North Korean leader appoints new PM
North Korea has a new prime minister after leader Kim Jong-un replaced Kim Jae Ryong with Kim Tok Hun.


India's Covid-19 death toll surpasses UK
India has surpassed the UK to be the country with the fourth-highest number of deaths linked to COVID-19.


BHP watches lobby groups on climate change
BHP says it will monitor industry associations to ensure they match its climate position on keeping the world's warming to less than two degrees Celsius.


Vietnam to buy Russian COVID-19 vaccine
Vietnam's health ministry has registered to buy a Russian COVID-19 vaccine and will continue to develop the Southeast Asian country's own vaccine.


Afghanistan starts freeing Taliban inmates
The release of 400 controversial Taliban prisoners by the Afghan government has begun, with 80 hardcore inmates freed.


N.Korea lifts virus lockdown on border
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has lifted a lockdown in a city near the border with South Korea where thousands had been quarantined over coronavirus fears.


S.Korea reports spike in local virus cases
South Korea has reported the highest increase in local coronavirus infections since March.


South India landslide kills 55
The death toll from a landslide in southern India's Kerala state has risen to 55, with 15 people still unaccounted for.


Crane collapse kills five in Cambodia
The collapse of a construction crane onto houses in Cambodia's northwestern city of Poipet has left five people dead.


Stem cells could revive Malaysia's rhinos
Scientists are pinning their hopes on experimental stem cell technology to bring back the Malaysian variant of the Sumatran rhinoceros.


Deadly clashes over Facebook post in India
A Facebook post offensive to Muslims has sparked clashes with police in the Indian city of Bengaluru, with three people fatally shot by officers.


EU curbs Cambodian trade privileges
The European Union has suspended some preferential trade conditions for Cambodia in response to "systematic" human rights violations.


Fewer daily virus cases in Singapore
Singapore has recorded its lowest daily number of new coronavirus cases in more than four months.


Former Indian president contracts COVID-19
Former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee is on ventilator support in a military hospital in New Delhi after contracting COVID-19, local media reports say.


Manila welcomes Russia vaccine offer
Manila has welcomed a Russian offer to test and produce a coronavirus vaccine being developed by Russian scientists.