21

Apr

Sri Lanka reports six cases of blood clots among AstraZeneca vaccine recipients, 3 dead

Sri Lanka has found six cases of blood clots among recipients of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, three of whom have died, Health Minister Pavithra Waniarachchi told parliament on Wednesday. Nearly…

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21

Apr

India reports more than 2,000 COVID-19 deaths in single day

India reported more than 2,000 deaths from COVID-19 over the last 24 hours, the highest single-day tally for the country so far, health ministry data showed on Wednesday. Coronavirus infections…

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20

Apr

Sinovac supplied 260 mln COVID-19 vaccine doses globally

Sinovac Biotech has supplied 260 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine globally, with over 60% supplied to countries outside China, the company's chief executive Yin Weidong said on Tuesday. The company is producing more than…

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20

Apr

EU seeks greater Taiwanese investment as chip shortage bites

The European Union is seeking to encourage greater investment from Taiwan especially its semiconductor firms, the bloc's top diplomat in Taipei said on Tuesday, amid a global chip shortage that has impacted auto makers like Volkswagen. Tech…

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20

Apr

ASEAN calls summit on Myanmar crisis as EU imposes sanctions

Southeast Asian countries will discuss the crisis in Myanmar at a summit in Jakarta on Saturday, the ASEAN bloc's secretariat said on Tuesday, after the European Union imposed its toughest sanctions yet on…

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20

Apr

China’s President Xi calls for more equitable global governance

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that the global governance system should be made more equitable and fair, and that rules set by one country or some nations cannot be imposed on…

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20

Apr

India to waive import duty on COVID-19 vaccines, says government source

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will waive its 10% customs duty on imported COVID-19 vaccines, a senior government official told Reuters on Monday, as it tries to boost supplies to…

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19

Apr

China’s births may fall below 10 million annually in next five years

China could see its number of births slide below 10 million annually in the next five years if the government does not quickly abolish its policy of limiting families to…

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19

Apr

Thai COVID-19 infections ease after days of record highs

Thailand reported 1,390 new coronavirus cases on Monday, slowing slightly after a run of record daily highs, amid a new wave of infections that has seen a third of the…

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19

Apr

Philippines lifts suspension on AstraZeneca vaccine for under 60s

The Philippines will resume administering AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to people below 60 years of age, health officials said on Monday, ending a temporary suspension over reports of rare blood clots…

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19

Apr

UPDATED: India COVID-19 outbreak worsens, UK PM Johnson cancels trip to India due to coronavirus

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday cancelled a planned trip to India, scheduled to take place next week, due to the current coronavirus situation in India, Johnson's office said.…

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19

Apr

Hong Kong bans flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines for 2 weeks

Hong Kong will suspend flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines from April 20 for two weeks after the N501Y mutant COVID-19 strain was detected in the Asian financial hub…

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18

Apr

‘Dire need of beds, oxygen’: India’s capital under siege from COVID-19

NEW DELHI, April 18 (Reuters) - India's capital New Delhi recorded 25,500 coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period, with about one in three people tested returning a positive result, its…

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18

Apr

Thailand reports the highest number of daily cases since the start of the pandemic

Thailand reported 1,767 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, marking the highest number of daily cases since the start of the pandemic and the sixth record daily tally this week, amid…

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18

Apr

Photo Story – Traditional Sinhala and Tamil New year rituals in Sri Lanka

A Sri Lankan Buddhist monk applies drops of herbal oil on an elephant as part of a Sinhalese and Tamils New Year ritual at the Kotte Temple in Colombo, Sri…

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18

Apr

India under siege from COVID-19, hospitals overwhelmed

India reported a record daily increase of coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Sunday, exacerbating shortages of oxygen supplies and hospital beds in some…

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18

Apr

China, U.S. agree on need for stronger climate commitments

China and the United States agree that stronger pledges to fight climate change should be introduced before a new round of international talks at the end of the year, the…

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17

Apr

Myanmar junta chief to attend ASEAN summit in first foreign trip since coup

(Reuters) -Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing will attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Indonesia on April 24, Thailand said on Saturday, for his first known…

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17

Apr

India’s capital Delhi faces hospital beds shortage as coronavirus cases surge

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India's capital New Delhi recorded 24,000 coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period and is facing an acute shortage of hospital beds, its chief minister said on Saturday,…

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17

Apr

Biden and Japan’s Suga project unity against China’s assertiveness

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Friday sought to present a united front with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to counter an increasingly assertive China as the…

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17

Apr

Modi appeals to keep Hindu festival symbolic as India’s COVID-19 infections surge

MUMBAI, April 17 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to devotees to keep a key Hindu festival symbolic as the country reported more than 200,000 new…

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16

Apr

Pakistan blocks social media apps temporarily on security grounds – officials

ISLAMABAD, April 16 (Reuters) - Pakistan temporarily blocked Facebook, Twitter and several other social media apps on security grounds on Friday amid a crackdown against a violent Islamist group, officials…

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16

Apr

Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai gets 14 months in prison for unauthorised assembly

HONG KONG, April 16 (Reuters) - Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai will serve 12 months in prison for taking part in an unauthorised assembly during the 2019 mass pro-democracy protests in the Chinese-ruled…

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16

Apr

Surge in illegal bank loan-funded China property buys worries regulators

BEIJING, April 16 (Reuters) - Property purchases in China funded through bank loans fraudulently obtained by speculators are fuelling already red-hot real estate markets in its biggest cities and beginning…

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16

Apr

India’s monsoon rains forecast to be average in 2021 – weather office

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, April 16 (Reuters) - India is likely to receive an average amount of rain in the 2021 monsoon, the state-run weather office said on Friday, raising expectations of…

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16

Apr

Hyundai Motor Group plans to launch EVs in China every year starting 2022

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group said on Thursday it plans to launch electric vehicles (EVs) in China every year starting 2022 to enhance its presence in the world's biggest car…

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16

Apr

Thailand uses hotels beds for COVID-19 patients after surge in cases

BANGKOK, April 16 (Reuters) - Thailand reported on Friday its fifth record daily tally of coronavirus cases this week, as authorities set up thousands of field hospitals to cope with…

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16

Apr

Opponents of Myanmar’s junta set up national unity government

April 16 (Reuters) - Opponents of Myanmar's junta announced on Friday a national unity government, which includes ousted lawmakers, members of ethnic groups and figures in the anti-coup protest, according…

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16

Apr

Facebook signs first deal to buy renewable energy in India

Facebook has signed a deal to buy renewable energy in India from a local firm's wind power project, the social media giant's first such deal in the South Asian nation,…

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15

Apr

Thailand reports fourth record daily rise in coronavirus cases this week

Thailand reported 1,543 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the sharpest increase since the start of the pandemic and the fourth record rise this week, amid a third wave of infections…

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15

Apr

China says it shares stance with South Korea opposing Japan’s Fukushima water release

China will assess possible threats posed by Japan's release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant to the safety of related food and agricultural products and their trade, the…

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15

Apr

UPDATED: Indian hospitals battle ‘chaotic’ surge as daily virus infections cross 200,000

Many Indians scrambled on Thursday to secure beds in hospitals for relatives stricken with coronavirus as infections surged to a daily record, overwhelming medical facilities and drying up oxygen supplies.…

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15

Apr

SsangYong Motor in receivership

South Korea's SsangYong Motor has been put under court receivership, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court said on Thursday, in an attempt to rehabilitate the car maker after majority owner Mahindra and…

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15

Apr

UAE partners with Japan’s ispace to send rover to the moon in 2022

Lunar exploration company ispace will transport a United Arab Emirates rover to the moon in 2022, the company said on Wednesday, as the UAE pushes for rapid expansion in the…

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15

Apr

CanSinoBIO says no serious blood clots from its vaccine

China's CanSino Biologics Inc said that no serious blood clot cases had been reported in people inoculated with its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. U.S. federal health agencies recommended on Tuesday that…

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14

Apr

China terms military exercises near Taiwan as ‘combat drills’

China described its military exercises near Taiwan as “combat drills” on Wednesday, upping the ante as senior former U.S. officials arrived in Taipei on a trip to signal President Joe…

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14

Apr

Japan has world’s most powerful passport in post-pandemic world

Japan has the world’s most powerful passport, the latest rankings have revealed. As vaccine rollouts increase the likelihood of international travel resuming, the Henley Passport Index specifically looked at travel…

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14

Apr

India’s new coronavirus infections hit record of 184,372

India's new coronavirus infections reached a record of 184,372 in the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Wednesday, as most of the south Asian nation battles a second…

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13

Apr

Biden to pull U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, sources say

resident Joe Biden has decided to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021, 20 years to the day after al Qaeda's attacks triggered America's longest war, three sources familiar with…

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13

Apr

China urges U.S. to refrain from playing with fire on Taiwan issue

China on Tuesday urged the United States to refrain from playing with fire on the Taiwan issue, after it issued new guidelines that will enable U.S. officials to meet more freely with…

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13

Apr

Japan to release contaminated Fukushima water into sea after treatment

Japan will release more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station into the sea, the government said on Tuesday, a move opposed by neighbours including China,…

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13

Apr

Japan denies considering vaccine priority for Olympic athletes

Japan said on Thursday it was not currently looking to prioritise COVID-19 vaccines for Olympic athletes, dismissing a media report that sparked a social media outcry since the country's inoculations are trailing…

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12

Apr

Sanofi to invest 400 mln euros in new vaccine production site in Singapore

French drugmaker Sanofi said on Monday it would invest 400 million euros ($475.40 million) over five years in a new vaccine production site in Singapore. The new site would provide…

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12

Apr

After sanctions, Huawei turning to businesses less reliant on high-end U.S. tech

Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies will invest more in businesses that are less reliant on advanced process techniques, it said on Monday, citing U.S. sanctions that have reduced its…

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12

Apr

Thailand reports record COVID-19 cases ahead of national holiday

Thailand on Monday reported 985 new COVID-19 cases, a record daily jump for a second day in a row, as the country deals with a third wave of infections and…

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12

Apr

China considers mixing COVID-19 vaccines to boost protection rate

China's top disease control official has said the country is formally considering mixing COVID-19 vaccines as a way of further boosting vaccine efficacy. Available data shows Chinese vaccines lag behind…

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12

Apr

IMF warns on rising debt risks in virus-hit Middle East, Central Asia

The International Monetary Fund said countries in the Middle East and Central Asia need to curb their financing requirements, as a surge in government debt, exacerbated by the pandemic, threatens…

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12

Apr

India overtakes Brazil as world’s second worst-hit country by COVID-19

India reported a record 168,912 COVID-19 infections overnight, data from the health ministry showed on Monday, overtaking Brazil to become the second-most affected country globally by the coronavirus. India's overall…

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11

Apr

Philippine capital to be under less restrictive quarantine curbs from Monday

MANILA, April 11 (Reuters) - Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has approved placing the capital region and four adjacent provinces under a less restrictive community quarantine status from April 12, his…

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11

Apr

S.Korea to resume wider use of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, exclude people under 30

SEOUL, April 11 (Reuters) - South Korean authorities said on Sunday they will move ahead with a coronavirus vaccination drive this week, after deciding to continue using AstraZeneca PLC's vaccine…

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11

Apr

Myanmar security forces with rifle grenades kill over 80 protesters – monitoring group

Myanmar security forces fired rifle grenades at protesters in a town near Yangon on Friday, killing more than 80 people, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group and a…

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11

Apr

21 miners trapped after Xinjiang coal mine accident – official media

BEIJING, April 11 (Reuters) - Eight miners have been rescued and 21 remain trapped in a coal mine that flooded in northwest China's Xinjiang region, Chinese state news agency Xinhua…

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10

Apr

Sinopharm’s protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate gets China clinical trial nod

The China National Biotec Group Company (CNBG) has obtained regulatory approval to move a third COVID-19 vaccine candidate into the human testing stage in China, CNBG said on Saturday. The…

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10

Apr

South Asia surpasses grim milestone of 15 million COVID-19 cases

Coronavirus infections in the South Asia sub-region surpassed the grim milestone of 15 million on Saturday, a Reuters tally shows, led by India's record daily infections and vaccine shortages. South…

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10

Apr

India’s COVID-19 infections hit another record

India reported a record 145,384 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday and the highest number of deaths in more than five months, as it grapples with an overwhelming second-wave of infections…

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10

Apr

Magnitude 5.9 quake hits Indonesia, no tsunami

An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck in the ocean 91 km (57 miles) off the southern coast of the eastern part of Indonesia's Java island, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said…

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10

Apr

Photo Story: Whale carcass washes ashore in Bangladesh

Local people take photos next to the carcass of a whale that washed up at Himchari beach in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.  Humayun Kabir, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Cox's Bazar…

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