SEOUL – South Korea will exclude elderly citizens aged 65 and above from its first round of vaccinations against the coronavirus starting on Feb 26, amid growing concerns over how well the first batch of vaccine, by British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca, would work on older people. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced the […]
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysia on Monday (Feb 15) defended a plan to deport 1,200 Myanmar nationals on navy ships sent from their homeland just two weeks after a coup, following criticism from the United Nations. News emerged last week that the migrants would be sent home, after the Myanmar military seized power and detained […]
SINGAPORE – A flurry of questions surrounding the horrific crash which claimed five young lives in the wee hours of Saturday (Feb 13) in Tanjong Pagar have dominated conversations over the weekend, but two deserve additional airtime. One, how likely will a car burst into flames in a crash? Two, how do we prevent a […]
SEOUL (AFP) – A former South Korean coastguard chief was cleared of negligence on Monday (Feb 15) over bungled rescue operations for one of the country’s deadliest maritime disasters, when more than 300 people were killed, most of them schoolchildren. The Sewol ferry capsized off the south coast in April 2014, and many of the […]
NEW DEHLI (AFP) – Fallout from a devastating flash flood in a remote north Indian valley hit the capital New Delhi more than 500km downstream on Monday (Feb 15), when water supplies were cut to tens of thousands of residents. The authorities blamed the high quantities of mud and debris from the Feb 7 deluge, which […]
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s economy expanded more than expected in the fourth quarter, extending the recovery from its worst postwar recession thanks to a rebound in overseas demand that boosted exports and capital spending.FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians wearing protective masks amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walk on a street in Tokyo, Japan, February 2, 2021. […]
YANGON (REUTERS) – Myanmar’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been remanded in custody until Wednesday (Feb 17), not Monday as previously thought, her lawyer told media, as protesters began gathering again to demand her release and an end to military rule. Security forces in Myanmar deployed armoured vehicles in major cities two […]
SEOUL (REUTERS) – South Korea eased some of its strictest social distancing rules for businesses on Monday (Feb 15), but kept limits on private gatherings as authorities prepared to unveil plans for the roll-out of the first coronavirus vaccines later this month. The decision comes after a subdued Lunar New Year holiday last week. Daily […]
TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) – Japan began assessing damage and restoring power after a magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck off Fukushima late Saturday (Feb 13), leaving about 150 people injured and temporarily cutting power to almost a million households. No deaths were reported, according to public broadcaster NHK, and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference on […]
SINGAPORE – Three men are being investigated for purportedly participating in a public assembly without a permit outside the Embassy of Myanmar in Singapore, the police said on Sunday (Feb 14). Two of the men are Japanese nationals, aged 48 and 61, and the third is a 49-year-old Indonesian. The police were alerted at 3.45pm […]