World / Asia

S.Korea court exempts teens, supermarkets from vaccine passes 14 Jan 2022 - 03:32 pm

SEOUL: A South Korean court on Friday ruled that large shops and teenagers should be temporarily excluded from COVID-19 vaccine pass mandates in...

Bhutan reports first cases of Omicron coronavirus variant 14 Jan 2022 - 03:15 pm

KATHMANDU: Bhutan has reported its first 14 cases of Omicron coronavirus variant, a health official said on Friday, amid a surge of the...

Strong quake shakes Indonesia’s capital; no tsunami alert 14 Jan 2022 - 02:28 pm

JAKARTA, Indonesia: A powerful earthquake shook parts of Indonesia’s main island of Java on Friday, causing buildings in the capital to sway, but...

Hong Kong suspends transit flights from most of the world due to COVID-19 14 Jan 2022 - 01:47 pm

HONG KONG- Hong Kong will suspend for a month transit flights from around 150 countries and territories considered high risk because of the...

Shanghai cuts some tourism trips on COVID-19 cases again after brief resumption 14 Jan 2022 - 01:29 pm

BEIJING/SHANGHAI- The eastern Chinese financial hub of Shanghai suspended some tourism activities on Friday as part of its efforts to head off a...

Pakistan's central bank tells court cryptocurrency should be banned 13 Jan 2022 - 09:05 pm

KARACHI, Pakistan- Pakistan's central bank has recommended banning cryptocurrency, arguing in documents submitted in an ongoing court case that allowing it would cause...

India's big cities could see COVID-19 cases peak next week 13 Jan 2022 - 03:24 pm

NEW DELHI: New COVID-19 infections in Indian cities such as capital New Delhi and Mumbai could peak next week after rising rapidly, experts...

Tokyo's new COVID-19 cases jump to 4-month high, forecast to triple 13 Jan 2022 - 02:14 pm

TOKYO: Tokyo recorded a new four-month high in COVID-19 infections on Thursday, and experts forecast the spread of the Omicron variant will cause...

South Korea to deploy Pfizer COVID-19 pills as Omicron wave looms 13 Jan 2022 - 10:26 am

Seoul: South Korea will begin treating coronavirus patients with Pfizer's antiviral pills on Friday, health officials said, as concern mounts over the spread...

China faces omicron test weeks ahead of Beijing Olympics 13 Jan 2022 - 09:29 am

Taipei: Just weeks before hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics, China is battling multiple coronavirus outbreaks in half a dozen cities, with the one...

Tesla's Musk says 'working through challenges' with India government 13 Jan 2022 - 08:48 am

New Delhi: Tesla Inc is "still working through a lot of challenges with the government" in India, its billionaire chief executive Elon Musk...

India's Bharat Biotech says Covaxin booster shot neutralises Omicron 12 Jan 2022 - 03:59 pm

NEW DELHI: India's Bharat Biotech said on Wednesday a booster shot of its Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine administered six months after the last of...

Quebec to levy financial penalty on unvaccinated adults 12 Jan 2022 - 12:17 pm

Montreal: The premier of the French-speaking Canadian province ofQuebecannounced Tuesday that adult residents who refuse to get vaccinated against the coronavirus will be...

China blasts KFC promo that saw diner buy 106 meals in one go 12 Jan 2022 - 12:03 pm

China is urging consumers to boycott a promotion offered by KFC and toy retailer Pop Mart International Group Ltd., saying it encourages food...

China's Omicron-hit Tianjin launches new round of tests 12 Jan 2022 - 11:48 am

BEIJING: The Chinese city of Tianjin started a new round of testing of its 14 million residents on Wednesday to block the Omicron...

Tokyo, Osaka expect jump in COVID-19 cases to 4-month highs - media 12 Jan 2022 - 10:43 am

TOKYO: Tokyo's new coronavirus infections are expected to surge to 2,000 on Wednesday, the Fuji News Network reported, as the infectious Omicron variant...

About 70 S.Korean attendees of U.S. tech show test positive for COVID-19 12 Jan 2022 - 10:20 am

SEOUL/SAN FRANCISCO: About 70 South Korean nationals who attended the giant CES tech trade show in Las Vegas last week tested positive for...

S.Korea authorises Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, imports Pfizer pills 12 Jan 2022 - 10:08 am

Seoul: South Korea is turning to additional pharmaceutical tools as it looks to pre-empt a surge of COVID-19 omicron infections, authorising the use...