Category Archives: Asia Pacific

China’s move to open up travel sparks concern over spread of new variants

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Japan, India and Taiwan introduce measures to prevent influx of cases as experts say lack of data makes it difficult to assess risk

Virologists are watching nervously to see how China’s abrupt decision to drop some of its toughest Covid-19 restrictions, including scrapping quarantine rules for travellers, may affect variants and their global spread as some countries increase precautionary measures.

China’s decision on Monday to drop quarantine for overseas visitors from 8 January has prompted concerns about the potential for new variants to spread beyond China’s borders. Japan and India are among the countries that have introduced measures to prevent an influx of cases.

This article was amended on 28 December 2022. Airfinity estimates there are more than 5,000 deaths a day in China, rather than new cases as an earlier version said.

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China hospitals ‘extremely busy’ amid surging wave of Covid infections

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Health workers report huge jump in mostly elderly Covid patients as China adjusts to living largely without virus restrictions

Chinese hospitals were under intense pressure as a surging wave of Covid-19 infections strained resources in the last major country to move towards treating the virus as endemic.

In an abrupt change of policy, China earlier this month began dismantling the world’s strictest Covid regime of lockdowns and extensive testing, putting its battered economy on course for a complete re-opening next year.

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Philippines searches for survivors after dozens killed in floods and landslides

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Rain-induced floods and landslides unlike previous disasters in the country, which are typically triggered by severe typhoons

Rescue teams across nine provinces in the Philippines raced to try to locate 26 people missing after weekend rains, floods and landslides that have killed at least 25 people, in one of its deadliest weather events this year.

The national disaster agency on Wednesday said casualties reported so far had increased to 25 from 17 the previous day, with most deaths caused by drowning from flash floods.

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China’s move to ease Covid travel restrictions lifts hopes for global economy

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Analysts says lifting of many rules may soften impact of higher interest rates and unblock supply chains in 2023

China’s decision to ease rules on travel in and out of the country, the world’s second-largest economy, has offered investors hope that it could soften the toll from higher interest rates on global stock markets and unblock supply chains amid a dark outlook for 2023.

Chinese authorities said late on Monday that inbound travellers would not have to quarantine on arrival, from 8 January onward. The announcement marked the latest in a series of steps to reopen the country, which is home to vital global supply chains and 1.4 billion people.

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Taiwan extends compulsory military service amid mounting tensions with China

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Conscripts will see the length of their service extended from four months to one year in plans to be outlined by Taiwan’s president

Taiwan will extend its compulsory military service from four months to one year amid mounting military tensions with China, the island’s president has announced.

Under the plans due to come into effect in 2024, conscripts will undergo more intense training, including shooting exercises and combat instruction used by US forces. Conscripts will be tasked with guarding key infrastructure, enabling regular forces to respond more swiftly in the event of any attempt by China to invade.

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Fourth member of scandal-hit Japanese cabinet resigns

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Reconstruction minister quits amid accusations of election law violations and ties to Unification church

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has ended the year facing fierce political headwinds after his reconstruction minister became the fourth member of his scandal-hit cabinet to resign in two months.

Kenya Akiba announced his resignation on Tuesday after opposition MPs accused him of election law violations and of having ties to the Unification church, a controversial religious group whose connections to the ruling party have sent Kishida’s approval ratings to record lows.

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Rush to book flights as China scraps Covid travel restrictions

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China to lift quarantine requirement for inbound travellers and resume issuing visas for overseas travel from 8 January

Chinese people have rushed to book overseas travel as authorities scrapped the last big plank of the country’s zero-Covid policy despite reports of hospitals being overwhelmed nationwide.

Late on Monday health authorities announced they would no longer require inbound travellers to go into quarantine, then on Tuesday the immigration authority said it would resume issuing visas for mainland residents to travel overseas from 8 January.

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China to drop quarantine requirement for overseas visitors

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Eight days of isolation will no longer be needed, and officials say citizens’ ability to travel will be slowly restored

China will drop Covid-19 quarantine requirements for passengers arriving from abroad from 8 January, its National Health Commission has announced in the latest easing of the country’s once-strict virus-control measures.

Currently, arriving passengers must quarantine for five days at a hotel, followed by three days at home. At one stage there was a requirement to quarantine for three weeks.

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About 180 Rohingya refugees feared dead after boat goes missing

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Contact lost for weeks with vessel that left camps in Bangladesh and was crossing Andaman Sea bound for Malaysia

About 180 Rohingya refugees are feared to have died after their boat went missing in the Andaman Sea, making 2022 one of the deadliest years for the refugees trying to flee the camps in Bangladesh.

In a statement on Sunday, the United Nations said it was concerned that a boat carrying the refugees, which had left the camps in the Bangladeshi city of Cox’s Bazar on 2 December bound for Malaysia, had sunk with no survivors, which would make it one of the worst disasters for Rohingya sea crossings this year.

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South Korea scrambles jets as North Korean drones ‘violate airspace’

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Warning shots fired after drones crossed military demarcation line from north, South Korea military says

South Korea scrambled warplanes and attack helicopters and fired warning shots on Monday after North Korean drones violated its airspace, the South Korean military said.

South Korea tracked the drones crossing from North Korea over what is known as the military demarcation line between the two countries after detecting them in the skies of the western city of Gimpo at about 10.25am (0125 GMT), the military said.

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Dozens of Chinese warplanes cross Taiwan median line

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Beijing says drills also involving navy ships are a ‘firm response’ after US defence spending bill prioritised support for Taiwan

Seventy-one Chinese air force aircraft including fighter jets and drones entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone in the past 24 hours, the island’s government said on Monday, the largest reported incursion to date.

The incursion included 43 Chinese aircraft that crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line, an unofficial buffer between the two sides that lies within the defence zone, Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a report, as Beijing continues military activities close to the island.

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‘Serpent’ serial killer Charles Sobhraj returns to France after 19 years in prison

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Sobhraj arrives in Paris on commercial flight after release from Nepalese prison on health grounds

Charles Sobhraj, a convicted killer known as “the Serpent” who police believe targeted western backpackers on the hippie trail in the 1970s, has returned to France after nearly two decades behind bars in Nepal, BFM TV reported.

Nepal’s supreme court ordered the release of Sobhraj on Wednesday, citing his advanced age and health.

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Chinese city seeing half a million Covid cases a day – local health chief

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The figures reported by Qingdao’s municipal health chief were in stark contrast to official statistics from the central government

Half a million people a day are being infected with Covid-19 in a single Chinese city, a senior health official has said, in a rare and quickly censored acknowledgment that the country’s wave of infections is not being reflected in official statistics.

A news outlet operated by the ruling Communist party in Qingdao reported the municipal health chief as saying that the eastern city was seeing “between 490,000 and 530,000” new Covid cases a day.

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Fiji parliament confirms Sitiveni Rabuka as prime minister after days of uncertainty

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Rabuka accused the outgoing government of Frank Bainimarama of stoking ‘fear and chaos’ in the aftermath of the close election

Sitiveni Rabuka has become Fiji’s prime minister after a coalition of parties voted to install him, signalling an end to Frank Bainimarama’s 16 years in power.

The appointment of Rabuka on Saturday ended 10 days of uncertainty after an election delivered a hung parliament. Fiji’s Social Democratic Liberal party (Sodelpa) held the balance of power and on Friday voted to form a coalition with Rabuka’s People’s Alliance and the National Federation party.

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Thai police raid former Tesco clothing supplier at centre of sweatshop claims

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VK Garment factory in Mae Sot is subject of a UK lawsuit against the supermarket from 130 ex-workers

Thai police have raided a clothing factory previously used by Tesco that is the subject of a UK lawsuit over alleged sweatshop conditions.

The Guardian revealed earlier this week that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand reported being trapped in, in effect, forced labour, working 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in appalling conditions.

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Taiwan may restrict Panadol sales to thwart bulk-buying for China

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Covid-19 situation across the strait, and concern at home sparked by Taiwan’s reopening for travel, have put strain on medicine supplies

Taiwan may restrict the bulk buying of pain relief medications as people stock up, with some planning to ship their purchases to China, where the worsened Covid-19 situation has put a strain on supplies.

Hsueh Jui-yuan, Taiwan’s minister of health and welfare, told lawmakers at a legislative committee hearing on Thursday that the health agency would first instruct pharmacies to advise customers not to snap up Panadol and related drugs.

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Fiji’s king-maker party votes to support opposition coalition and oust Frank Bainimarama

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‘We believe we have agreed on a way forward that benefits this country,’ party leader Viliame Gavoka told reporters after an internal party vote

Fiji’s Social Democratic Liberal party (Sodelpa) said on Friday that it would form a coalition with two other parties, a move that will dislodge the current prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, signalling an end to the former military leader’s 16 years in power.

“We believe we have agreed on a way forward that benefits this country,” party leader Viliame Gavoka said in a news conference after an internal party vote.

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Fiji deploys military for ‘law and order’ as power hangs in balance after election

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Frank Bainimarama, the prime minister, is yet to concede defeat, while opposition parties claim enough seats to form government

Fiji’s military will assist police in maintaining “security and stability” after last week’s election delivered a hung parliament, the country’s police commissioner has said – an alarming development in a country where there have been four military coups in the past 35 years.

The Pacific country is waiting for its president to recall parliament so lawmakers can vote for a new prime minister after a national election showed no party received a clear majority.

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Australia’s lobster industry hopeful China will drop trade sanctions

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Exporters optimistic as Penny Wong raises trade with her Chinese counterpart but many are also wary of being ‘burned again’ by volatile diplomatic relations

Australia’s lobster industry is cautiously optimistic that China could soon remove trade restrictions, but exporters are wary of being “burned again” by sanctions and volatile diplomatic relations.

Many businesses have been paying close attention to foreign affairs minister Penny Wong’s trip to China this week – the first by an Australian minister in three years – where she discussed “trade blockages” with her counterparts.

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Nepal to release ‘The Serpent’ serial killer Charles Sobhraj

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Nepalese supreme court orders release on account of old age of man jailed for murders of two tourists

The Nepalese supreme court has ordered the release of the French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, known as “the Serpent”, who preyed on western tourists travelling on the hippy trail in south Asia in the 1970s and was jailed for life for the murder of an American woman.

Sobhraj, who has French citizenship and is of Indian and Vietnamese descent, has been linked to the killings of 20 foreign tourists across Thailand, Nepal and India. He is said to have lured them in before drugging, robbing and murdering them.

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