Category: Regional
Explainer: Indonesia, Asia’s COVID-19 epicentre, considers relaxing curbs
Indonesia is suffering a devastating wave of coronavirus infections, driven by the Delta variant, but the government is already talking about relaxing social curbs enacted [...] » More
Burma junta replaces envoy to Britain who broke ranks
Myanmar has appointed a new temporary head of its embassy in London, Britain’s foreign ministry said on Friday, replacing the previous ambassador who was ousted after [...] » More
Batch of 736,000 Chinese vaccines arrives in Burma
A batch of Chinese Covid-19 vaccines arrived in Myanmar on Thursday, an AFP reporter said, as the coup-wracked country battles a devastating new surge in cases. Myanmar has [...] » More
Asia’s planned travel bubbles burst by Delta variant as some governments cling to ‘zero Covid’ strategy
Fresh lockdowns and restrictions in Asia brought on by the faster-spreading Delta coronavirus variant are making the region’s pursuit of travel bubbles look like an [...] » More
New Zealand suspends quarantine-free travel with Australia
New Zealand will pause its quarantine-free travel arrangement with Australia for at least eight weeks from Friday night, prime minister Jacinda Ardern said, as Australia [...] » More
Australia’s New South Wales reports 136 local COVID-19 cases
New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, on Friday reported the year’s biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases. A total of 136 local cases were [...] » More
Work-from-home future fades in Asia as offices seek more space
As the pandemic rages in Asia, offices are making a comeback. More companies based in the region expect they will need to increase office space in the near future, according [...] » More
Burma to use Chinese vaccines to fight COVID-19 in border area
China is delivering two million COVID-19 vaccine shots to Myanmar this week to help fight a growing outbreak in the border area, officials said, as a spike in infections in [...] » More
G20 agrees statement on environment, struggles over climate progress
Environment and energy ministers from the Group of 20 rich nations made little progress on Thursday on how to reach climate goals, officials said, with a cluster of countries [...] » More
Vietnam’s HCM City extends virus lockdown to August 1
Vietnam’s HCM City, the epicentre of the country’s worst COVID-19 outbreak to date, will extend its current lockdown measures until August 1, state media reported [...] » More
Asean nations left ‘exposed’ by global minimum corporate tax seen forging closer ties with China
The global minimum corporate tax agreed upon by Group of 20 finance ministers this month is set to re-chart the course of international investment flows, creating new [...] » More
Australia grants Lynas $11 million for new rare earth refining process
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (LYC.AX) said on Thursday it got a A$14.8 million ($10.9 million) grant from Australia to commercialise a new mineral refining process that produces [...] » More
Death rates soar in Southeast Asia as virus wave spreads
Indonesia has converted nearly its entire oxygen production to medical use just to meet the demand from COVID-19 patients struggling to breathe. Overflowing hospitals in [...] » More
Burma’s military again seeks to replace its UN ambassador
Myanmar’s military rulers are again seeking to replace the country’s ambassador to the United Nations, who opposed their February 1 ouster of civilian leader Aung [...] » More
Australia cautions COVID-19 cases to rise despite weeks-long lockdown
Coronavirus cases in Australia spiked again on Thursday, despite a weeks-long lockdown, with authorities warning that infections would rise more and take a toll on the [...] » More
