Asia News fra SCMP

Several clinics in Singapore where doctors administered an influenza vaccine linked to deaths in South Korea said no patients have reported complications. They stopped using the vaccine following an advisory from the Ministry of Health (MOH), which also advised temporarily ceasing use of a second vaccine.While some doctors have checked in on their patients or received inquiries from those concerned about possible complications, others are waiting for more information from MOH, various clinics…

Chinese steel mills and power stations have started buying more coal from Mongolia after Beijing imposed a ban on imports from Australia, but price, quality and logistical difficulties mean it will not be easy for some users to make the switch.While politics might have played a role in the decision to shut off Australian coking and thermal coal, the practical difficulties in doing without it may force a rethink of the ban over time, analysts said.Coal from Mongolia, which borders China to the…

What is happening between China and Australia?China is Australia’s most important and biggest trading partner, but after Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison led calls for a coronavirus inquiry, Beijing has made trade moves against Australian barley, beef, wine, cotton and coal.While many have questioned the political motives for the moves, so far, each of the actions arose out of a legitimate trade breach. China’s imposition of duties on Australia barley, for example, was a result of an 18…

US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo’s visit to Sri Lanka on Tuesday and Wednesday comes at a time when key powers in the Indo-Pacific – India, China and Japan – are engaged in diplomatic outreach to strengthen ties with Colombo amid its rising strategic profile in the region.India held a virtual summit at the prime ministerial level with Sri Lanka on September 26. Japan followed with a dialogue on October 1 on maritime security, safety and oceanic issues, and on October 9 senior Chinese…

Malaysia’s political uncertainty continued on Tuesday as scandal-tainted former leader Najib Razak warned his party, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), that it risks defeat at the next elections if it continues to cooperate with current prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.Najib, who is appealing a 12-year jail term a court handed him in July for corruption and abuse of power, shared his concerns that the party would be criticised for collective government decisions and gaffes, despite…

Some 1,000 Thai royalists clad in yellow demonstrated in support of King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Tuesday, close to where thousands of people marched a day earlier to demand reforms of the monarchy.Youth-led protests began in Thailand in July to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha – a former army ruler – and a new constitution, but have increasingly sought curbs on the monarchy’s powers.“We want to show support and encouragement to his majesty,” said Thatchapan Boriphet,…

A big banner of US vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris welcomes visitors to Thulasendrapuram, a lush, green south Indian village that is praying for her Democratic Party’s victory in the November 3 presidential election.The village, located about 320km south of the city of Chennai, is where Harris’ maternal grandfather was born more than a century ago.Its residents beam with pride at what the first United States senator of South Asian descent has already achieved, and many are rooting for…

India and the United States on Tuesday signed a military agreement that will allow them to share sensitive satellite data, with both sides hailing a new era of cooperation amid efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper were in New Delhi for an annual strategic dialogue with their counterparts, India’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Across two days,…

A powerful bomb blast in Pakistan ripped through an Islamic seminary on the outskirts of the northwest city of Peshawar on Tuesday morning, killing at least eight students and wounding 136 others, police and a hospital spokesman said.The bombing happened as a prominent religious scholar during a special class was delivering a lecture about the teachings of Islam at the main hall of the Jamia Zubairia madrasa, said police officer Waqar Azim.He said initial investigations suggest the bomb went…

Police in Saitama Prefecture have made the first bicycle “road rage” arrest in Japan after a new law on dangerous cycling went into effect in June. Akihiko Narushima, 33, was served an arrest warrant on Monday while still in detention on a separate charge of assaulting a man in the city of Okegawa, just north of Tokyo. Narushima, a part-time labourer, is accused of contravening an updated section of the Road Traffic Act stating that operating a vehicle in a manner which prevents other road…