Asia

A top medical organization has thrown its weight behind calls to cancel the Tokyo Olympics saying hospitals are already overwhelmed as the country battles a spike in coronavirus infections less than three months from the start of the Games. The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association representing about 6,000 primary care doctors …

At least 270 doctors in India have died during the current wave of the pandemic, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said on Tuesday. The announcement came on the same day India’s confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 25 million. “The second wave of the pandemic is turning out to be extremely fatal …

The occupants of a skyscraper in China’s southern city of Shenzhen were ordered to vacate the building after it began to shake, creating chaos in the surrounding streets. Officials say no earthquake was detected in the city. At 984 feet (300 meters), SEG Plaza is one of the tallest skyscrapers …

A cyclone on India’s west coast has killed at least 19 people and damaged infrastructure and agriculture, while heavy rains continued to lash some regions even as weather officials said on Tuesday that the storm’s intensity had weakened. The cyclone Tauktae, which made landfall in the western state of Gujarat …

China is resisting bilateral talks with the United States on nuclear weapons, the US disarmament ambassador told a UN conference on Tuesday, as Washington seeks to advance efforts to reduce nuclear arms stockpiles. “Despite the PRC’s dramatic build-up of its nuclear arsenal, unfortunately, it continues to resist discussing nuclear risk …

Powerful cyclone roaring in Arabian Sea moves towards Gujarat as authorities evacuate hundreds of thousands of people. Nearly 150,000 people have been moved from their homes in the Indian state of Gujarat to safety and authorities have closed ports and a main airport as the most intense cyclone in more …

Clashes between Taliban fighters and government forces resume in the Helmand province. Afghanistan’s government’s three-day ceasefire with the Taliban marked by violent attacks – some claimed by the ISIL (ISIS) armed group – ended on Sunday amid calls for renewed peace talks. Fighting resumed on Sunday on the outskirts of …

In a statement on Sunday, China FM called for the UN Security Council’s action to seek the de-escalation of violence between Hamas and the Israeli regime, slamming the US for blocking UN efforts. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on the UN Security Council to seek an early de-escalation of …

India is evacuating thousands of people from low-lying areas along its western coast as a powerful cyclone that has killed at least six people is expected to make landfall on Tuesday morning in the state of Gujarat. Cyclone Tauktae, which formed in the Arabian sea, has already brought lashing rain …

Chinland Defence Force, an anti-junta armed group made up of civilians, says six of its fighters were killed in Mindat town of western Chin state during an attack on the military. Six opposition rebels have been killed after days of clashes in Myanmar, an anti-junta defence force made up of …

A large batch of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine has been put on hold in Indonesia after a 22-year-old died a day after getting the shot. The batch will be run through additional “sterility and toxicity” tests. The move was announced by the Indonesian Health Ministry on Sunday. The suspension follows the …

Police are reaching out to villagers in northern India to investigate the recovery of bodies buried in shallow sand graves or washed up on the Ganges River banks, prompting speculation on social media that they’re the remains of COVID-19 victims. In jeeps and boats, police used portable loudspeakers with microphones …

Some Indian states said on Sunday they would extend COVID-19 lockdowns to help contain the pandemic, which has killed more than 270,000 people in the country, as the federal government pledged to bolster vaccine supplies. The number of deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours in India has risen …

An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of Mars on Saturday, state news agency Xinhua reported, making China the second space-faring nation after the United States to land on the Red Planet. The Tianwen-1 spacecraft landed on a site on a vast plain known as Utopia Planitia, “leaving …

Bodies of COVID-19 victims have been found dumped in some Indian rivers, a state government letter seen by Reuters says, in the first official acknowledgment of the alarming practice, which it said may stem from poverty and fear of the disease in remote areas. Images of corpses drifting down the …

The president of the Philippines has vowed not to withdraw his country’s ships from waters contested by China as a long-running dispute between the two nations over sovereignty of South China Sea territory heats up. Speaking in a televised address aired on Friday, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would not …

Mainland China reported seven new COVID-19 cases on May 13, including its first local transmissions in more than three weeks, the country’s national health authority said on Friday. Two of the new cases were local infections in the eastern province of Anhui, the National Health Commission said in a statement. …

The United States has completed its withdrawal from Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan, once the second-largest military base in the country for US forces, officials said on Friday. “They have not officially handed over the base to us but I can confirm they left the base on Wednesday,” said Khoja …

A 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Friday, the US Geological Survey said, triggering panic on the nearest island but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The shallow quake hit at 12:30 (0630 GMT) near the island of Nias, about 250 kilousgmeters (160 …

India records 4,000 deaths and 343,144 infections in the last 24 hours amid reports that strain first detected in the country is spreading across the globe. The number of recorded COVID-19 infections in India has climbed above 24 million amid reports on Friday that the highly transmissible coronavirus mutant first …