Former Princess Mako Komuro, who married commoner Kei Komuro on Tuesday, said their marriage was a "necessary choice" and she wants to lead a "peaceful...

An expert panel on Tuesday (Oct 26) voted overwhelmingly to recommend the US Food and Drug Administration authorise the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for...

South Korea granted emergency use approval for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine produced by South Korean drugmaker Samsung Biologics, the health ministry said on Tuesday (Oct 26).Moderna...

Hong Kong will tighten coronavirus travel restrictions to bring it more into line with the Chinese mainland, its leader said on Tuesday (Oct 26), as...

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Monday (Oct 25) that he had named Singaporean sociologist Noeleen Heyzer as the new special envoy to Myanmar.She will...

Southeast Asian leaders begin their annual summit on Tuesday (Oct 26) without Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing, who overthrew a civilian government on Feb...

Myanmar's junta on Sunday (Oct 24) labelled the United Nations' latest rights report on the conflict-wracked nation an "incitement to violence" and accused the body...

A boat's crew casts a net into the seemingly clean waters off Japan's Izu peninsula, but not to catch fish - they are scooping up...

A financial industry group warned on Monday (Oct 25) that Hong Kong's zero-COVID policy and strict quarantine requirements for international travellers threatens to undermine the...

The Beijing marathon this weekend has been postponed until further notice, organisers said, as China seeks to stamp out a COVID-19 outbreak and return to...

Pakistan has its best chance ever to stamp out polio, officials say, after a surprise drop in cases possibly caused by Covid lockdowns over the...

One of the world's largest oil producers, Saudi Arabia, announced Saturday it aims to reach "net zero" greenhouse gas emissions by 2060, joining more than...

North Korea's recent ballistic missile tests were "concerning and counterproductive" for efforts to reduce tensions, and Pyongyang should instead engage in talks, the US envoy...

A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Taiwan on Sunday (Oct 24), with residents reporting strong shaking in the capital Taipei.The central weather bureau traced the epicentre...

China has passed an education law that seeks to cut the "twin pressures" of homework and off-site tutoring in core subjects, the official Xinhua news...

Japan adopted a new energy policy on Friday that promotes nuclear and renewables as sources of clean energy to achieve the country’s pledge of reaching...

Vietnam plans to reopen the resort island of Phu Quoc to vaccinated foreign visitors in late November, authorities said, as the country looks to reboot...

North Korea on Saturday (Oct 23) accused the Biden administration of raising military tensions with China through its “reckless” backing of Taiwan, and said that...

North Korea said on Thursday (Oct 21) the United States was overreacting to its recent missile test and questioned the sincerity of Washington's offers of...

Aircraft and ships were searching off South Korea's eastern coast on Thursday (Oct 21) for six crew members still missing a day after a fishing...

The Taliban agreed on Wednesday (Oct 20) to work with Russia, China and Iran on regional security after the Kremlin warned of emerging Islamic State...

South Korea is aiming to join the ranks of advanced spacefaring nations on Thursday (Oct 21) when it attempts to put a 1-tonne payload into...

Abandoned, he feels, by three countries, Cho Guk-gyeong shows a visitor his South Korean alien registration card, which describes him as “stateless". It’s an apt...

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam fractured her right elbow after a fall at the official chief executive residence during the night and remains in hospital...

Myanmar's military government has freed hundreds of political prisoners from the notorious Insein prison, including Aung San Suu Kyi's party spokesman and a famous comedian...

Global finance officials are worried about rising inflation pressures but there it is little fear that it will become a  "runaway train," IMF chief Kristalina...

North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from off its east coast on Tuesday (Oct 19), South Korea's military said, pulling Japan's new prime...

An Indonesian cafe is jumping on the global Squid Game bandwagon, hoping to fuel its pandemic recovery by recreating some of the games from the...

At least 25 people have died in landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains in southwestern India, officials said on Sunday (Oct 17), as rescuers...

Myanmar's shadow government, formed by opponents of ruling military, welcomed on Monday (Oct 18) the exclusion of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing from an upcoming...

Malaysia's Court of Appeal on Monday (Oct 18) granted a request from former prime minister Najib Razak, who was convicted on graft charges last year,...

Myanmar's junta chief has been excluded from a regional summit this month in a snub by South-East Asian countries who will invite a non-political representative...

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing on a Shiite mosque in southern Afghanistan that killed 47 people and wounded scores...

Taiwan's president on Saturday (Oct 16) paid her respects at a morgue to the dozens of people killed in a deadly inferno that ripped through...

Japan's new prime minister on Sunday (Oct 17) sent a ritual offering to the controversial Yasukuni shrine that honours war dead and is seen by...

Eleven students drowned and 10 others were rescued during a school outing for a river cleanup in Indonesia’s West Java Province, officials said Saturday.Local officials...

Suicide bombers attacked a Shiite mosque packed with worshippers attending Friday prayers in southern Afghanistan, killing at least 47 people and wounding 70, a Taliban...

A Southeast Asia summit this month will invite a non-political representative from Myanmar, Brunei said on Saturday (Oct 16), sidelining the leader of the military...

Three people were killed and another seven were injured when a moderately strong earthquake and an aftershock hit Indonesia’s resort island of Bali early Saturday...

The death toll from a storm that triggered landslides and flash floods across the Philippines has risen to at least 19, authorities said Thursday (Oct...

Taiwan will not start a war with China but will defend itself "full on", Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Thursday (Oct 14), amid a...

Myanmar's ruling military has not blocked a special Southeast Asian envoy from visiting the country but will not allow him to meet detained former leader...

Japan's largest opposition, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), said on Thursday (Oct 14) it would try to close the country's income gap with...

South Korea established a panel on Wednesday to debate a strategy on how to "live with COVID-19" in the long-term, as the country seeks to...

The Taliban held their first face-to-face talks with a joint US-EU delegation on Tuesday (Oct 12) in Qatar as Brussels pledged €1 billion (US$1.2 billion)...

Chinese military exercises near Taiwan are targeted at forces promoting the island's formal independence and are a "just" move to protect peace and stability, China's...

In Mumbai's jewellery bazaar, Kavita Jogani gingerly places her wedding bangles on the shopkeeper's scales, one of the thousands of Indians parting with their most...

The leader of nuclear-armed North Korea, Kim Jong Un, has blamed the United States for tensions on the peninsula, state media reported Tuesday (Oct 12).The...

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is due to unveil a platform on Tuesday (Oct 12) for an Oct 31 general election, with an expected...

At least 15 people have died during unseasonably heavy rain and flooding in north China's Shanxi province earlier this month, local officials said Tuesday (Oct...

Chinese authorities confirmed on Tuesday (Oct 12) 13 people had died after a bus plunged into a rushing river amid heavy flooding that has caused...

Many say they would die for their children, but throat cancer patient Ramamoorthy Rajeswari lived for them.Hanging on to life by a thread, and in...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un urged officials to focus on improving citizens' lives in the face of a "grim" economic situation, state media reported on...

Japan's new prime minister, Fumio Kishida, makes his debut in parliamentary questioning on Monday (Oct 11), the first chance for the opposition to probe Kishida's...

The United States said on Sunday (Oct 10) the first face-to-face meeting between senior US and Taliban officials since the hardline group retook power in...

Security forces in Indian Kashmir have detained more than 300 people for questioning in recent days as they try to stem a wave of targeted...

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will pledge to defend the island's sovereignty and democracy in a major speech on Sunday (Oct 10), saying it faces challenges...

Taiwan will continue to bolster its defences to ensure that nobody can force the island to accept the path China has laid down for Taiwan...

Iraqis voted on Sunday (Oct 10) in a general election many said they would boycott, having lost faith in the democratic system brought in by...

Philippine journalists and rights activists said on Friday (Oct 8) the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa was a "triumph" for press...

Singapore and South Korea have agreed to launch vaccinated travel lanes (VTL) starting from Nov 15, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) announced on Friday (Oct...

A suicide bomb attack on worshippers at a Shiite mosque in the Afghan city of Kunduz killed at least 55 people on Friday (Oct 8),...

The United States and the Taliban will hold their first in-person talks since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan starting Saturday (Oct 9), the State Department...

Taiwan will ensure regional peace and stability and seeks to work with other like-minded democracies, President Tsai Ing-wen told senior French and Australian dignitaries on...

The United States and China have agreed in principle for their presidents to hold a virtual meeting before the end of the year, a senior...

John Sopko, the US special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said on Wednesday his office would look into allegations that former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani...

A proposed travel bubble between the Indonesian province of Riau Islands and Singapore has been called off due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in...

South Korea will begin taking reservations for coronavirus vaccines from pregnant women this week as the country accelerates its inoculation drive to reach its goal...

Military tensions with China are at their worst in more than 40 years, Taiwan's defence minister said on Wednesday (Oct 6), days after record numbers...

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday (Oct 5) that he has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about Taiwan and they agreed to abide...

Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are discussing not inviting junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to an upcoming leaders' summit, the grouping's...

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has said he will "prepare for my defence" against an International Criminal Court (ICC) probe into his deadly drug war after...

Malaysia summoned the Chinese ambassador to Kuala Lumpur on Monday (Oct 4) to express its protest against the "encroachment" into its waters by Beijing's vessels,...

Taiwan needs to be on alert for China's "over the top" military activities which are violating regional peace, Premier Su Tseng-chang said on Tuesday (Oct...

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the Election Commission would ensure that strict health protocols were enforced if state election was held in Melaka."My...

Japan's parliament on Monday (Oct 4) voted Fumio Kishida the country's next prime minister, with the new leader expected to announce a Cabinet including both...

Six people were killed when violence broke out in India's Uttar Pradesh state on Sunday (Oct 3) after a car linked to a federal minister...

Taliban supporters and senior figures held their first mass rally near Kabul on Sunday (Oct 3), but the show of strength was overshadowed by a...

North and South Korea have restored their cross-border communication, Seoul said Monday (Oct 4), after Pyongyang dropped them in August.The restoration comes just days after...

A total of 39 Chinese air force aircraft entered Taiwan's air defence zone on Saturday (Oct 2), the defence ministry in Taipei said, setting a...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter would run for president in next year's election and her father's long-time aide, who filed his vice presidential candidacy, would...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter would run for president in next year's election and her father's long-time aide, who filed his vice presidential candidacy, would...

When Mr Kamar Faizal Baharam’s wife and young daughter tested positive for COVID-19 recently, he thought about whether to take them back to Singapore for...

UK nationals visiting India this month will have to undergo mandatory quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in retaliation for UK curbs...

Taiwan has reported the largest ever incursion by the Chinese air force into its air defence zone, with 38 aircraft flying in two waves on...

As soon as the dojo was open, some 30 students of the Cisarua Refugee Shotokan Karate Club hurried their way to the second floor of...

Southeast Asia wants to be taken seriously based on its own merits, instead of becoming an arena of competition between the United States and China,...

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an "urgent" international response to the political crisis created in Myanmar by the February 1 military coup, in a...

Beijing said Wednesday it will block Taiwan’s application to join a Pacific Rim trade initiative, citing as its reason the island's refusal to concede that...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's influential sister has been appointed to the country's top government body, the official KCNA news agency reported on Thursday...

The projectile North Korea fired off its east coast on Tuesday (Sep 28) was a newly developed hypersonic missile, state news media KCNA reported on...

A total of 25 people were hospitalised due to COVID-19 during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, instead of the initially reported five, organisers said on...

From shoes and sweaters to car parts and coffee, Vietnam's strict and lengthy COVID-19 lockdown has sparked product shortages among worldwide brands such as Nike...

Japan's ruling party votes for a new leader on Wednesday (Sep 29) who will almost certainly become the next prime minister ahead of a general...

Japan will lift a COVID-19 state of emergency in all regions on Thursday (Sep 30) as the number of new cases falls and the strain...

China on Tuesday (Sep 28) showed off its increasingly sophisticated air power including surveillance drones and jets able to jam hostile electronic equipment, with an...

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Monday (Sep 27) tabled the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) in parliament, with a pledge for Malaysia to “become a...

Nuclear-armed North Korea fired what appeared to be a short-range missile into the sea on Tuesday (Sep 28), the South's military said, as Pyongyang's United...

A British frigate was sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Monday (Sep 27) en route to Vietnam, according to an official tweet from the...

Two fishermen were reported dead after a cyclone packing strong winds and rains barrelled into India's east coast late on Sunday (Sep 26), forcing the...

A strong earthquake hit off the Philippines' main island on Monday (Sep 27), but there were no immediate reports of damage, the US Geological Survey...

China will reduce the number of abortions performed for "non-medical purposes", the country's Cabinet said in new guidelines issued on Monday (Sep 27), that it...

The Taliban hanged a dead body from a crane in the main square of Herat city in western Afghanistan, a witness said Saturday, in a...

The health ministry has begun reviewing Japan's health care system in preparation for a possible sixth wave of coronavirus infections, following numerous cases of people...

Chinese state media welcomed telecoms giant Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, back to the "motherland" on Saturday (Sep 25), after more than 1,000 days...

China's central bank on Friday said all financial transactions involving cryptocurrencies are illegal, sounding the death knell for the digital trade in China after a...

President Joe Biden and the leaders of Australia, India and Japan highlighted their Quad group's role in safeguarding a stable, democratic Indo-Pacific on Friday (Sep...

It was 6am and the sun had just risen in Pasirhuni village, West Java, but Rudiat was already busy sorting out many books.The tofu seller...

Chinese telecoms executive Meng Wanzhou was freed Friday (Sep 24) after three years of house arrest in Canada, following an agreement with the US Justice...

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said he would meet his Japanese counterpart on Thursday (Sep 23) and hoped for progress to end a dispute...

Japan will double its COVID-19 vaccine donations intended for needy countries to about 60 million doses, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a virtual summit...

Taiwan plans to contribute to a new fund run by the World Bank fund to fight pandemics and will also share vaccines globally once it...

South Korean authorities warned people returning from a holiday to get tested even for the mildest COVID-19 type symptoms, especially before clocking in for work...

China's north-eastern city of Harbin, population 10 million, went into semi-shutdown after reporting new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases for the first time since early February.Three...

Manila mayor Francisco Domagoso said on Wednesday (Sep 22) he will run for the Philippine presidency in the 2022 election.Francisco Domagoso, 47, better known by...

South Korea President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday addressed the UN General Assembly and repeated a call for a declaration to formally end the 1950-1953 Korean...

Delivering vaccines to Myanmar's junta, but also to rebel groups that are the generals' sworn enemies, China is playing both sides to fight the coronavirus...

Internet users in a record number of countries have faced arrest and physical attacks for their posts over the past year, a report said on...

Solving Hong Kong's shortage of housing and increasing land supply will be key priorities for authorities under the new, "patriots-only" political system imposed by Beijing,...

Cuba agreed on Monday (Sep 20) to provide Vietnam with 10 million doses of its homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, Abdala, for which the Asian nation has...

Once renowned for world-class cinema, Hong Kong's film industry was already struggling before the latest hurdle - Chinese mainland-style censorship as authorities take their purge...

Results for the vote for members of Hong Kong's Election Committee were finalized Monday after hours of delays, with just one opposition-leaning candidate elected to...

Humanitarian organizations in Japan have said they are determined to continue support for Afghanistan despite deteriorating security and logistics issues amid uncertainty in the country...

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Johor-based company Mi Kuang furniture would make around five delivery trips to Singapore every week.There would be a long list of...

Researchers are collecting samples from bats in northern Cambodia in a bid to understand the COVID-19 pandemic, returning to a region where a very similar...

Indonesian security forces have killed the leader of militant group East Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT), which has ties with Islamic State, police said on Sunday (Sep...

Fewer than 5,000 Hong Kong people from mostly pro-establishment circles began voting on Sunday (Sep 19) for candidates to an election committee, vetted as loyal...

Relatives of the victims of a U.S. drone strike that wiped out 10 members of an Afghan family in a "tragic mistake" demanded a face-to-face...

The first time Chen Shaohua went missing and was picked up by police, the 68-year-old's family put it down to confusion.When he disappeared a second...

Myanmar's junta will put ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on trial for corruption, her lawyer said Friday, adding to a raft of ongoing cases...

The third chartered flight bringing civilians from Afghanistan to Qatar since US forces withdrew last month took off on Friday (Sep 17) with around 170...

Workers in the Afghan capital Kabul replaced signs for the country's women's ministry with those for the Taliban's moral police on Friday (Sep 17), as...

India gave a record 22.6 million vaccinations on Friday (Sep 17), three times the average daily total during the past month, as some states organised...

Three people were killed and dozens injured when a shallow earthquake struck south-western China on Thursday (Sep 16), triggering the second-highest level of emergency response...

In a small tribal village on the eastern tip of India, an enterprising teacher has turned walls into blackboards and roads into classrooms, trying to...

Indonesia is in talks with the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as six drug companies to become a global hub for manufacturing vaccines, its...

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday (Sep 15) approved a formal investigation into possible crimes against humanity allegedly committed under the leadership...

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea on Wednesday (Sep 15), according to South Korea's military, as China's foreign minister visited Seoul and...

Taiwanese fighter jets landed on a makeshift runway on a highway strip on Wednesday (Sep 15) overseen by President Tsai Ing-wen as annual drills reached...

The Taliban on Tuesday (Sep 14) thanked the world for pledging hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency aid to Afghanistan, and urged the United...

Farid glances around furtively, trying to outsmart the Pakistani border guards. It’s a dangerous game of cat and mouse for the 11-year-old Afghan boy from...

New local COVID-19 infections more than doubled in China's southeastern province of Fujian, health authorities said on Tuesday (Sep 14), prompting officials to quickly roll...

The United States remains prepared to engage with North Korea, a White House spokeswoman said on Monday (Sep 13), despite Pyongyang's announcement that it had...

Malaysia's cabinet has proposed raising the government's statutory debt ceiling to 65 per cent of gross domestic product, as part of measures to deal with...

Chinese state media on Tuesday (Sep 14) said it was "imperative and urgent" to regulate advertisements for cosmetic surgery, procedures and treatments, saying that some...

Authorities in Shanghai and neighbouring coastal regions cancelled flights, and suspended schools, subways and trains as Typhoon Chanthu approached China after drenching Taiwan though causing...

Women in Afghanistan can continue to study in universities, including at post-graduate levels, but classrooms will be gender-segregated and Islamic dress is compulsory, the higher...

The United States military said on Sunday (Sep 12) missile tests conducted by North Korea over the weekend posed "threats" to the country's neighbours and...

North Korea carried out successful tests of a new long-range cruise missile over the weekend, state media said on Monday (Sep 13), seen by analysts...

Japan can now give defence equipment and technology to Vietnam under an agreement signed on Saturday (Sep 11), as the two countries step up their...