Asia

India coronavirus cases surge to 2.9 million

India hurtled toward the 3 million mark for coronavirus cases on Friday, reporting 68,898 new infections in the last 24 hours, data from the federal health ministry showed. The total…

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Beijing says residents can go mask-free as China COVID cases hit new lows

Health authorities in China's capital Beijing have removed a requirement for people to wear masks outdoors, further relaxing rules aimed at preventing the spread the novel coronavirus after the city…

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Thailand to allow long-stay tourists in island of Phuket from October

Thailand will allow foreign tourists to visit for longer stays from October, a senior official said on Friday, as the government tries to revive a key economic sector that has…

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Peru, Morocco to test China Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine in Phase 3 trial

Authorities in Peru and Morocco have approved Phase 3 clinical trials for a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by China National Biotec Group (CNBG), the company said late on Thursday on…

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China reports 22 new coronavirus cases on Aug. 20; fifth day of zero local cases

China reported 22 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for Aug. 20, compared to seven a day earlier, the health commission said on Friday. All 22 new infections were imported…

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Earthquake of magnitude 6.9 strikes Banda Sea off Indonesia

An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck the Banda Sea off Indonesia on Friday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said, as it revised upwards a prior figure of 6.8. The…

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Photo Story: Solidarity from Seoul with Lebanon

The Namsan Seoul Tower lit up in red, one of the three colors of the Lebanese national flag in Seoul, South Korea, on the evening of 19 August 2020, in…

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South Korea approves phase II human trial for Green Cross’s coronavirus treatment drug

South Korea's Green Cross Corp has received regulatory approval for phase II human clinical trials of its experimental coronavirus plasma treatment drug, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said…

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Photo Story: Getting the message across in Indonesia

A man rides a bicycle past a coffin-shaped COVID-19 awareness sign displayed on a sidewalk in Jakarta, Indonesia, 20 August 2020. The Jakarta local government installed a replica of a…

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South Korea battles coronavirus outbreak in capital city

South Korean health officials are struggling to contain an outbreak of the new coronavirus centred in the capital Seoul, as new cases levelled off but remained in triple digits on…

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India reports record daily jump of 69,652 in coronavirus infections

India reported a record daily jump of 69,652 coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking the total number of cases to 2.84 million, data from the federal health ministry showed. It reported…

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Philippines bans poultry products from Australia over bird flu outbreak

The Philippines said on Wednesday it has temporarily banned the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products from Australia after the presence of the highly pathogenic H7N7 avian…

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Indonesia reports 1,902 new coronavirus infections, 69 deaths

Indonesia reported 1,902 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 144,945, data from the country's health ministry showed. The data…

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China evacuates 100,000 as floods threaten heritage site

Floods on the upper reaches of China’s Yangtze river forced authorities to evacuate more than 100,000 people on Tuesday and threatened a 1,200-year-old world heritage site. Staff, police and volunteers…

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Philippines reports 4,650 new coronavirus cases, 111 additional deaths

The Philippine health ministry on Wednesday confirmed 4,650 new coronavirus infections and 111 additional deaths. In a bulletin, the ministry said total confirmed cases have risen to 173,774, the highest…

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South Korea rocked by new outbreak of coronavirus

South Korea reported the highest daily rise in coronavirus cases since early March on Wednesday as an outbreak in the capital Seoul appeared to intensify. The 297 new infections mark…

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Japan PM Abe returns to office after health exam, says ready to work

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned to his office on Wednesday, telling reporters he was ready to work two days after undergoing a medical check-up at a Tokyo hospital. "I…

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Japan’s record economic plunge wipes out Abe era gains

Japan was hit by its biggest economic slump on record in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic emptied shopping malls and crushed demand for cars and other exports, bolstering…

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South Korea battles worst coronavirus outbreak in months, warns of tighter rules

South Korea warned on Monday of tighter novel coronavirus restrictions as new outbreaks appeared, including one linked to a church where more than 300 members of the congregation have been…

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India’s coronavirus death toll surpasses 50,000

India's death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 50,000 on Monday, as infection numbers surged and total cases were nearly at 2.65 million. The country reported a daily jump of 57,981…

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Biggest Thai protest in years puts pressure on government

More than 10,000 Thai protesters chanting “down with dictatorship” and “the country belongs to the people” rallied in Bangkok on Sunday in by far the biggest anti-government demonstration since a…

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China grants country’s first COVID-19 vaccine patent to CanSino

China's vaccine specialist CanSino Biologics Inc has won a patent approval from Beijing for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate Ad5-nCOV, state media reported, citing documents from the country's intellectual property regulator.…

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Japan PM Abe taken to hospital

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe entered a Tokyo hospital on Monday for a medical check-up and plans to return home later in the day, a government source familiar with the…

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Philippines reports 4,351 new coronavirus cases, 159 more deaths

The Philippine health ministry on Saturday reported 4,351 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 159 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 157,918 infections and 2,600 deaths. Philippine President…

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Japan to send team to Mauritius to assist in oil spill

Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Saturday Tokyo planned to send a team of officials from the ministry and other specialists to Mauritius to assess the damage from an…

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South Korea capital returns to tougher social distancing rules as virus cases spike

South Korea reported 166 new coronavirus cases as of Friday, of which 155 were domestic, prompting the reimposition of tighter social distancing curbs in Seoul area as authorities worried about…

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Photo Story: Independence Day celebrations in India

An Indian girl with her face and hands painted in the colours of Indian flag for India’s Independence Day in Amritsar, India. India marks 73 years of independence from British…

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India says ready to mass produce COVID-19 vaccine

India is ready to mass produce COVID-19 vaccines when scientists give the go-ahead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Independence Day speech on Saturday, also launching a national project…

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Japan marks 75 years since end of WWII

Japanese Emperor Naruhito expressed “deep remorse” over the country’s wartime past and prayed for world peace on Saturday, the 75th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War Two. “I earnestly…

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Philippines bans chicken imports from Brazil on coronavirus scare

The Philippines imposed a temporary ban on poultry meat imports from Brazil on Friday after two cities in China found traces of the new coronavirus in cargoes of imported frozen…

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WHO downplays infection risk in frozen food imports

Two cities in China have found traces of the new coronavirus in cargoes of imported frozen food, local authorities said, although the World Health Organization downplayed the risk of the…

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South Korean doctors strike over health plans as new coronavirus cases climb

About a quarter of South Korea’s medical clinics closed on Friday for a one-day strike in protest at government plans to train new doctors, as the country reported the highest…

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China worried about food security

China's biggest short-video platforms said on Thursday they will punish users seen to be wasting food in their broadcasts, cracking down on so-called "big stomach kings" as the government urges…

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Philippines reports 4,002 more coronavirus infections, 23 deaths

The Philippines' health ministry on Thursday reported 4,002 more novel coronavirus infections and 23 additional deaths in the country. In a bulletin, the ministry said total number of confirmed cases…

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Philippines eyes clinical trials for Russian COVID-19 vaccine in October

The Philippines plans to start clinical trials for a Russian coronavirus vaccine in October, with President Rodrigo Duterte expected to be inoculated as early as May 2021, the presidential spokesman…

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India’s coronavirus cases jump by 67,000, setting daily record

India reported another record daily rise in novel coronavirus infections on Thursday, while the death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 47,000. Infections grew by 66,999 on Thursday from a day earlier…

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China’s Shenzhen says chicken imported from Brazil tests positive for coronavirus

A sample of frozen chicken wings imported into the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen from Brazil has tested positive for coronavirus, the city government said on Thursday. A surface sample…

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North Korea nuclear reactor site threatened by recent flooding

Satellite imagery suggests recent flooding in North Korea may have damaged pump houses connected to the country's main nuclear facility, a U.S.-based think-tank said on Thursday. Analysts at 38 North,…

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Photo Story: Baby Rou Rou at Taipei Zoo

A handout photo made available by the Taipei Zoo hows giant panda Yuan Yuan cudding its baby Rou Rou (Softy) at the Taipei Zoo on 12 August 2020. China donated…

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Singapore registers lowest count of cases in over four months

Singapore on Wednesday reported 42 new COVID-19 cases, its lowest daily count in about four and a half months. The city-state went into a lockdown in mid-April after mass outbreaks…

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Cathay posts record loss, sees no quick rebound in passenger demand

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd warned it did not expect a meaningful recovery in passenger demand for some time due to the coronavirus pandemic, after reporting a record HK$9.87…

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Japan introduces food delivery robot to promote social distancing

Japan's robotic technology company ZMP Inc. has made a test run of DeliRo, a delivery robot to help enforce social distancing in catering establishments. The robot demonstrated remote online ordering…

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Photo Story: Krishna Janmashtami celebrations in Amritsar, India

A woman carries an idol of the Hindu God Lord Krishna at the Sri Laxmi Narayan temple, illuminated at night on the eve of Krishna Janmashtami, in Amritsar, India, 11…

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Coronavirus found on Ecuador shrimps in China

A city in China's eastern Anhui province found the novel coronavirus on the packaging of shrimps from Ecuador, state media reported on Wednesday, in the latest instance of the virus…

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Philippines records 93 more coronavirus deaths, biggest jump in nearly a month

The Philippines on Wednesday reported 93 more coronavirus fatalities, the highest daily increase in the Southeast Asian country since July 18, taking its death toll to 2,404. A health ministry…

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Hong Kongers purchase Apple Daily in masses after Chinese Govt arrests owners

Hong Kong's Apple Daily tabloid responded with defiance on Tuesday to the arrest of owner Jimmy Lai under a new national security law imposed by Beijing, promising to "fight on"…

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Photo Story: Thailand prepares for Queen Mother’s birthday celebrations

A pedestrian walks past a decoration to celebrate the 88th birthday anniversary of Thai Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, in Bangkok, Thailand, 10 August 2020. Thai Queen Mother Sirikit will…

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Microsoft faces complex technical challenges in TikTok carveout

Microsoft Corp's bid to carve out parts of TikTok from its Chinese owner ByteDance will be a technically complex endeavor that could test the patience of President Donald Trump's administration,…

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China imposes sanctions against U.S. lawmakers over Hong Kong

China said it would apply sanctions against 11 U.S. citizens including officials from Monday in response to Washington’s move on Friday to impose sanctions on 11 Hong Kong and Chinese…

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Who is Jimmy Lai, the media tycoon arrested in Hong Kong?

Jimmy Lai, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent democracy activists, was arrested on Monday for suspected collusion with foreign forces under the national security law, in what is the highest…

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Indonesia reports 1,687 new coronavirus cases

Indonesia reported 1,687 new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing its total to 127,083, data from government's COVID-19 task force showed. The Southeast Asian country also added 42 new deaths, taking…

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China sends fighter jets as U.S. offers Taiwan ‘strong’ support

Chinese air force jets briefly crossed over the mid-line of the Taiwan Strait on Monday and were tracked by Taiwanese missiles, Taiwan's government said, as U.S. health chief Alex Azar…

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China reports 49 new coronavirus cases in mainland

China reported on Monday 49 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for August 9, compared with 23 cases a day earlier, the health authority said. The National Health Commission said…

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Red Cross sends thousands of volunteers to help North Korea cope with coronavirus, floods

The Red Cross has sent more than 43,000 volunteers to North Korea, including to the locked-down city of Kaesong, to help fight the novel coronavirus and provide flood assistance, an…

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Hong Kong police arrest media tycoon Jimmy Lai

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai became the highest-profile arrest under a new national security law on Monday, detained over suspected collusion with foreign forces as scores of police searched…

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Photo Story: Singapore celebrates National Day amid COVID-19 pandemic

A man carries a young boy on National Day in Singapore, 09 August 2020. Singapore celebrates the country's 55th anniversary of independence on National Day 09 August 2020, with a…

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Afghanistan to release 400 ‘hard-core’ Taliban to start peace talks

Afghanistan agreed on Sunday to release 400 "hard-core" Taliban prisoners, paving the way for the beginning of peace talks aimed at ending more than 19 years of war. Under election-year…

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