Reuters Asia Top

By Greg Torode and James Pomfret HONG KONG (Reuters) – The Hong Kong government is expanding its use of a long-dormant sedition law in what some lawyers and democracy advocates say is intensifying a squeeze on press freedom. Evidence of the renewed reliance on the sedition legislation came in late December when China-ruled Hong Kong …

‘Colonial wine from new, authoritarian bottles’: Hong Kong re-tools sedition law Read More »

By Tamara Vaal NUR-SULTAN (Reuters) -Russian-led forces will begin withdrawing from Kazakhstan in two days’ time after stabilising the Central Asian nation following serious unrest, the president said on Tuesday, in a speech that took aim at wealthy associates of his predecessor. In a video call with parliament after putting down what he has called …

Russian troops to quit Kazakhstan, says president, taking aim at the elite Read More »

By Josh Smith and Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea appeared to test-fire a ballistic missile on Tuesday that may be more advanced than a “hypersonic” one it launched less than a week ago, South Korea’s military said, as Pyongyang pursues increasingly powerful weapons. Tuesday’s launch, condemned by authorities in Washington and Tokyo and prompting …

North Korea launches ‘more advanced’ missile after hypersonic test Read More »

By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) -Nepal banned large public gatherings and closed schools across the Himalayan nation for nearly three weeks after a spike in coronavirus cases, officials said on Monday. Nepal reported 1,357 new cases on Monday, the biggest single-day jump since September last year, taking its total to 833,946 since the pandemic began. …

Nepal bans big public gatherings, closes schools as COVID cases spike Read More »

BEIJING (Reuters) -Cities across China are imposing tougher restrictions to try to control new outbreaks of COVID-19, with Tianjin battling the highly contagious Omicron variant which has been detected to have been transmitted locally in two other provinces. A Tianjin official told a Tuesday press briefing that 49 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms have …

Chinese cities tighten COVID-19 curbs as Tianjin battles Omicron outbreak Read More »

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai authorities said on Tuesday African swine fever had been detected in a surface swab sample collected at a slaughterhouse in Nakhon Pathom province, marking the country’s first official confirmation of the disease. Authorities launched a probe at the weekend, after growing speculation in recent weeks that the disease was already decimating …

Thailand detects African swine fever in sample at slaughterhouse Read More »

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s air force on Tuesday suspended combat training for its F-16 fleet after a recently upgraded model of the fighter jet crashed into the sea in the latest of a series of accidents. The defence ministry said the F-16V, the most advanced type in Taiwan’s fleet, went missing from radar screens after …

Taiwan suspends F-16 training missions after jet crashes Read More »