People wearing face masks cross a street in Tokyo on Jan 27, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) TOKYO – Japan's crime rate increased for the first time in 20 years in 2022, as relaxed COVID-19 regulations may have led to a rise in instances of street crime, the police said in a report on Thursday. According […]
In this Feb 27, 2009 file photo, prefectural officers (left) disinfect the quail farm where bird flu outbreak had been reported in Toyohashi city, central Japan. TOKYO – The average number of flu patients per medical institution in Japan in the week through Sunday came to 7.37, signaling the beginning of an epidemic, a health […]
Editor's note: Chinese discipline inspection commissions and supervision agencies at all levels are urged to ensure strict discipline enforcement, and great efforts are made to enforce strict political oversight to uphold the authority, writes a veteran journalist with China Daily. As its year-opener, China Central Television broadcast a four-part documentary on the investigations into corruption […]
On Dec 30, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) delivered an interpretation of Articles 14 and 47 of the National Security Law (NSL) for Hong Kong at the request of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on whether overseas lawyers can handle national security cases in the city’s courts. It was a […]
This handout picture taken and released by the Miyazaki prefecture government on December 29, 2014 shows health officers disinfecting a poultry farm in Miyazaki, on Japan's southern island of Kyushu. (AFP PHOTO / MIYAZAKI PREFECTURAL GOVERNMENT) TOKYO — Bird flu cases in Japan hit 54 this season, a record high after new infections were confirmed […]
A day before New Year’s Eve, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress — the nation’s top legislative body — in response to a request submitted by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, delivered an interpretation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong to clarify whether criminal […]
A man receives a dose of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Vientiane, Laos, June 17, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA) HANOI / MANILA / SINGAPORE / VIENTIANE / NEW DELHI / KUALA LUMPUR – The Lao government is speeding up COVID-19 vaccination for children aged between five to 11 years and people […]
A person wearing a protective mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus stands in front of a public awareness notice for COVID-19 protection in Shinjuku district on July 14, 2022, in Tokyo. (EUGENE HOSHIKO / AP) NEW DELHI / VIENTIANE / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA / TOKYO / KUALA LUMPUR […]
A health worker administers Covishield vaccine for COVID-19 at a vaccination center in Hyderabad, India on July 15, 2022. (MAHESH KUMAR A. / AP) NEW DELHI / VIENTIANE / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA – India's vaccine maker Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) announced the price of newly-developed COVID-19 nasal vaccine iNCOVACC on […]
A notice on restrictions on the size of groups to stop the spread of the COVID-19 is pictured on a lamp post in Singapore on March 29, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP) KUALA LUMPUR / MANILA / SINGAPORE / HANOI – Singapore reported 1,017 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total tally to 2,195,980. […]
China’s relaxation of virus curbs highlight reduced risks, success of early policy measures (SHI YU / CHINA DAILY) China released a 10-point plan on Dec 7 to further relax pandemic prevention and control measures following the announcement of rules on Nov 11 to optimize such measures. The latest move was expected. On the fourth day […]
People line up to register their names to receive COVID-19 vaccine in Hyderabad, India, Dec 27, 2021. (MAHESH KUMAR A. / AP) NEW DELHI – India's federal government approved on Friday the use of intranasal COVID-19 vaccine iNCOVACC, officials said. INCOVACC, manufactured by Bharat Biotech International Ltd, will be used as a heterologous booster The […]
People wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk near a landmark lion statue of a department store that also wears a mask in the Ginza shipping area of Tokyo on July 28, 2022. (SHUJI KAJIYAMA / AP) TOKYO / HANOI / MANILA / SINGAPORE – Japan's health ministry and local […]
Earlier this month, China announced that it was discontinuing its strict dynamic zero-COVID policy to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Many people, using 20-20 hindsight, tried to second guess the decision. Many "Monday morning quarterbacks" asked why China didn't open up earlier and why it would risk putting its economy in a temporary […]
A Bangladeshi man receives COVID-19 vaccine in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Jan 30, 2022. (MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU / AP) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / SEOUL / KUALA LUMPUR / DHAKA / NEW DELHI – Bangladesh began administering the 4th dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday to priority groups in its capital city of Dhaka. The priority groups […]
Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant at Suri Seri Begawan Raja Pengiran Anak Damit Mosque in an effort to counter the spread of the COVID-19 in Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei on March 17, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / SEOUL / KUALA LUMPUR – Brunei logged a daily average […]
In this file photo taken on Nov 25, 2020, Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn (left) and Queen Suthida (right) meet supporters after attending a ceremony to mark an anniversary of the death of King Vajiravudh in Bangkok, Thailand. (RAPEEPHAT SITICHAILAPA / AP) BANGKOK / KUALA LUMPUR / SINGAPORE / MANILA – Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua […]
A person wearing a protective mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus stands in front of a public awareness notice for COVID-19 protection in Shinjuku district on July 14, 2022, in Tokyo. (EUGENE HOSHIKO / AP) TOKYO / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE – Japan's Meiji Holdings Co said on Tuesday its drug […]
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP) ISLAMABAD / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / YANGON / WELLINGTON / NEW DELHI – The Australian government has revealed its plan to continue fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in 2023, focusing support […]
People return to shopping at Newmarket in Auckland, New Zealand as some COVID-19 restrictions were eased on Nov 10, 2021. (ALEX BURTON / NEW ZEALAND HERALD VIA AP) ISLAMABAD / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / YANGON / WELLINGTON – New Zealand recorded 40,098 new community cases of COVID-19 and 35 more deaths from the pandemic over […]
A health worker speaks to arrivals at a COVID-19 vaccination hub at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in Brisbane on Aug 17, 2021. (PATRICK HAMILTON / AFP) MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / SYDNEY / NEW DELHI / KUALA LUMPUR – Health authorities of Australia's state of Queensland on Friday urged residents to get […]
Medical staff transport a patient from the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne on Oct 9, 2021, as Victoria state recorded 1965 new COVID-19 cases, its highest daily infection number since the start of the pandemic, putting more pressure on the state's struggling health system. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP) SYDNEY / YANGON / SINGAPORE / HANOI […]
In this file photo dated Nov 29, 2016, health officials investigate a chicken farm in Sekikawa village, Niigata prefecture, northern Japan, after a highly contagious avian flu strain in poultry was detected. (YUKIE NISHIZAWA / KYODO NEWS VIA AP) TOKYO – Japan's agriculture ministry urged poultry farms and local governments on Wednesday to step up […]
A Bangladeshi man receives COVID-19 vaccine in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Jan 30, 2022. (MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU / AP) CANBERRA / MANILA / YANGON / SINGAPORE / HANOI / KUALA LUMPUR / COLOMBO / NEW DELHI / DHAKA / ISLAMABAD – The Bangladeshi government has said that everyone aged 60 or above will be offered a […]
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP) CANBERRA / MANILA / YANGON / SINGAPORE / HANOI – A leading infectious diseases expert has predicted that up to 500,000 Australians are currently infected with COVID-19. Peter Collignon, an infectious […]
Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant at Suri Seri Begawan Raja Pengiran Anak Damit Mosque in an effort to counter the spread of the COVID-19 in Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei on March 17, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE – Brunei logged a daily average of 503 new COVID-19 […]
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks with media after Parliamentary church service in Canberra on July 26, 2022. (STR / AFP) SINGAPORE / SYDNEY / HANOI / MANILA / KUALA LUMPUR – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday afternoon and would work from home while isolating. In […]
A notice warning people not to gather in groups larger than five persons as part of restrictions to hald the spread of the coronavirus is displayed at Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore on Jan 4, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP) SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA / KUALA LUMPUR – Singaporeans should expect a […]
A woman receives a shot of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug 29, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA) YANGON / SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA / DHAKA – Myanmar has vaccinated more than 37.53 million people for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, the Ministry of Health's data showed. The figures comprised over 30.77 million people aged 18 and […]
John Lee Ka-chiu, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said on Tuesday that the central government in Beijing was "highly concerned" about the possible security risks that might arise from foreign lawyers being involved in national security cases, and that he had requested a legal interpretation on the matter by the National […]