Asia | The Daily Star

Japan PM apologises after lawmakers' night club outings

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga apologised today after lawmakers from his ruling coalition visited night clubs despite his government’s call for people to avoid unnecessary outings to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Consider Bangladesh when investing and recruiting skilled professionals: ICT state minister to Japanese tech companies

ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak yesterday urged Japanese tech companies to consider Bangladesh while making investment decisions and recruiting skilled professionals.
Taiwan quarantines 5,000 after hospital cluster

Health authorities in Taiwan are quarantining 5,000 people while looking for the source of two new coronavirus cases linked to a hospital.
India, China troops engage in brawl in Sikkim

Indian and Chinese soldiers were engaged in a brawl without weapons along the Line of Actual Control near Naku La pass in north-eastern Indian state of Sikkim last week, the Indian army said today.
China-Taiwan tensions rise days into Biden presidency

Chinese air force planes including 12 fighter jets entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone for a second day on Sunday, Taiwan said, as tensions rise near the island just days into US President Joe Biden’s new administration.
Wuhan returns to normal as world still battling pandemic

A year ago, a notice sent to smartphones in Wuhan at 2 a.m. announced the world’s first coronavirus lockdown, bringing the bustling central Chinese industrial and transport center to a virtual standstill almost overnight. It would last 76 days.
Pandemic, surging food prices leave many in Asia hungry: UN

United Nations agencies are warning that more than 350 million people in the Asia-Pacific region are going hungry as the coronavirus pandemic destroys jobs and pushes food prices higher.
Alibaba's Jack Ma makes first public appearance since October in online meeting: state media

Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma met with 100 rural teachers in China via a video meeting on Wednesday, local government media reported, making the businessman’s first appearance in public since October.
Samsung chief jailed for 2.5 years over corruption scandal

The de facto chief of South Korea's Samsung business empire was convicted Monday over a huge corruption scandal and jailed for two and a half years, in a ruling that deprives the tech giant of its top decision-maker.
Russian police detain Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on arrival at airport

Russian police detained Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny at passport control after he flew home to Russia on Sunday, his lawyer, the prison service and Reuters witnesses said.
Trump signs Malala education act into law

In his last week in office, US President Donald Trump signed into law an act that would award at least 50 per cent of scholarships under a merit-based higher education scholarship programme to Pakistani women.
Chinese city reports coronavirus found on ice cream

The coronavirus was found on ice cream produced in eastern China, prompting a recall of cartons from the same batch, according to the government.
Indonesia hunts for survivors as quake death toll hits 56

The death toll from a powerful earthquake on Indonesia's Sulawesi island has jumped to 56, authorities said Sunday, with thousands left homeless as rescuers raced to find anyone still alive under mountains of rubble.
Nepali climbers make history with first winter summit of K2

A team of climbers from Nepal on Saturday become the first mountaineers to successfully complete a winter attempt on the summit of K2, the world’s second tallest peak.
Indonesia quake kills at least 35, injures hundreds

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island killed at least 35 people and injured hundreds today, with the meteorological agency warning of aftershocks, possibly strong enough to trigger a tsunami.
South Korea court upholds jail for ex-president Park, clearing way for chance of a pardon

South Korea’s top court upheld on Thursday a 20-year prison sentence for former President Park Geun-hye on graft charges that led to her downfall, bringing an end to the legal process and for the first time raising the possibility of a pardon.
Dhaka wants strong engagement among BIMSTEC member states

Dhaka wants BIMSTEC having quicker and more intense engagement amongst the member states to bring out the best possible results for the mutual benefit.
National power grid breakdown plunges Pakistan into darkness

A massive power breakdown plunged the entire Pakistan into darkness minutes before midnight on Saturday, Energy Minister Omar Ayub confirmed in a statement.
Indonesia finds body parts, debris, detects emergency signal of crashed jet

Indonesia detected signals on Sunday that could come from a flight recorder of a Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the sea after taking off from the capital Jakarta, as human body parts and suspected pieces of the plane were retrieved.
Indonesian plane feared to have crashed with 62 aboard

A Sriwijaya Air plane with 62 people on board lost contact after taking off from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on a domestic flight today and rescuers said suspected debris had been found in the sea off the city.
Bhutan reports first Covid-19 death

The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan reported its first Covid-19 death some 10 months after initially detecting the virus and managing to keep the disease under control by largely sealing off the tourism-dependent country.
Kuala Lumpur urged to bring back stranded Bangladeshis to their workplaces

Dhaka has urged Kuala Lumpur to do the needful for bringing back the stranded Bangladeshi workers to their old and new places of work in Malaysia on humanitarian grounds.
Japan expects Bangladesh’s first metro rail line to be operational this year

Japan expects Bangladesh’s first metro rail line in Dhaka to be operational this year despite the coronavirus pandemic that had slowed down all economic activities.
Bangladeshi migrant worker sues Singapore employer for virus 'imprisonment'

A Bangladeshi migrant worker is suing his ex-employer and dormitory operator in Singapore, accusing them of "false imprisonment" after he was locked in his room during a coronavirus outbreak.
Dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy figures arrested

Hong Kong police arrested about 50 pro-democracy figures Wednesday for allegedly violating the new national security law by participating in an unofficial primary election last year held to increase their chances of controlling the legislature, according to political parties and local media.
India’s Reliance Industries and chairman fined over share trades

India’s markets watchdog fined Reliance Industries 250 million rupees ($3.42 million) and its chairman Mukesh Ambani 150 million rupees for what it said were fraudulent trades while selling a stake in a subsidiary in 2007.
In New Year's speech, Taiwan president again reaches out to China

Taiwan is ready to have “meaningful” talks with China as equals as long as they are willing to put aside confrontation, President Tsai Ing-wen said today, offering another olive branch to Beijing in her New Year’s speech.
After a harrowing 2020, Asia tiptoes into the New Year

As Asia says goodbye to 2020 - a tumultuous year that saw the planet roiled by a deadly pandemic - celebrations will be smaller, shorter and more muted amid fears of coronavirus flare-ups.
China sentences HK activists to up to three years in jail for border crossing

A Chinese court sentenced 10 Hong Kong activists to between seven months and three years in jail today for illegally crossing the border, in a case that has drawn international attention and concern over the defendants’ treatment.
Indian farmers agree to meet government over contentious farm laws

Leaders of Indian farmers’ unions have agreed to meet ministers, possibly paving the way for a seventh round of talks with the government which has so far failed to mollify growers who say three new agricultural laws threaten their livelihoods.