Asia

US considering Covid entry restrictions for travelers from China

The United States is considering Covid entry restrictions for travelers from China, US officials said Tuesday, after Beijing dramatically loosened hardline containment measures this month. Infections have surged across China as key pillars of its containment policy have been dismantled, prompting US officials to express concern at the potential for new variants to be unleashed. That potential became even more real Monday when Beijing said it would scrap mandatory Covid quarantine for overseas arrivals from […]

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One dead in China highway pile-up involving hundreds of cars

  One person died during a highway pile-up involving hundreds of vehicles in central China, state broadcaster CCTV reported Wednesday, with images of the accident showing scenes of chaos. Aerial pictures showed hundreds of passenger cars, vans and lorries — many of which had smashed into one another — piled up on one section of the highway in dense fog. Other viral videos posted online showed the mangled remains of several vehicles that had crashed into […]

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Malaysian behind Singapore penny-stocks scam jailed for 36 years

Singapore, Singapore (AFP) A Malaysian businessman convicted of masterminding a stock scam that wiped US$5.8 billion off Singapore’s exchange was sentenced on Wednesday to 36 years in jail by a court in the city-state. John Soh Chee Wen orchestrated the scheme, according to court documents, and his accomplice, Singaporean Quah Su-Ling, was also given a 20-year jail term. Both were convicted in May of using more than 180 trading accounts to inflate the share prices […]

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Hong Kong asks Japan to reverse ‘hasty’ Covid flight curbs

  Hong Kong, China (AFP) Hong Kong authorities on Wednesday asked Japan to remove restrictions on direct flights from the city, which were imposed following the explosion of coronavirus cases in mainland China. The city deployed similar curbs during its own fight against Covid, including rapid bans on airlines for carrying virus-positive passengers and travel restrictions for nations with major outbreaks. Japan became one of the first countries to impose China-specific travel restrictions this week […]

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China Covid pivot sparks jitters worldwide

BEIJING, China (AFP) – Beijing’s sudden pivot away from containing Covid-19 has caused jitters around the world, with the United States saying it may restrict travel from China following its decision to end mandatory quarantine for overseas arrivals. China late Monday scrapped quarantine for inbound travelers from January 8 onwards, dismantling the last remaining piece of its stringent zero-Covid policy and ending some of the world’s harshest border restrictions. The move was greeted with jubilation by […]

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‘It just dies’: Yellow-band disease ravages Thailand’s coral reefs

BAN KO SAMAESAN, Thailand (AFP) – Underneath the calm turquoise waters off eastern Thailand, a rapidly spreading disease is killing corals over vast stretches of the sea floor, and scientists fear it may be getting worse because of climate change. Yellow-band disease — named for the color it turns corals before destroying them — was first spotted decades ago and has caused widespread damage to reefs in the Caribbean. There is no known cure. But it […]

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Top Thai conservation official arrested on corruption charges

A top Thai conservation official was arrested on corruption charges on Tuesday, with police saying he was caught receiving a bribe and that $144,000 in cash was found in his office. Rutchada Suriyakul na Ayutya, director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, was appointed in February. He managed efforts to protect the kingdom’s environment and endangered animals, overseeing more than 150 national parks. “The officials have arrested him while the money […]

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North Korea’s ruling party begins key annual meeting

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s ruling party has kicked off a major annual meeting with economic policy on the agenda, state media reported Tuesday. Instead of a New Year’s Day speech, leader Kim Jong Un in recent years has used the year-end plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea as a platform to outline policies in key areas such as diplomacy, security and the economy. This year’s meeting began on Monday with […]

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Final verdicts in Suu Kyi junta trial set for Friday

Yangon, Myanmar (AFP) A Myanmar junta court will give its verdicts on five remaining charges in the 18-month trial of jailed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday, a legal source told AFP. Suu Kyi has been a prisoner since the military toppled her government in February last year, ending the Southeast Asian nation’s brief period of democracy. The Nobel laureate, 77, has already been found guilty on 14 charges ranging from corruption to […]

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Seoul says military fired at N. Korean drones after incursion

South Korea accused the North of flying several drones across their shared border on Monday, prompting Seoul’s military to deploy warplanes to shoot them down — with local media reporting one of the planes later crashed. The incursion was the first time in years that North Korean drones have invaded the South’s airspace and came hot on the heels of a recent flurry of sanctions-busting weapons tests by Pyongyang. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff […]

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Pres. Xi urges steps to ‘protect’ lives as China battles Covid wave

Beijing, China (AFP) Chinese President Xi Jinping urged officials on Monday to take steps to protect lives in his first public remarks on Covid-19 since Beijing dramatically loosened hardline containment measures this month. Having mostly cut itself off from the rest of the world during the pandemic, China is now experiencing the planet’s biggest surge in infections after abruptly lifting restrictions that torpedoed the economy. Studies have estimated that around one million people could die […]

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17 dead in days of heavy snow in Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Heavy snowfall across large parts of Japan has killed 17 people over the last 10 days, with thousands of homes suffering power outages, Japanese officials said Monday. Much of the country’s west coast as well as the northern region of Hokkaido have seen persistent heavy snow in recent days. Some areas have seen almost a meter of snowfall in 24 hours, including the town of Oguni in northeastern Yamagata region, local media […]

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