Malaysian govt urged to reconsider entry ban on citizens of countries with high Covid-19 cases

International chambers of commerce have urged the Malaysian government to reconsider the blanket entry ban on citizens of countries with more than 150,000 Covid-19 cases.
5 September 2020

Xi outlines area where China won’t accept meddling

Chinese President Xi Jinping said nothing will come between the Chinese people and the Communist Party that has governed them for more than 70 years, setting a combative tone at a difficult moment in United States-China relations.
4 September 2020

Bangladeshi actor’s HBO series wins at maiden ContentAsia Awards for best drama

HBO Asia original series "Invisible Stories", in which a crucial role was portrayed by Bangladeshi actor Sudip Biswas, has won the award for best drama in Asia at the inaugural ContentAsia Awards.
4 September 2020

Bangladesh to host FAO Asia-Pacific regional conference for the first time

Bangladesh will host the 36th Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) the first time since it joined the organisation in 1973.
4 September 2020

Stop or suspend West Bank annexation? Devil in the detail for Israel-UAE deal

A difference between English and Arabic versions of a trilateral statement after an historic flight from Israel to the UAE has been seized upon by Palestinians to suggest the Gulf state has overstated Israeli readiness to drop West Bank annexation plans.
2 September 2020

Japan’s Suga announces PM run with strong party backing

Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga formally announced his bid to become the country’s next prime minister yesterday, with growing party support making him the race’s clear favourite.
2 September 2020

China’s ‘coercive’ tactics evident in its claims

China has been using coercive tactics in pursuit of territorial and maritime claims in the South and East China Seas, as well as along its border with India and Bhutan, the Pentagon has said.
2 September 2020

China uni sparks anger by telling women to avoid 'revealing' clothes

A Chinese university's guidelines warning women students not to wear "revealing" clothes on campus "to prevent arousing temptation" have whipped up online fury in the socially conservative country.
2 September 2020

Saudi Arabia grants approval for UAE-Israel flights to use its airspace

Flights between Israel and the United Arab Emirates will be able to fly over Saudi Arabia after the kingdom has said all services to and from the UAE can cross its airspace.
2 September 2020

Malaysia PM Muhyiddin gets high approval for Covid-19 handling but popularity slips

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been given the thumbs up by nearly seven out of 10 Malaysians, largely thanks to the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, but his popularity has slipped below 70 per cent for the first time since he took power in March.
2 September 2020

Dr Muhammad Yunus appointed chancellor of Malaysian university

Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, has been appointed the inaugural chancellor of Albukhary International University (AIU) in Malaysia, reports the New Straits Times.
2 September 2020

Nepal lifts virus ban for Bahrain royal expedition

Nepal is making a royal exception to its coronavirus ban on foreign arrivals, with a mountaineering team including a Bahrain prince set to tackle two major peaks.
1 September 2020

Thailand's new finance minister resigns amid economic crisis

Thailand’s recently appointed finance minister, Predee Daochai, has resigned as the government struggles to pull Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy out of a slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
1 September 2020

BTS: K-pop stars become first all-South Korean act to top US singles charts

K-Pop band BTS roars to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts in the United States, becoming the first Korean pop act to debut at No. 1.
1 September 2020

Japan’s ruling party to hold Sept 14 leadership vote

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party plans to hold a leadership vote on September 14 to replace Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is stepping down due to ill health, local media reported yesterday.
31 August 2020

India cases top global rank

India reported 78,512 novel coronavirus infections yesterday, more than any other country but fewer than the previous day when it posted the world’s biggest, single-day tally, as authorities looked to open more sectors of the economy.
31 August 2020

Plane wearing ‘mask’ lands at Singapore airport

The blue mask is a common sight these days but recently it has been spotted on a Cargolux Airlines Boeing 747-8 at Changi Airport in Singapore.
30 August 2020

Restaurant collapse in China’s Shanxi kills 29

Twenty-nine people were killed and seven seriously injured when a restaurant collapsed in northern China’s Shanxi province, the country’s emergencies ministry media has said.
30 August 2020

Beirut port blast death toll rises to 190

The death toll from the Beirut port blast has risen to 190 with more than 6,500 injured and three people missing, Lebanon’s caretaker government says in a report.
30 August 2020

UAE formally ends Israel boycott amid US-brokered deal

The ruler of the United Arab Emirates issued a decree today formally ending the country’s boycott of Israel amid a US-brokered deal to normalize relations between the two countries.
29 August 2020