Asia

Photo Story: Birth of Buddha commemorated

Buddhist monks wear protective face mask as they pray in front of a statue of Lord Buddha on the eve of his 2564th birth anniversary at a monastery in Bhopal,…

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Fatal gas leak in India

Eight people, among them an eight-year-old girl, have died, with hundreds of others taken ill, after a gas leak in south India. The leak, in the city of Visakhapatnam in…

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Photo Story: Drastic measures to control the pandemic in Malaysia

Malaysian army guard the entrance to Raja Bot wet market in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 06 May 2020. The Raja Bot market was ordered to shut down for traders…

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No indications Kim Jong Un underwent heart surgery

South Korea's spy agency said on Wednesday there are no signs North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has received heart surgery, the Yonhap news agency reported. Kim disappeared from…

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China reports two new coronavirus cases

China reported 2 new coronavirus cases for May 5 and 20 new asymptomatic cases, data from the national health authority showed on Wednesday. This compared with 1 new coronavirus…

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EU top diplomat denies giving China a pass

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament raised concerns with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell over allegations that the EU’s diplomatic arm toned down criticism…

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China starts major trial of state-run digital currency

China will begin trialling payments in its new digital currency in four major cities from next week, according to domestic media. In recent months, China’s central bank has stepped up…

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Photo Story: Thailand registers increase in cases but no deaths

Thailand’s new coronavirus cases rose to 18 on Monday, after falling to single-digits for the past week, but the country reported no new deaths. Monday’s report brought the total number…

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China reports three new coronavirus cases, all imported

China reported three new coronavirus cases for May 3, up from two the day before, data from the national health authority showed on Monday. All of the new cases…

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Photo Story: Taiwan celebrates ‘zero’ coronavirus cases

Lights lit in rooms of the Taipei Grand Hotel display the word 'ZERO' to mark Taiwan's reporting of no new novel coronavirus case in Taipei, Taiwan. Several landmark buildings across…

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Photo Story: Hand embroidered face masks in Hanoi

A customer picks up an embroidered protective face mask are displayed for sale at 'Huu La La' shop in Hanoi, Vietnam 03 May 2020. The fashion shop which specializes in…

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Photo Story: Town in Japan uses folklore monsters to promote mask-wearing

A statue of Oni, a demon-like supernatural Japanese folklore creature or yokai, which was given a face mask sits on a bench in front of a closed grocery store in…

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Photo Story: India pays tribute to health workers

Photos from the military tribute on Sunday by India’s military to health workers responding to the coronavirus pandemic. According to news reports, IAF held a special flypast across the stretch…

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Influential business lobby in Japan to waive patents to battle virus

Japan’s biggest business lobby, Keidanren, will ask its member companies to waive patents that might be helpful in developing technologies to fight the coronavirus, the Japan Times reported Toyota Motor…

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Afghanistan probes report Iranian border guards threw migrants into river with many drowning

Afghan officials on Sunday launched a hunt to retrieve bodies of Afghan migrants from a river in a western province after reports that Iranian border guards tortured and threw…

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Philippines temporarily bars incoming passenger flights

The Philippines barred incoming passenger flights from Sunday morning for one week to contain the spread of the coronavirus and help reduce pressure on quarantine facilities housing thousands of Filipino…

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Photo Story: India reports biggest one-day increase in coronavirus cases

India has reported its biggest one-day increase in coronavirus cases since the outbreak began. Confirmed infections in the country of 1.3 billion have climbed by 2,600 to just under 40,000…

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China reports two coronavirus cases for May 2

China reported two new coronavirus cases for May 2, up from one the day before, data from the country’s national health authority showed on Sunday. One case was imported and…

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Exchange of gunfire across Korean border

North and South Korea exchanged gunfire around the South's guard post early on Sunday, raising tension a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended an almost three-week absence…

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Donald Trump declines to comment on Kim Jong-Un reported public presence

U.S. President Donald Trump declined on Friday to comment on a report by North Korea's state news agency that the country's leader Kim Jong Un had made his first public…

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North Korean President makes first public appearance amid speculation over his death

Kim Jong-un makes first public appearance for 20 days, North Korean state media say, amid speculation over his health. According to Reuters, he attended the completion of a fertiliser plant.…

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Trump claims to have evidence that Covid-19 originated at a Chinese Laboratory

US President Donald Trump claims to have seen evidence that coronavirus originated at a Chinese research laboratory. Asked on Thursday if he had seen information that gave him a “high degree…

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Toyota Provides Medical Facility with Transport Vehicle for Seriously Ill COVID-19 Patients

Toyota announced that it provided Showa University Hospital in Japan with a specially designed transport vehicle for seriously ill COVID-19 patients. The Toyota Hiace-based vehicle was developed and outfitted…

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Concern as China tries to contain new coronavirus outbreak

A series of new COVID-19 cases in China's far northeastern Heilongjiang province is raising concern that a second wave of the virus could emerge in the Asian country. As…

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For first time since February, South Korea reports no new cases

South Korea reported on Thursday no new domestic coronavirus cases for the first time since its Feb. 29 peak, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.…

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EU foreign policy body denies kowtowing to China

The EU’s diplomatic arm dismissed accusations that it has yielded to pressure from Beijing to scale down denunciation of disinformation campaigns emanating from China. The EU External Action Service (EEAS)…

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Beijing may ease quarantine rules as early as Thursday

The city of Beijing plans to ease quarantine rules for some domestic travellers from low-risk areas in China as soon as Thursday, according to two sources familiar with the situation, as…

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Slumdog Millionaire and Jurassic World actor Irrfan Khan dies

Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan, known internationally for roles in Slumdog Millionaire and Jurassic World, has died at the age of 53. Khan died in a hospital in the western city…

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South Korea says Kim likely sheltering from virus

Fear of the coronavirus could have been keeping North Korean leader Kim Jong Un out of public sight, a South Korean minister and U.S. sources said, following intense speculation and…

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Trump renews verbal assault on China

US President Donald Trump has launched another scathing attack on China, announcing that the federal government was “conducting serious investigations” into the way the Chinese handled the outbreak of the…

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Japan needs to keep emergency in place, 2021 Olympics ‘difficult,’ top doctor says

It is too early to consider lifting Japan's state of emergency over the coronavirus, the head of the Japan Medical Association Yoshitake Yokokura said on Tuesday, adding that it will…

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Afghanistan’s other war

In Afghanistan, the health ministry has warned that two critical weeks are ahead as the war-torn country recorded its biggest one-day rise of new coronavirus cases, triggered by a…

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HK scientists say new antiviral coating can protect surfaces for 90 days

Researchers at a Hong Kong university say they have developed an antiviral coating which could provide 90 days of “significant” protection against bacteria and viruses such as the one causing COVID-19. The coating,…

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Japan to name and shame outlets defying coronavirus lockdown

Japan’s Osaka Prefecture said it will name and shame more pachinko parlour gambling outlets that are defying coronavirus lockdown requests after three out of six locations it identified on Friday…

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China says all coronavirus patients in Wuhan have now been discharged

The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the global coronavirus pandemic began, now has no remaining cases in its hospitals, a health official told reporters on Sunday. The novel coronavirus is…

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South Korean call for caution over reports that North Korean leader Kim is ill

South Korean officials are calling for caution amid reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be ill, emphasising that they have detected no unusual movements in North Korea.…

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Ramadan in Covid-19 times

A Pakistani Muslim man reads verses from the holy Koran at the madrassa Jamia Uloom-e-Islamia during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan amid lockdown of the Sindh province due to…

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South Korea’s big churches reopen

South Korea's large churches reopened on Sunday, requiring worshipers to keep their distance and wear masks, after the government relaxed restrictions on religious gatherings aimed at slowing the spread of…

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EPA’s Eye in the Sky: Seoul, South Korea

A photo taken with a drone shows South Korean people queuing to purchase masks outside a Happy Department store in Seoul, South Korea. Via EPA-EFE/JEON HEON-KYUN

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Several conflicting reports about North Korea’s leader health condition and whether he’s alive or dead

There are several conflicting reports about North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un's health condition and whether he's alive or dead. On Saturday, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un was absent…

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Reports China sent team including medical experts to advise on North Korea’s Kim

Reuters reports that China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to three people familiar with the…

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China reports 12 new coronavirus cases

China reported 12 new coronavirus cases on April 24 compared with six new cases on the previous day, National Health Commission data showed on Saturday. Of the new cases,…

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Philippines reports 15 additional deaths in last 24 hours

The Philippines’ Health Ministry on Friday reported that confirmed cases of the new coronavirus have risen to more than 7,000. In a bulletin, the ministry recorded 211 new infections, 15…

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Trump throws cold water on reports North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is gravely ill

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threw more cold water on reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was gravely ill, but declined to say if he had been…

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Coronavirus tally rises to 91 on Costa Atlantica ship in Japan

As many as 91 crew of an Italian cruise ship docked in Japan’s southwestern port of Nagasaki are infected with coronavirus, officials said on Friday, as questions persist over how…

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China buys crude oil as prices collapse

China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, is building up stockpiles of crude oil as global prices plunge due to the coronavirus outbreak. Imports rose 4.5% in March over a year…

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China coronavirus cases might have been four times official figure

More than 232,000 people might have been infected in the first wave of Covid-19 in mainland China, four times the official figures, according to a study by Hong Kong researchers.…

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Photo Story: Crew members onboard Costa Atlantica test positive

At least 34 crew members have tested positive for coronavirus on a cruise ship docked in Japan for maintenance. The outbreak onboard the Italian-operated Costa Atlantica adds to concerns about…

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Record number of nests found on Thai beaches as tourists keep away

Not everything about the virus seems to bring bad news, as Thailand has recently witnessed the largest number of rare sea turtle nests in the last 20 years due to…

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Photo story: Singapore imposes entry limits to supermarkets

People walk past a screen showing the capacity of people allowed to enter a shopping mall in Singapore, 22 April 2020. Singapore has extended its 'circuit breaker' period to 01…

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Photo Story: Ramadan preparations amid coronavirus lockdown in Pakistan

Vendors sell watermelon at a fruit and vegetable market, ahead of the Muslims holy fasting month of Ramadan, during a lock down of the Sindh province, due to the coronavirus…

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Flats as a temporary ‘coronavirus divorce’ to stressed couples in Japan

A Tokyo-based short-term rental firm launched a new service aiming to help couples avoid a “coronavirus divorce”. The concept is simple: renting 500-plus accommodation units across the country as…

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Photo Story: Earth Day celebrations in Seoul

Members of the Environmental Health Citizens' Association of Korea, wearing masks representing the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, perform during the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea,…

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India’s and Pakistan’s leadership in coronavirus scare

About 500 people entered self-isolation in staff quarters of India’s presidential palace, and Pakistan’s prime minister was due to be tested, as the coronavirus spreading through South Asia hit the…

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China reports increase in new coronavirus cases

Mainland China reported on Wednesday 30 new coronavirus cases, 23 of which were so-called imported cases involving travellers from overseas, up from 11 a day earlier. The National Health Commission…

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Sri Lanka commemorates first anniversary of Easter Sunday bombings

Church bells have rung out across Sri Lanka, marking one year since 269 people were killed by a group of suicide bombers. Nine suicide bombers detonated their devices in six…

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Pandemic may derail US-Afghan peace efforts

American Efforts to bring the long-drawn conflict with the Taliban in Afghanistan to an end may be derailed by the coronavirus pandemic. Fighting has tended to escalate in the Spring…

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