Latest Southeast Asia News
Novavax seeks COVID-19 vaccine use in India ahead of US
Vaccine maker Novavax announced Thursday it has asked regulators in India, Indonesia and the Philippines to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine -- offering its shot to developing countries before vaccine-flush rich ones. U.S.-based Novavax partnered with the Serum...
Thai police investigating death of foreign woman in Phuket
BANGKOK (AP) — An investigation is underway in Thailand after the body of a Swiss woman was found Thursday at a secluded spot on the southern island of Phuket. Thai media reported that the woman’s partially clothed body was lying face down in a rock crevice near a...
Asia stocks mixed with eyes on US economic recovery
SINGAPORE (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed Thursday as traders awaited more guidance on the U.S. economic recovery. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 0.3% to 27,678.79 while the Kospi in South Korea lost 0.1% to 3,278.13. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.2% to 26,466.58. ...
ASEAN ministers pick Brunei diplomat as envoy to Myanmar
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Southeast Asian foreign ministers on Wednesday picked Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof as their special envoy to Myanmar, in a breakthrough for regional mediation aimed at ending the country's deepening crisis after months of delay. ...
US blocks seafood from Fiji ship accused of enslaving crew
WASHINGTON (AP) — A tuna fishing boat based in the Pacific island nation of Fiji that has been accused of essentially enslaving its crew was blocked Wednesday from importing seafood into the United States, part of an increasing effort to keep goods produced with forced labor from entering...
Malaysian PM refuses to resign, delays vote by a month
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin refused to resign Wednesday after some lawmakers in his alliance pulled support for him, but said he will seek a vote of confidence in Parliament next month to prove his legitimacy to govern. ...
Pandemic travel bans divide loved ones across borders
NEW YORK (AP) — Quintin Sweat and Renée Harrison live only 15 minutes apart by car, with the U.S.-Canada border between them. But the couple, who got engaged in 2019, has only been able to be together three times during the pandemic. Travel restrictions mean Harrison...
Indian navy ships to join exercises in Indo-Pacific
NEW DELHI (AP) — India is sending four navy ships for exercises and port visits with the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia to strengthen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, its navy said Wednesday, as China's maritime power grows in the area. ...
Indonesia surpasses 100,000 deaths amid new virus wave
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia surpassed 100,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, a grim milestone in a country struggling with its worst pandemic wave fueled by the delta variant, amid concerns the actual figure could be much higher. It took 14 months for...
China orders mass testing in Wuhan as COVID outbreak spreads
BEIJING (AP) — China suspended flights and trains, canceled professional basketball league games and announced mass coronavirus testing in Wuhan, as widening outbreaks of the delta variant reached the city where the disease was first detected in late 2019. While the...
