https://www.scmp.com/rss/505486/feed The latest news on the coronavirus situation in the country, including community spread in India, the Punjab “super spreader” who led to the quarantining of tens of thousands of people, the situation in Bangalore, the India lockdown and the donation of U$66 million by Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in India, after he was slammed for ringing a bell from his balcony in support of healthcare workers. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Talk to the UN world tourism organisation – since January rebranded as UN Tourism – and the message is that international tourism is well on the road to recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. But talk to tourism officials in Hong Kong, South Korea, mainland China or Thailand and the story is: not so fast. Here in Hong Kong, officials are in a sweat over the millions flitting across the border for dinner and cheap shopping in Shenzhen, and the sluggish revival in tourists coming to experience a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3257877/global-tourism-recovering-asia-its-mixed-bag-best?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3257877/global-tourism-recovering-asia-its-mixed-bag-best?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Apr 2024 21:30:26 +0000 About 22 miles southeast of Mumbai’s badly congested airport that opened 82 years ago, workers in hard hats are high up on scaffolds building an alternative. Others are flattening a nearby hill to finish the first of two runways so that India’s financial capital can finally have a second airport. In many ways, the Adani Group-helmed US$2.1 billion project in the satellite city of Navi Mumbai is a microcosm of the massive infrastructure overhaul under way in India as its Prime Minister Narendra... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3255543/strategically-situated-india-builds-new-us2-billion-airport-near-mumbai-will-test-modis-mission?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3255543/strategically-situated-india-builds-new-us2-billion-airport-near-mumbai-will-test-modis-mission?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Mar 2024 00:00:10 +0000 In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, the United Nations (UN) identified what it called a “shadow pandemic” of domestic violence against women. The UN includes in its definition of domestic violence what it refers to as “economic violence”, which it explains as: “making or attempting to make a person financially dependent by maintaining total control over financial resources, withholding access to money, and/or forbidding attendance at school or employment”. I have been researching economic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3242939/india-how-covid-19-enabled-new-forms-economic-abuse-women?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3242939/india-how-covid-19-enabled-new-forms-economic-abuse-women?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Nov 2023 19:00:20 +0000 Last year, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated 75 years of India’s independence from British rule, he called on the nation to “dominate the world”. Earlier this week, once again at the Red Fort, he evoked “Amrit Kaal” – a crucial era when the gates of opportunity open. His “reform, perform, transform” mantra involves dreaming big. He was possibly dreaming of those halcyon days up to 1870 when India and China counted as the world’s two largest and most powerful economies. But a dream does... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3231449/forget-world-domination-india-wont-catch-china-any-time-soon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3231449/forget-world-domination-india-wont-catch-china-any-time-soon?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:00:10 +0000 India needs to quickly investigate allegations that a local regulator helped switch samples of cough syrups linked to deaths of children in Gambia, and punish the wrongdoers to restore the reputation of the South Asian nation’s US$41 billion pharmaceutical industry, analysts have said. The comments by analysts followed a Tuesday report by Reuters, which reviewed a letter written by a lawyer named Yashpal who accused Haryana state’s drug controller, Manmohan Taneja, of accepting a bribe of 50... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3224099/indian-pharma-industry-faces-lot-harm-global-scrutiny-over-cough-syrup-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3224099/indian-pharma-industry-faces-lot-harm-global-scrutiny-over-cough-syrup-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jun 2023 02:00:20 +0000 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s new parliament building on Sunday, a modern complex which is part of his Hindu nationalist government’s grand plan to give a makeover to the British colonial-era architecture in the nation’s capital. The inauguration, and the ongoing revamp of the heart of New Delhi based on Indian culture, traditions and symbols, comes a year before parliamentary elections in which Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will pitch its strong Hindu nationalist... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3222084/modi-opponents-boycott-opening-new-indian-parliament-pm-reshapes-countrys-power-centre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3222084/modi-opponents-boycott-opening-new-indian-parliament-pm-reshapes-countrys-power-centre?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 May 2023 07:08:24 +0000 India has held a census every 10 years since 1881, deploying an army of interviewers who fan out across the country, quizzing people about every aspect of their lives from housing and education to family size and income. But when Covid-19 struck in 2020, the government delayed the survey, noted globally for its statistical rigour. Now all that seems certain is the headcount will not be held before the 2024 general election, which is making it tough to determine everything from India’s population... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3221581/india-risks-using-guesswork-form-policy-census-delayed-election-looms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3221581/india-risks-using-guesswork-form-policy-census-delayed-election-looms?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 May 2023 03:30:14 +0000 India is tipped to be the next engine of growth for the hotel industry in the Asia-Pacific region, as global hospitality brands embark on aggressive expansion in an “underserved” market. The country’s huge and increasingly prosperous population – it recently superseded China as the world’s most populous country – and an estimated threefold rise in foreign tourists in the next few years will ensure a race among hospitality providers to meet rapidly expanding demand for accommodation, analysts... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3220151/india-poised-hospitality-boom-hotel-brands-such-hilton-radisson-race-meet-surging-demand-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3220151/india-poised-hospitality-boom-hotel-brands-such-hilton-radisson-race-meet-surging-demand-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2023 02:00:12 +0000 As India prepares to host the Group of 20 in September, it might be the “last supper” for the grouping. G20, the poster child of globalisation, is plagued by a myriad of crises – none of which it can solve. Or can it? Let’s start with nuclear weapons. A new nuclear arms race has begun, with Russia planning to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Poland might be next, hosting American nukes. In the Indo-Pacific, South Korea and the United States are discussing joint control of nuclear... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3218475/india-doomed-chair-most-impotent-g20-modern-times?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3218475/india-doomed-chair-most-impotent-g20-modern-times?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Apr 2023 19:30:10 +0000 A number of Asian nations are reporting an uptick in Covid-19 infections as the region treats the virus as endemic, with the fresh wave exerting limited pressure on healthcare systems. Singapore’s infections almost doubled in the final week of March to the highest this year, data from the Ministry of Health showed. India reported its biggest single-day tally since late-August, while Indonesia’s daily caseload is near a four-month high and Vietnam is ramping up virus prevention measures. While... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3216930/coronavirus-fresh-mild-covid-wave-rippling-through-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3216930/coronavirus-fresh-mild-covid-wave-rippling-through-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Apr 2023 08:59:01 +0000 India’s federal government asked states to identify emergency hotspots and ramp up-testing for Covid-19, after the country recorded its highest daily case count since September, a Reuters tally showed on Friday. There were 6,050 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the federal health ministry said on Friday, continuing a sharp upwards trend since a lull last year. At a meeting to review the degree to which the states are prepared, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya asked them to ramp up... https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3216360/coronavirus-india-urges-states-ramp-testing-covid-19-cases-climb?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3216360/coronavirus-india-urges-states-ramp-testing-covid-19-cases-climb?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Apr 2023 12:30:19 +0000 One of the world’s longest-running festivals kicked off in Mumbai on Saturday for the Indian financial hub’s biggest music extravaganza since the end of the pandemic. Lollapalooza’s arrival in Mumbai is the first time the festival has been staged in Asia after branching out from its American origins in the past decade. Crowds thronged the Mahalaxmi racecourse near the centre of a city that, before the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, was increasingly becoming a popular tour stop for leading... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3208324/asias-first-lollapalooza-festival-rocks-india-biggest-music-event-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3208324/asias-first-lollapalooza-festival-rocks-india-biggest-music-event-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Jan 2023 00:00:14 +0000 Before the pandemic forced all the cinemas in New Delhi to shut, Vivek Mehta used to watch a movie every weekend and share his thoughts about it in a WhatsApp group called “First Day First Show”. Cinemas in the Indian capital reopened over a year ago but Mehta has been to a theatre only once in the last six months, to watch the Hindi-language film Drishyam 2. Nowadays, he prefers to stay at home and make use of the plethora of video-streaming platforms operating in India – a habit he says almost... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3205320/india-cinema-goers-pivot-streaming-films-online-instead-disaster-bollywood?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3205320/india-cinema-goers-pivot-streaming-films-online-instead-disaster-bollywood?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jan 2023 00:00:13 +0000 How far would you go to preserve a loved one’s memory? A retired civil servant in eastern India has gone to great lengths to ensure that his late wife’s presence endures. Tapas Sandilya, who lost his wife of 39 years to Covid-19 during India’s brutal second wave of infections in 2021, is alleviating his grief by keeping a life-size, 30kg silicone figure of her in his living room. Sandilya was not with his wife Indrani when she died aged 59 on May 4, 2021. He was in isolation when she was taken... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3205501/india-man-spends-us30000-sculpture-wife-who-died-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3205501/india-man-spends-us30000-sculpture-wife-who-died-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jan 2023 03:09:40 +0000 India has begun randomly testing 2 per cent of international passengers arriving at its airports for Covid-19, Mansukh Mandaviya, the country’s health minister, told parliament on Thursday, citing an increase in cases in neighbouring China. “The global pandemic is not yet over. The virus is changing its face from time to time,” Mandaviya told parliament. “Considering the coming festival season and New Year, states have been advised to keep up awareness of hand hygiene and the importance of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3204289/pandemic-not-over-india-randomly-tests-visitors-after-covid-surge-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3204289/pandemic-not-over-india-randomly-tests-visitors-after-covid-surge-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Dec 2022 11:57:11 +0000 This has been an annus horribilis for stock markets the world over. The MSCI World Index, a gauge of shares in advanced economies, is down 16 per cent, while its emerging market counterpart remains in a bear market, having lost 21 per cent. Equity markets are not alone in having suffered sharp declines. Every major asset class, with the notable exception of commodities and the US dollar, has been pummelled by a combination of steep rises in interest rates, stubbornly high inflation and the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3203376/why-amid-short-term-rush-china-investors-should-still-buy-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3203376/why-amid-short-term-rush-china-investors-should-still-buy-india?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Dec 2022 13:30:09 +0000 Brutal rounds of lay-offs across India’s tech sector have seeded fears about the future of one of the world’s most explosive start-up markets, as a global economic slowdown hits investors whose cash fuelled an aggressive hiring spree during the pandemic years. For Ashish Jain, an employee at the Hyderabad office of a New York-based tech start-up, the realities of the tech crunch sweeping the globe meant a swift, unceremonious exit from a job he had taken up just seven months before. “I had... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3202705/india-tech-workers-brace-lay-offs-global-slump-hits-firms-amazon-twitter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3202705/india-tech-workers-brace-lay-offs-global-slump-hits-firms-amazon-twitter?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Dec 2022 03:30:17 +0000 Pulling out a shirt from a shelf at her shop in Central India, Chandrawati Rajpoot recalls the sleepless nights she had after borrowing money from a loan shark – twice to pay for her sons’ college tuition and once for a medical emergency. Unable to pay the 5 per cent daily interest on her last loan of 20,000 rupees (US$245) in 2019, she was forced to give away her gold bangles – a family heirloom – to stop the moneylender from harassing her. “In desperate times, (loan sharks) are the only option... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3202447/safe-clutches-loan-sharks-indias-rural-women-tap-micro-loans-become-budding-entrepreneurs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3202447/safe-clutches-loan-sharks-indias-rural-women-tap-micro-loans-become-budding-entrepreneurs?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Dec 2022 23:00:14 +0000 Tamil cinema-goers around the world have been captivated by bloody battles, elephant chases, palace intrigue and lost love as Ponniyin Selvan 1, based on the story of one of the most powerful emperors in Indian history, enjoys a dream run at the box office. Set in the 10th and 11th centuries, the film about emperor Arulmozhi Varman, adapted from an iconic Tamil novel, has amassed well over US$54 million since its September 30 premiere – making it the second-highest grossing Tamil film of all... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3196760/india-malaysia-and-singapore-mani-ratnams-tamil-epic-ponniyin-selvan-1-sizzles-box-office?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3196760/india-malaysia-and-singapore-mani-ratnams-tamil-epic-ponniyin-selvan-1-sizzles-box-office?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Oct 2022 08:00:09 +0000 More than 1,300 Indian students have received visas to return to China to resume their courses, after being unable to do so for over two years due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. This was revealed as the Chinese foreign ministry updated the Indian ambassador to Beijing on recent progress in people-to-people exchanges, since China halted direct flights between the two countries when the pandemic started in early 2020. Around 300 Indian business travellers had also recently left for Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3195690/coronavirus-china-visas-more-1300-indian-students-after-two?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3195690/coronavirus-china-visas-more-1300-indian-students-after-two?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Oct 2022 09:00:35 +0000 As substitute markets go, the Indian wedding industry is not a bad one for tourism boards trying to put Covid-19 behind them – especially those with plenty of beaches to rely on. With the Chinese still out of action, several recent newspaper reports have attempted to quantify the effects at newly reopened Asian destinations of the continued absence of the world’s top spenders, and work out to what extent Indian visitors are able to plug the gap. One recent South China Morning Post headline is... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3192412/indian-weddings-thailand-help-offset-missing-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3192412/indian-weddings-thailand-help-offset-missing-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Sep 2022 03:42:47 +0000 With India’s 60-plus population set to rise significantly over the next decades, combating elderly loneliness is looming as a major challenge. With half the nation of 1.4 billion people under the age of 30, India is still primarily a young country. Roughly 10 per cent of the population is over the age of 60. But those favourable demographics are changing fast. The number of seniors will soar by 41 per cent to hit 194 million by 2031, up from 138 million now, the statistics ministry projected in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3190049/indian-youths-pair-grandpals-ratan-tata-backed-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3190049/indian-youths-pair-grandpals-ratan-tata-backed-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Aug 2022 04:15:20 +0000 India celebrates the 75th anniversary of its freedom from British rule Monday with an economy expected to grow by more than 7 per cent this year, making it the fastest-expanding globally this year – a performance that could continue for the next decade. It is also set to be the world’s fifth-largest economy this year, when only a decade ago it was not even among the top 10. “The Indian economy is set for its best run in over a decade as pent-up (post-pandemic) demand is being unleashed,” said... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3188820/india-marks-75th-independence-anniversary-rapid-growth-deep-inequality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3188820/india-marks-75th-independence-anniversary-rapid-growth-deep-inequality?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Aug 2022 00:30:14 +0000 India is making progress in efforts to bolster its pharmaceutical sector and reduce the nation’s dependence on medication from China, by expanding the scale of domestic production and reducing costs – an ambitious goal that has been given greater impetus amid the pandemic. Despite being the third-largest manufacturer of medicines by volume, India relies on China to supply almost 70 per cent of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) – chemicals that are responsible for the therapeutic effect of... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3188733/india-needs-china-critical-medicine-ingredients-ambitious?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3188733/india-needs-china-critical-medicine-ingredients-ambitious?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Aug 2022 00:00:26 +0000 Avid travellers and Chennai-based couple Alpana and Mahesh Sharma were excited when leisure travel restarted after two years of pandemic limitations and planned a summer holiday to Greek cities Athens, Mykonos and Santorini, with another couple. They applied to the Greek consulate in India at the start of April for a visa that was supposed to take 15 working days to process, for travel at the end of May. But they failed to get a response even two days before their departure dates. Consulate... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3187099/indian-travellers-hoping-escape-summer-heat-face-passport-visa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3187099/indian-travellers-hoping-escape-summer-heat-face-passport-visa?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Jul 2022 05:00:28 +0000 A new wave of coronavirus infections is rapidly spreading through Asia, prompting warnings for residents from New Zealand to Japan to take precautions to slow the outbreak and help prevent healthcare systems from being overwhelmed. The renewed surge in cases, mostly of the BA.4/5 Omicron variants, provides a further challenge for authorities grappling with the economic fallout of earlier waves of the pandemic while trying to avoid extending or reintroducing unpopular restrictions. The New... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3185308/coronavirus-fresh-covid-19-wave-sweeps-asia-nz-warns-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3185308/coronavirus-fresh-covid-19-wave-sweeps-asia-nz-warns-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Jul 2022 10:59:16 +0000 The leader of India’s main opposition party, Sonia Gandhi, has been admitted to hospital in New Delhi with health issues related to Covid-19, her Congress party said. Gandhi was admitted to the Ganga Ram Hospital in the capital New Delhi, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said in a tweet. “She is stable and will be kept at the hospital for observation,” he said, giving no other details. The 75-year-old had tested positive for Covid-19 on June 2. Italian-born Gandhi, widow of former... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3181437/indias-sonia-gandhi-opposition-leader-hospitalised-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3181437/indias-sonia-gandhi-opposition-leader-hospitalised-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Jun 2022 15:54:01 +0000 For years, Sanchuri Bhuniya fought her parents’ pleas to settle down. She wanted to travel and earn money – not become a housewife. So in 2019, Bhuniya sneaked out of her isolated village in eastern India. She took a train hundreds of miles south to the city of Bangalore and found work in a garment factory earning US$120 a month. The job liberated her. “I ran away,” she said. “That’s the only way I was able to go.” That life of financial freedom ended abruptly with the arrival of Covid-19. In... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3180135/india-trillions-stake-women-disappear-workforce?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3180135/india-trillions-stake-women-disappear-workforce?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jun 2022 07:58:11 +0000 Since 2009, Bangladesh has maintained macroeconomic stability through prudent fiscal and debt management, along with expansion of its social security net and investment in infrastructure projects. Economic growth has been consistent over the past 40 years and gross domestic product growth has been outstripping South Asia’s – with the region contracting by 6.58 per cent as a whole and Bangladesh growing by 3.5 per cent in 2020. Agriculture used to contribute a third of Bangladesh’s GDP but fell... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/asia/article/3179480/how-bangladesh-has-surged-past-india-road-south-asian-economic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/asia/article/3179480/how-bangladesh-has-surged-past-india-road-south-asian-economic?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 May 2022 08:15:13 +0000 New Delhi has hit out at the World Health Organization over its estimated pandemic-related death total for India – which put the numbers at 10 times the country’s official toll. The WHO estimated some 4.75 million deaths in India since 2020 could be attributed to the crisis, either directly from Covid-19 or indirectly through the pandemic’s wider impact on health systems and society. The figure, with an estimated range of 3.3 to 6.5 million, would ascribe almost one-third of the world’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3176715/coronavirus-india-slams-who-475-million-pandemic-death-toll?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3176715/coronavirus-india-slams-who-475-million-pandemic-death-toll?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 May 2022 04:46:18 +0000 India said that deaths in 2020 rose at a slower pace than previous years despite the proliferation of the novel coronavirus, in a data release that will likely add to long-standing skepticism over the government’s official Covid figures. The country recorded a total of 8.12 million deaths in 2020, a 6.2 per cent increase from the year before. That compares with a year-on-year increase of almost 10 per cent in 2019 and 7.5 per cent in 2018 -- the pre-pandemic, Covid-free years -- data show. While... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3176526/coronavirus-india-and-who-odds-over-new-delhis-covid-19-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3176526/coronavirus-india-and-who-odds-over-new-delhis-covid-19-death?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 May 2022 13:01:10 +0000 This year, Muslims around the world are observing Eid al-Fitr – typically marked with communal prayers, celebratory gatherings around festive meals and new clothes – in the shadow of a surge in global food prices exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. Against that backdrop, many are still determined to enjoy Eid, which began on Monday in many Muslim-majority countries and marks the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, amid an easing of coronavirus restrictions in their countries. For others,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3176222/asias-muslims-celebrate-1st-eid-after-covid-curbs-eased?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3176222/asias-muslims-celebrate-1st-eid-after-covid-curbs-eased?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 May 2022 05:04:10 +0000 Malaysia will ease more Covid-19 curbs from the start of next month, including lifting restrictions on those who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus and scrapping the need to wear masks outdoors, its health minister said. The Southeast Asian nation has seen some of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in the region, but infection surges have since subsided amid a ramped up vaccination programme. Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Wednesday people will now be able to enter public premises... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3175712/coronavirus-malaysia-lift-more-curbs-eases-mask-mandate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3175712/coronavirus-malaysia-lift-more-curbs-eases-mask-mandate?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Apr 2022 11:35:40 +0000 It is approaching 5pm and the roads around Delhi’s Jama Masjid, one of India’s largest mosques, are packed with people. Keepers of kiosks and shops that sell clothes, caps, cold drinks or snacks are straightening their wares. In the mosque’s courtyard, devotees are trying to find space, even though iftar – the breaking of the day-long fast observed by Muslims during Ramadan (a holy month of fasting) – is still 90 minutes away. Families gather around spreads of food and juices laid out on the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3175037/crowds-are-back-old-delhi-first-public-ramadan-celebration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3175037/crowds-are-back-old-delhi-first-public-ramadan-celebration?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Apr 2022 08:15:22 +0000 South Korea lifted almost all of its Covid-19 precautions on Monday in a major step towards a return to normal life as the Omicron variant recedes and daily infections retreated to a more than two-month low of fewer than 50,000. A midnight curfew on restaurants and other businesses was scrapped, along with a cap of 10 people allowed to gather. From next week, people will be allowed to eat snacks in cinemas and other indoor public facilities such as stadiums. People are still required to wear... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3174642/coronavirus-south-korea-end-most-covid-19-restrictions-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3174642/coronavirus-south-korea-end-most-covid-19-restrictions-india?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Apr 2022 07:31:51 +0000 Tokyo reported 8,026 new Covid-19 cases Sunday, seeing a week-on-week increase for the fourth consecutive day as health experts have warned of another wave of infections. The number, down 76 from the day before, is still far smaller than the some 21,000 registered in early February at the pandemic’s peak in the Japanese capital. However, the highly contagious BA. 2 sub-variant of the Omicron strain has spread rapidly in many parts of the country. Some infectious disease experts have said Japan,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3173769/coronavirus-tokyo-sees-rise-cases-4th-day-india-extends-booster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3173769/coronavirus-tokyo-sees-rise-cases-4th-day-india-extends-booster?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Apr 2022 12:31:30 +0000 She lunges across the floor on all fours like a side-travelling ape, then switches position to walk like a four-legged creature. Almost seamlessly, she stands on her head and stretches her body like a crab. Sharika Katoch, 47, has been doing these “animal flow” (AF) workouts for three years, and loves the sheer novelty of them. “AF includes primal movements such as a travelling bear, scorpion switch and crab reach. I never get bored, as I can switch between movements of my choice. Deciding on... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3173370/animal-flow-bodyweight-workouts-combine-yoga-gymnastics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3173370/animal-flow-bodyweight-workouts-combine-yoga-gymnastics?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Apr 2022 00:15:11 +0000 The World Health Organization said on Saturday it has suspended supply through United Nations agencies of the Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin, produced by India’s Bharat Biotech, to allow the manufacturer to upgrade facilities and address deficiencies found in an inspection. The WHO asked countries that have received the vaccine to take appropriate actions, according to the statement, but did not specify what the appropriate actions would be. The WHO said the vaccine is effective and no safety... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3172901/coronavirus-who-suspends-un-supply-indian-vaccine-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3172901/coronavirus-who-suspends-un-supply-indian-vaccine-after?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Apr 2022 23:11:11 +0000 When the Indian government announced it was restarting international travel on March 27 after two years of limited flights amid the pandemic, Jaideep Kelkar immediately booked a week-long holiday for his family of five to the Maldives. “Before the pandemic, we travelled at least twice annually to foreign destinations to bond as a family,” said the 48-year-old Mumbai-based garment exporter. “But the two pandemic years ruined all such plans. So we were literally counting down the days until we... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3172539/indian-tourists-seek-luxury-maldives-dubai-foreign-travel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3172539/indian-tourists-seek-luxury-maldives-dubai-foreign-travel?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Mar 2022 06:06:15 +0000 When Covid-19 ripped through India in 2020-21, several million people are thought to have died. Desperate efforts to stem the pandemic hurt the battle against another huge killer: tuberculosis. India is the home to a quarter of the world’s TB infections and an estimated half a million people died of the curable lung disease in 2020 in the South Asian nation – one-third of the global toll. Because of the pandemic, global deaths from the “silent killer” rose in 2020 for the first time in more than... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3172024/india-sees-tuberculosis-resurgence-after-covid-19-hit-fight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3172024/india-sees-tuberculosis-resurgence-after-covid-19-hit-fight?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Mar 2022 07:19:16 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3171835/video-job-losses-hit-indian-women-disproportionately-during-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3171835/video-job-losses-hit-indian-women-disproportionately-during-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Mar 2022 07:11:32 +0000 New Zealand announced it would begin reopening to international travellers from visa waiver countries, including the United States, from May 1, without any quarantine measures. In a prior statement, New Zealand’s government had anticipated a July reopening. Now, every traveller must present proof of full vaccination as well as a negative pre-departure Covid-19 test to enter the country beginning May 1. Additionally, all travellers will be given two rapid antigen tests for free upon arrival to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3171295/coronavirus-new-zealand-reopening-international-travellers-sooner-planned?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3171295/coronavirus-new-zealand-reopening-international-travellers-sooner-planned?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Mar 2022 11:06:40 +0000 Pole dancing is the newest fitness trend in conservative India, with everyone from millennials to senior citizens taking to it with fervour. Nupur Chaudhuri, 35, created a sensation on popular television reality show India’s Got Talent in January by performing a pole-dancing routine. Her mother-in-law, her “pillar of support”, accompanied her to the studio. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be standing here today,” the misty-eyed performer said to applause from the jury and audience. Pole... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3168369/pole-dancing-hot-pandemic-workout-conservative-india-men?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3168369/pole-dancing-hot-pandemic-workout-conservative-india-men?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Feb 2022 11:15:08 +0000 In India, a child with ADHD screams at the computer in front of him, frustrated to the point of seizure. In Malaysia, a child with autism stares blankly at the on-screen face of a teacher he once knew but can no longer recognise. In Hong Kong, a single mother of five special needs children breaks down in despair at the closure of schools. In the Philippines, a 12-year-old boy quietly attempts to hang himself, for the third time. These snapshots of post-Covid life – as relayed by educators across... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3168341/hong-kong-malaysia-and-india-how-online-learning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3168341/hong-kong-malaysia-and-india-how-online-learning?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Feb 2022 03:30:18 +0000 Hong Kong authorities have turned to mainland China to gather large amounts of necessary Covid-19 supplies, a minister has said, while donations from the private sector have poured in amid an escalating fifth wave of coronavirus infections. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah, who heads a government task force overseeing medical supplies, said on Friday that local authorities had sent a list of resources to the central government, including personal protective... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3168456/coronavirus-hong-kong-turns-mainland-china-private?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3168456/coronavirus-hong-kong-turns-mainland-china-private?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Feb 2022 13:04:20 +0000 Arjun Kumar, 42, was making good money as a driver for a New Delhi couple who had employed him for years. But when Covid-19 struck two years ago, they let him go and, since then, he hasn’t found another steady job. “Everybody’s working from home, they don’t need someone regularly,” Kumar said. He used to send money home to his wife, three children and parents in his home village in the eastern state of Bihar. Now, he can scarcely support himself with the few driving jobs he gets. Last week,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3166416/indias-us530-billion-budget-and-china-beating-92-cent-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3166416/indias-us530-billion-budget-and-china-beating-92-cent-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Feb 2022 08:15:55 +0000 Bollywood superstar Lata Mangeshkar, known to millions as the “Nightingale of India” and a regular fixture of the country’s airwaves for decades, died on Sunday morning at the age of 92. Mangeshkar was born in 1929 and started her musical training early under the tutelage of her father Deenanath, singing in his theatrical productions when she was just five. Her father’s death when she was only 13 forced her to take on the role of breadwinner to support four younger siblings, and the family... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3165998/bollywood-legend-lata-mangeshkar-nightingale-india-dies-92?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3165998/bollywood-legend-lata-mangeshkar-nightingale-india-dies-92?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Feb 2022 05:51:21 +0000 India’s death toll from Covid-19 crossed 500,000 on Friday, a level many health experts say was breached last year but obscured by inaccurate surveys and unaccounted dead in the hinterlands, where millions remain vulnerable to the disease. The country, which has the fourth-highest tally of deaths globally, recorded 400,000 fatalities by July last year after the devastating outbreak from the Delta variant of the coronavirus, according to official data. Some experts believe the figures were much... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3165770/coronavirus-south-korea-cases-shoot-omicron-rages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3165770/coronavirus-south-korea-cases-shoot-omicron-rages?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Feb 2022 01:43:55 +0000 The Philippines will grant entry to visitors vaccinated against Covid-19 from February 10, its government said on Friday, in an effort to boost a tourism sector decimated by the pandemic. The archipelago nation of more than 7,000 islands had planned to reopen in December, but that was aborted over concerns about the Omicron variant. Citizens of 150 countries that have visa-free entry to the Philippines will be allowed to enter. “[This] will contribute significantly to job restoration, primarily... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3165070/coronavirus-singapore-foreign-workforce-grows-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3165070/coronavirus-singapore-foreign-workforce-grows-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jan 2022 05:23:40 +0000 Whether it is the work-from-home revolution or the Great Resignation, the global workforce has seen plenty of twists and turns in the more than two years since a “novel” coronavirus first hit the headlines. Among the most seismic shifts, however, is how the pandemic has fuelled a trend that was already under way: the rise of the gig economy in which workers take on temporary, flexible jobs, often arranged online, rather than full-time employment. And there are few places where that shift has... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3163306/workers-life-indias-post-covid-post-great-resignation-gig?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3163306/workers-life-indias-post-covid-post-great-resignation-gig?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jan 2022 04:00:22 +0000