workers and the elderly.

JAKARTA: Indonesia has detected two cases of the more infectious COVID-19 variant first discovered in Britain, officials said on Tuesday (Mar 2), marking a potential new complication for the country as it tries to contain one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia. Dante Saksono Harbuwono, the ...

BANGKOK: Thailand's prime minister said on Tuesday (Mar 2) he has commissioned a study to look into issuing COVID-19 vaccination certificates for international travellers, as the country seeks to revive a tourism industry battered by coronavirus curbs. The Southeast Asian nation has been mulling ...

TOKYO: A US father-son pair accused of helping former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn in his audacious escape from Japan arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday (Mar 2) after losing their battle against extradition, local media said. Former US special forces member Michael Taylor and his son Peter allegedly staged ...

SHANGHAI: Five years ago, China under President Xi Jinping pledged to become a football power by 2050. But the financial collapse of the newly crowned Chinese champions raises fresh questions over that lofty goal. Jiangsu FC on Sunday (Feb 28) said they had "ceased operations" - just three months ...

MANILA: The Philippines has sacked its former ambassador to Brazil, after she was caught on camera attacking a domestic worker at her official residence in Brasilia. Marichu Mauro was recalled to Manila late last year after Brazil's GloboNews channel broadcast security camera footage filmed over ...

The leader of Taiwan's main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) said on Tuesday he is in no rush to travel to China to meet President Xi Jinping, and that Beijing's proposals to get Taiwan to accept Communist rule had "no market" on the island.

Indonesia's Mount Sinabung volcano sent a cloud of hot ash as high as 3km on Tuesday, in its first big eruption since August last year.

MANILA: The Philippines has documented six cases of the South African coronavirus variant, its health ministry said on Tuesday (Mar 2), raising concern among its experts that the current vaccines might be less effective. The Philippines started its COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Monday, an ...

A Myanmar reporter was attacked in his home and detained by the military, his employer said Tuesday, after days of crackdowns by the junta on anti-coup protesters.

Earlier this year tensions between ABC News anchors George Stephanopoulos and David Muir boiled over to the point that Stephanopoulos threatened to walk to a rival network, according to sources close to the matter.

An attorney is asking two states to investigate rapper Clifford "T.I." Harris and his wife, singer Tameka "Tiny" Harris, in the wake of sexual assault and abuse and other allegations the couple have denied.

TOKYO: Japan said on Tuesday (Mar 2) an investigation would be launched after more than 1,000 coronavirus vaccine doses had to be thrown out when a freezer storing them malfunctioned. A medical institution reported that 172 vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which must be kept between -80 and ...

SEOUL: South Korea is drafting an extra budget of 15 trillion won (US$13.38 billion), it said on Tuesday (Mar 2), to boost support for small businesses and safeguard jobs as the resurgent coronavirus forces the government to retain social distancing curbs. The finance ministry said total ...

HONG KONG: Dozens of Hong Kong activists charged with subversion are back in court on Tuesday (Mar 2) to complete a marathon bail hearing that was adjourned overnight when four defendants were rushed to hospital after hours of legal wrangling. Police arrested 47 of the city's best known dissidents ...

BEIJING: China's annual session of parliament will chart a course for economic recovery and unveil a five-year plan to fend off stagnation, as strategic rivalry with the United States spurs a shift to reliance on consumption and home-grown technology. The National People's Congress (NPC) opens ...

WASHINGTON: An American father and son were handed to Japanese officials on Monday (Mar 1), their lawyer said, after losing an extradition battle over accusations they helped former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn to flee Japan. Michael Taylor and his son Peter Taylor were arrested in May after ...