Myanmar’s new junta leader has called on civil servants to return to work and urged people to stop mass gatherings to avoid spreading coronavirus, as a sixth day of protests against him and his coup spanned the Southeast Asian country.

Rival Palestinian factions agreed yesterday on steps aimed at ensuring Palestinian elections are held as planned later this year and pledged to respect their results, a joint statement said.

The family of an Australian journalist arrested in China has pleaded with authorities to grant the former high-profile state TV news anchor access to her two school-age children.

US President Joe Biden anticipates the US rivalry with China will take the form of “extreme competition” rather than conflict between the two world powers.

As communications blackout following the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, all recalled the darkest days of a succession of military juntas that ruled Myanmar during half a century of ruinous isolation - driving many people to mass protests in fear that such times could return.

A national initiative has taken off in Malaysia to place foreign workers at hotels temporarily to address the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country caused by poor living conditions.

A strong earthquake with 6.3 magnitude struck the southern province of Davao del Sur in the Philippines on Sunday, with damage and aftershocks expected, the country’s seismology agency said.

Abdullah Metseydi, a Uighur in Turkey, was readying for bed last month when he heard commotion, then pounding on the door. “Police! Open the door!”

Myanmar police have filed charges against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi for illegally importing communications equipment and she will be detained until Feb. 15 for investigations, according to a police document.

The United States should flexibly enforce sanctions aimed at curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear programmes to revive denuclearisation talks, South Korea’s point man on North Korea said today.

Pumping her arms to an electronic ditty, aerobics instructor Khing Hnin Wai appeared oblivious as a convoy of armoured vehicles drove by -- accidentally capturing Myanmar's military coup-in-progress in a surreal video that has now gone viral.

Staff at 70 hospitals and medical departments in 30 towns across Myanmar have stopped work to protest against the military seizing power in the country, a statement from the Myanmar Civil Disobedience Movement posted on Facebook said on Wednesday.

Myanmar’s military declared a one-year state of emergency on Monday (Feb 1) and appointed a general as acting president, after arresting civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior officials.

India today “noted with deep concern” the military coup in Myanmar and said the democratic process must be upheld.

Myanmar's military seized power on Monday in a coup against the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in early morning raids.

The United Nations and Western governments voiced alarm on Friday over threats by Myanmar's military that have stirred fears of a coup in the aftermath of an election the army says was fraudulent.

Pakistan’s government appealed to the Supreme Court to review its decision to free an Islamist convicted of kidnapping and beheading US journalist Daniel Pearl, a day after the United States expressed “deep concerns” over the ruling.

China toughened its language towards Taiwan, warning after recent stepped up military activities near the island that “independence means war” and that its armed forces were acting in response to provocation and foreign interference.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga apologised today after lawmakers from his ruling coalition visited night clubs despite his government’s call for people to avoid unnecessary outings to curb the spread of Covid-19.

ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak yesterday urged Japanese tech companies to consider Bangladesh while making investment decisions and recruiting skilled professionals.