ASEAN News

Faces coated in white dust and chisels in hand, Myanmar’s marble sculptors say the hills that have given them a livelihood for decades are vanishing, as big corporations reap the benefits of the precious white rock. The deafening sound of cutting and grinding machines, punctuated by hammer and chisel banging, echoes across the hills next to the village of Sagyin, …

North Korea ‘s chief, Kim Jong Un, says the country faces “two crises at the same time”—fighting coronavirus spread and dealing with severe flood damage. Yet Mr. Kim has ordered his country not to accept any foreign aid for fear that outside help could carry Covid-19, the state news media announced on Friday (Aug 14). Mr. Kim, who spoke at …

After a satisfying lunch, Mr. Qian Bingkun and his wife watched a waitress load their leftover stir-fried tofu and dessert into bags, while their daughter paid for the meal. Busily wrapping the uncooked food in a microwave box of typical Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, the waitress answered that it’s to allow customers to take leftovers after they’ve eaten. Some of the …

India has three Covid-19 vaccines under trial and will ensure that every person receives a vaccine, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi paying homage to those battling the Indian coronavirus pandemic. Mr Modi has launched a National Digital Health Initiative to improve India’s healthcare system, which is expected to include the digitization of health records as well as a national registry …

There are numerous issues that should be tackled in a coordinated way by each government, such as initiatives against infectious diseases and economic revitalisation. The government needs to take comprehensive measures to avoid infections so that complete diplomatic operation can resume. Toshimitsu Motegi, the Foreign Minister, visited Britain and met with his British counterpart, Dominic Raab. They agreed to collaborate …

New Zealand authorities are investigating the possibility that freight may have transported the first Covid-19 cases in more than three months, as the nation plummeted back into lockdown. The detection in Auckland of four infected family members prompted Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to rapidly reimpose tight controls on movement in New Zealand’s largest city and travel restrictions around the country. …

New Zealand announced that it is shutting down its largest city, Auckland, after four new cases of Covid-19 have been discovered in the city, the first evidence of domestic transmission after 102 days without coronavirus. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Auckland would move as a “precautionary approach” from noon on Wednesday to level 3 restriction, which would mean people should …

Last year, an eruption occurred for Mount Sinabung sending a huge ash and smoke column 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) into the air, covering local villages in ashes. It was advised that local people living along rivers near the volcano should be on alert for potential lava flows. Officials stated that the eruption could impact air flights, although they did not …

Washington’s attempt to ban some Chinese-origin inventions is a sign of “madness” in US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, China’s state-backed Global Times tabloid published in an editorial. Pompeo spoke anti-China remarks almost regularly, constantly playing tricks to escalate tensions between China and the US, and demonstrating the resilience of the Trump administration against China.The US State Department issued an …

It didn’t take long for Donald Trump to throw out Taiwan’s long-established diplomatic rulebook: he accepted a telephone call from President Tsai Ing-wen a month before taking office in January 2017. The 10-minute chat was the first time that a president-elect had talked to a Taiwanese head of state since the United States broke ties with Taipei in favor of …