Reuters Asia Top

By Charlotte Greenfield KABUL (Reuters) -The U.N. aid chief said on Wednesday the humanitarian community was speaking with Taliban officials to try and gain further exemptions and written guidelines to allow some female aid workers to operate despite a ban on women NGO staff. U.N. Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths told Reuters that …

U.N. aid chief asks Taliban authorities for more exemptions to female NGO worker ban Read More »

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Critically ill COVID-19 cases in China are down 72% from a peak early this month while daily deaths among COVID-19 patients in hospitals have dropped 79% from their peak, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. The figures, published on the centre’s website, come after a prominent government scientist …

China says COVID deaths, severe cases have fallen over 70% since peak Read More »

SEOUL (Reuters) -Authorities in the North Korean capital Pyongyang have ordered a five-day lockdown due to rising cases of an unspecified respiratory illness, the Russian embassy and Seoul-based NK News reported on Wednesday, citing a government notice. The notice, shared by the embassy on its Facebook page, said that a “a special anti-epidemic period has …

North Korea locks down capital city over ‘respiratory illness’ Read More »

TOKYO (Reuters) – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will make a decision on the next Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor while watching future economic trends, he said on Wednesday. Kishida will appoint the next BOJ chief based on the candidate’s aptitude at the end of incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda’s term, he said. The prime minister said on …

Japan PM Kishida to pick new BOJ chief while monitoring economy Read More »

MUMBAI (Reuters) – India has invited Pakistan’s foreign minister to a meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) that it is hosting in May, Indian media reported on Wednesday, signalling a possible thaw in relations between the nuclear-armed rivals. The invitation came days after Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif called for talks with India over …

India invites Pakistan’s foreign minister for May meeting – media reports Read More »

TOKYO (Reuters) -Heavy snow blanketed wide swathes of Japan on Wednesday, snarling traffic, forcing hundreds of flight cancellations and disrupting train travel, leaving at least one person dead. An unusually cold weather front and extreme low pressure systems set snow falling and strong winds blowing across Japan from Tuesday. Snow was particularly heavy on the …

Heavy snow, deep cold halts transport across Japan, at least one dead Read More »