Asia Pacific

For Yuuki Hamazono, it was a relief to find bars and restaurants in Tokyo flouting the Japanese government's request to close by 8 p.m.

At least 56 people have been killed after an earthquake struck Indonesia's West Sulawesi province on Friday, the disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said on Sunday, the latest in a string of disasters to hit the Southeast Asian country.

For years, legal troubles have cast a cloud over Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee as he stood on the cusp of stepping out of his father's shadow and making a name for himself as the leader of the global tech giant.

Britain announced plans to hold the first in-person meeting of the G7 for nearly two years in June, inviting the leaders of major developed economies to a picturesque seaside village to discuss rebuilding from the pandemic and climate change.

China promised on Saturday to donate 500,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to the Philippines as the two countries signed infrastructure deals aimed at boosting post-pandemic recovery efforts, officials said.

An aftershock jolted Indonesia's Sulawesi island on Saturday as rescue workers combed the rubble of collapsed buildings for survivors after an earthquake killed at least 46 people on Friday and sent thousands of residents fleeing in panic.

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for emergency use in Pakistan, the health minister said on Saturday, making it the first coronavirus vaccine to get the green light for use in the South Asian country.

Russian authorities said on Saturday that flights between Moscow and the capitals of Finland, Vietnam, India and Qatar, suspended since the early weeks of the pandemic, would restart from Jan 27, after certain epidemiological criteria were met.

Suicide rates in Japan have jumped in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among women and children, even though they fell in the first wave when the government offered generous handouts to people, a survey found.

President Donald Trump's administration said on Friday Vietnam's actions to push down the value of its currency are "unreasonable" and restrict U.S. commerce, but did not take immediate action to impose punitive tariffs.

Malaysia's Top Glove Corp, the world's largest medical grade glove maker, said on Saturday some employees at four factories had tested positive for COVID-19 recently.

Malaysia reported 4,029 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the biggest daily increase recorded in the country since the start of the pandemic, bringing the total number of infections to 155,095.

Myanmar police scuffled on Saturday with dozens of followers of Buddhist nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu at a demonstration calling for him to be put on trial more than two months after he handed himself in to face sedition charges.

The Hong Kong government said it "strongly" objects to a U.S. congressional report critical of Beijing's handling of the city, calling the report "biased, politically motivated and not reflecting the truth".

Indonesia reported a record daily increase in COVID-19 cases with 14,224 new infections, its COVID-19 task force said on Saturday, bringing the total to 896,642.

Tokyo reported 1,809 infections of the new coronavirus on Saturday, its government said.

The U.S. Forces in Korea (USFK) said on Saturday it has imposed a shelter-in-place order on two of its largest bases - U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan and Camp Humphreys - until Tuesday after a cluster of coronavirus infections.

Malaysia is taking legal action at the global trade watchdog against the European Union and member states France and Lithuania for restricting palm oil-based biofuels, the government said.

A powerful earthquake killed at least 42 people and injured hundreds on Indonesia's island of Sulawesi on Friday, trapping several under rubble and unleashing dozens of aftershocks as authorities warned of more quakes that could trigger a tsunami.