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Author: AFP

Tokyo asks China to end Covid-19 anal swabs for Japanese

TOKYO: Japan has asked China to avoid using anal swabs to test its citizens for coronavirus, saying the method prompted complaints of “psychological distress”. Tokyo’s intervention comes after reports that US diplomatic personnel in China had complained of being subjected to the intrusive tests — a claim Beijing denied. China,

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As oil prices rally, old Opec tensions set to rise

LONDON: As members of the oil cartel Opec and its allies meet this week to discuss adjusting output, analysts expect old tensions between oil producer giants to flare up again. Russia and Saudi Arabia, respectively the world’s second and third largest producers of oil after the United States, had often

Floods cripple Indonesia’s capital

JAKARTA: Whole neighbourhoods of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta and dozens of major roads were flooded on Saturday after torrential rains pounded the Southeast Asian city overnight. More than 1,300 residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters, with parts of the capital under four to nine feet (1.2 to 2.7 metres) of

China shares dramatic video of mountain clash with India troops

BEIJING: Dramatic footage released by Chinese state media purportedly shows deadly clashes between troops at the Indian border last year — a rare insight into violence at the tense, remote frontier. China’s defence ministry on Friday named four soldiers killed in the brawl, in the first confirmation of deaths by

Former Singapore Hindu temple priest charged in $1.5 mln gold pawning case

Singapore: The former chief priest of Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple has been charged with repeatedly pawning gold religious ornaments for a total of $1.5 million, court officials said Wednesday. Kandasamy Senapathi would redeem the pawned ornaments when he had raised enough money and return them to the temple, according to

Covid global

Global Coronavirus toll

PARIS: The novel coronavirus has killed at least 2,419,730 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Wednesday. At least 109,464,770 cases of coronavirus have been registered. Of these, at least 67,145,900 are now

Rihanna sparks new India outrage with topless Hindu god photo

NEW DELHI: Pop icon Rihanna has been accused of mocking a Hindu god after she was pictured topless with a pendant of Ganesha around her neck, sparking a furore in India. Images of the lingerie photoshoot come just weeks after she upset the Indian government by commenting on huge farmers’

Singapore swap shops offer alternative to fast fashion

SINGAPORE: Sue-Anne Chng, a Singaporean, used to wear a different outfit on all 15 days of the Lunar New Year, when it is customary to don new clothes to symbolise a fresh start.  But this year she will wear second-hand items exchanged for her old clothes at a store catering

What’s next for Trump, the Republican Party and Biden?

WASHINGTON: The US Senate acquitted Donald Trump on Saturday of the charge of inciting the January 6 assault on the US Capitol in an unprecedented second impeachment trial. Trump’s acquittal raises questions about what’s next for the 74-year-old former president, the Republican Party and President Joe Biden. Donald Trump Although

Trump, after acquittal, says movement ‘has only just begun’

WASHINGTON: Former US president Donald Trump on Saturday welcomed his acquittal in the US Senate on an impeachment charge and said his political movement “has only just begun”. “Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun,” Trump said in a statement issued just