ASEAN News

When Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla was trying to mend a frayed relationship with Bangladesh in Dhaka last week, one of the offers that he made was that of a possible Covid-19 vaccine. Bangladesh, he said, would gain priority access to an Indian-produced vaccine. India’s vaccine diplomacy comes at a time when Bangladesh has made a similar bid to …

Tensions ni between the US and China over the South China Sea with Beijing firing four missiles on the disputed waterway and the Trump administration stepping up action against companies that helped to set up regional outposts. China fired four medium-range ballistic missiles into the South China Sea on Wednesday during the People’s Liberation Army’s wider military drills, according to …

South Korea ordered doctors in the Seoul region to return to work as they began a three-day strike in protest against multiple government measures, including one to increase the number of doctors coping with health emergencies such as coronavirus. Trainee doctors staged simultaneous walkouts, and thousands of additional doctors were scheduled to launch a three-day strike. The strikes come as …

The Hong Kong government extended the strict social distancing rules of the city for another two days, before loosening some restrictions from Friday, as local Covid-19 transmissions have been lowering in the last few weeks. If there are dramatic improvements to the outbreak situation over the next two days, dining-in services at eateries will be extended from Friday from the …

A Hong Kong court threw out two private prosecutions on Monday (Aug 24)-including one against a police officer who shot a pro-democracy protester last year-following a unprecedented intervention by the Justice Secretary of the financial hub. Mr Ted Hui, an opposition lawmaker, brought the private lawsuits after prosecutors refused to file charges for two incidents during the major and frequently …

South Korean authorities announced the largest daily rise in novel coronavirus cases since early March on August 23, suggesting that stricter social distancing rules could be required as outbreaks continued to spread from a church in Seoul and other gatherings. In view of this, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) recorded 397 new infections, up from 332 …

Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong stated that the city will begin a campaign on Sept. 1 to check its entire population for coronavirus in the first attempt of this kind outside China. The blitz will last for as long as two weeks, with the aid of Chinese experts and labs. All residents have the right to a free, …

Medical experts have criticized Indonesia ‘s Intelligence Unit (BIN) and Army’s unwanted involvement in efforts to find a cure for Covid-19, claiming that the associated clinical trials violated international protocols. This came after military chief Andika Perkasa announced that Indonesia was planning to produce drugs to fight coronavirus, and he expected BPOM, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Indonesian equivalent, …

Malaysian Minister for Plantation, Industries and Commodities, Khairuddin Aman Razali, is under fire after failing to undergo obligatory quarantine last month after an overseas trip. Opposition lawmaker Teresa Kok of the Democratic Action Party told the Cabinet House  that Mr Khairuddin, a lawmaker from the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), returned from an unofficial visit to Turkey on July 7, but …

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, …