Southeast Asia

Strengthen Saarc cooperation to face Covid-19 challenges: Momen

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has called upon all his counterparts of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) member states to work together in strengthening regional cooperation to fight the challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic.
BSF rescues Bangladeshi woman ‘trafficked’ into India

India’s Border Security Force (BSF) personnel rescued a Bangladeshi woman who was trafficked into India from West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, an official says.
Myanmar bars Rohingya candidate from election

A Rohingya Muslim is barred from standing in Myanmar's upcoming election, in a decision decried by rights groups as discriminatory and a symptom of the "ongoing genocide" against the persecuted minority.
Death toll reaches 21 as search resumes for people missing in landslide in Kerala’s Idukki

A massive search operation using man and machine, is underway to find 50 odd people reported missing after a landslide in Kerala’s Idukki district.
Greta Thunberg donates 100,000 euro to aid flood relief efforts in Bangladesh, India

Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg has pledged to donate 100,000 euro from prize money to flood relief efforts in Bangladesh and India.
China halts HK extradition treaties with Canada, Australia, UK

China announced the suspension Tuesday of Hong Kong's extradition treaties with Canada, Australia and Britain in a tit-for-tat move following similar decisions by those countries over a controversial new security law.
Bangladeshi in Al Jazeera documentary to be deported from Malaysia

Bangladeshi Md Rayhan Kabir who appeared in the controversial Al Jazeera documentary will be deported and blacklisted to prevent him from returning to Malaysia, says Immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud.
Cancel financial grant to Myanmar police, HRW urges Japan

Human Rights Watch has called for Japan to immediately cancel plans to donate money to Myanmar police to purchase vehicles and communications equipment, saying the force has a well-documented record of serious human rights violations, including against the Rohingya population in the country.
India, China accuse each other of violating de facto border

India and China on Saturday each traded accusations that the other had violated their shared de facto border, an area that this week became the site of the deadliest clash in half a century between the two nuclear-armed giants.
19 killed in China tanker truck blast

The number of people killed in a tanker truck explosion on a highway in eastern China has climbed to 19, with more than 170 injured, local authorities said Sunday.
677 Bangladeshi workers return from Kuwait, UAE, Maldives

A total of 677 Bangladeshi citizens, most of whom are migrant workers, have returned from Kuwait, UAE and Maldives by three separate special flights since Monday.
Death toll from Pakistan airline crash now 97

The flight data recorder from the Pakistani airliner that crashed into a residential neighbourhood of Karachi has been found, an official said on Saturday, as the death toll rose to 97.
Duterte govt shuts down Philippines' top broadcaster ABS-CBN

Philippine regulators today shut down the country's largest media company and a frequent target of President Rodrigo Duterte's tirades, a day after its 25-year congressional franchise expired.
Include migrants in policies to address Covid-19: Red Cross to governments

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) calls on governments to systematically include migrants, irrespective of legal status, in their programmes and policies aiming to address the Covid-19 pandemic.
Military assault continues in Rakhine, Chin when world distracted by Covid-19

UN human rights expert Yanghee Lee has called upon the United Nations to step up its efforts to protect civilians in Rakhine and Chin states of Myanmar, alleging ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by the Myanmar military there.
Malaysian man walks 120km to avoid infecting anyone with Covid-19

The story of a Malaysian man, who walked 70km over three days from Kota Kinabalu to get to his hometown of Kota Marudu (some 120km away) with a dog as his companion, is getting much attention from internet users.
Coronavirus pandemic to hit growth in Asia: World Bank

The coronavirus pandemic is expected to sharply slow growth in developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific as well as China, the World Bank says in an economic update.
China reports 31 new coronavirus cases in mainland

Mainland China reports 31 new coronavirus cases, including one locally transmitted infection, the country’s National Health Commission said, dropping from 45 cases a day earlier.
China reports drop in new imported coronavirus cases, no local transmissions

Mainland China reported a drop in new confirmed coronavirus cases as imported infections fell and no locally transmitted infections are reported, including in central Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak in China.
WHO calls for urgent, aggressive actions as coronavirus cases soar in Southeast Asia region

The World Health Organization (WHO) calls on Southeast Asian countries, including Bangladesh, to urgently scale-up aggressive measures to combat Covid-19, as confirmed cases crossed 480, and the disease claimed eight lives in the region.
Thailand cancels on-arrival visa for 18 countries

Thailand cancels the grant of visa on arrival for 18 countries and visa exemption for three others to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the country's interior minister said.
Section 144 imposed in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh

Delhi Police deploy forces and imposed Section 144 in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh area which has been the epicentre of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) agitation, as protesters have been sitting on the road since December 15 demanding the withdrawal of the act.
South Korea virus cases surge as WHO sounds maximum alert

South Korea reports its biggest surge in new coronavirus cases as concerns grow of a possible epidemic in the United States and the World Health Organization raises its risk alert to its highest level.
Capable people, not party reps: Mahathir’s plans for new government

Malaysia’s Interim Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad reveals his plan for the new government, saying that he wants a cabinet comprising capable individuals and not just party loyalists.
Coronavirus Outbreak in South Korea: Samsung confirms case at phone factory

Samsung Electronics says that one coronavirus case had been confirmed at its mobile device factory complex in the southeastern city of Gumi, causing a shutdown of its entire facility there until Monday morning.
Cruise ship shunned over coronavirus fears arrives in Cambodia

A cruise ship that spent two weeks at sea after being turned away by five countries over fears that someone aboard might have the coronavirus arrived in Cambodia on Thursday, to the relief of passengers and praise from global health officials.
17 Chinese sailors stuck in Sitakunda for days to return home tonight

Seventeen Chinese sailors, who were stuck in a ship docked at Sitakunda coast for five days, are set to return to their country tonight on a flight departing from Shah Amanat International Airport in the capital, reports our Chattogram correspondent.
Coronavirus death toll passes 1,000 in China

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in mainland China passes 1,000 people, health authorities announces.
China to allow in US health experts as virus shows no sign of slowing

China has agreed to allow US health experts into the country as part of a World Health Organization (WHO) effort to help fight the fast-spreading coronavirus, as the number of cases and deaths continued to mount.
US to evacuate citizens from Wuhan, China

The United States is arranging a charter flight tomorrow to bring its citizens and diplomats back from the Chinese city of Wuhan, epicentre of the outbreak of a new coronavirus, the Wall Stree Journal reports.