Take action to restore democracy

About 100 opponents of military rule in Myanmar marched through the centre of its biggest city of Yangon yesterday, as the United States called on Southeast Asian nations to take action to restore democracy and end violence in their neighbour. 
14 July 2021

Malaysia cabinet backs PM

Malaysian cabinet ministers yesterday unanimously pledged their support for Muhyiddin Yassin to continue as prime minister, amid a new round of political uncertainty after the premier lost the backing of the country’s biggest party.
14 July 2021

China furious as blast kills 9 workers in Pakistan ~

Beijing said nine Chinese workers were among 12 people killed yesterday morning by a bomb attack on a bus in northwestern Pakistan and called for severe punishment, but Islamabad blamed the explosion on a “gas leak”.
14 July 2021

Rohingyas skeptical

A shadow government is breaking taboos in Buddhist-majority Myanmar by welcoming Rohingya into its anti-junta coalition, but many in the long-persecuted Muslim minority are wary after living through decades of discrimination and deadly violence. 
14 July 2021

US to begin evacuation of Afghans who aided US military

The Biden administration is set to begin evacuations of Afghan interpreters and translators who aided the U.S. military effort in the nearly 20-year war, an administration official said.
14 July 2021

Russia tells 'hypocritical' Afghan government to negotiate with Taliban

The Kremlin's most senior Afghanistan official accused the Afghan government of hypocrisy on Wednesday and said it needed to start proper negotiations with the Taliban about the country's future before it was too late.
14 July 2021

Taliban seize border crossing with Pakistan in major advance

Taliban fighters in Afghanistan said on Wednesday they had taken control of one of the main border crossings with Pakistan, perhaps the most strategic objective they have captured so far in a rapid advance across the country as U.S. forces pull out.
14 July 2021

Beijing steps up control of online influencers as culture ministry cracks down on talent agencies

China’s culture ministry is seeking to expand its regulatory authority to livestreaming stars and other online influencers by targeting for the first time the agencies that help personalities monetise themselves online, a move that could shape the future of the booming livestreaming industry that so many Big Tech companies, from ByteDance to Tencent Holdings, have come to rely on for growth.
14 July 2021

Pakistan bus blast kills 13, including 9 Chinese

At least 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals and two Pakistani soldiers, were killed after a blast sent a bus plunging into a ravine in a remote region of northern Pakistan on Wednesday, multiple sources told Reuters.
14 July 2021

Covid-19: UV-C disinfection system to be installed in Indian parliament

When Indian parliament begins its monsoon session on July 19, lawmakers will be protected against Covid-19 by the latest technology to mitigate airborne transmission of the virus.
14 July 2021

Liberal Deuba becomes PM of Nepal

Nepal’s president appointed veteran liberal Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister yesterday, the president’s office said, a day after the Supreme Court reinstated the parliament that was dissolved in May.
13 July 2021

Malaysia shuts jab centre after 200 workers infected

A Malaysian coronavirus vaccination centre was shut down yesterday after more than 200 workers tested positive for Covid-19, authorities said, as the country’s cases set a new daily record.
13 July 2021

Covid 3rd wave inevitable

Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned yesterday against overcrowding at tourist sites after the Indian Medical Association (IMA) warned that the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is “inevitable” and “imminent” and alerted the state governments against allowing potential “super-spreader” events. 
13 July 2021

Liberal Deuba becomes PM as Nepal struggles with Covid

Nepal’s president appointed veteran liberal Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister on Tuesday, the president's office said, a day after the Supreme Court reinstated the parliament that was dissolved in May.
13 July 2021

Immunized but banned: EU says not all COVID vaccines equal

After Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor and his wife received two doses of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine in Nigeria, they assumed they would be free to travel this summer to a European destination of their choice. They were wrong.
13 July 2021

Grade 7 book seized in Pakistan's Punjab for printing Malala’s picture

The Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) on Monday confiscated the social studies book for grade 7 published by the Oxford University Press (OUP) for printing the picture of Malala Yousufzai alongside that of 1965 war hero Maj Aziz Bhatti Shaheed in the list of important personalities.
13 July 2021

8 killed in China hotel collapse

Part of a hotel collapsed in the Chinese city of Suzhou killing eight people and rescue workers were searching on Tuesday for nine people missing in the ruins, state media reported.
13 July 2021

Boosting Protection: Thailand to mix Sinovac, Astra shots

Thailand will use AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine as a second dose for those who received Sinovac’s shot as their first dose in a bid to increase protection, it said yesterday.
12 July 2021

Lightning strikes kill dozens in India

More than 50 people were killed in lightning strikes across several states in India, authorities said Monday, including 11 people at a historic fort. 
12 July 2021

25 cities contribute more than 50pc

Just 25 big cities – almost all of them in China – accounted for more than half of the climate-warming gases pumped out by a sample of 167 urban hubs around the world, an analysis of emissions trends showed. 
12 July 2021