Here are the latest developments from Asia related to the novel coronavirus pandemic: Japan Lifts Emergency For Most RegionsJapan's prime minister lifted a state of emergency imposed due to the coronavirus for the majority of the country but kept it in place for top cities Tokyo and Osaka.

Here are the latest developments in Asia related to the novel coronavirus pandemic: Wuhan Deaths RiseThe Chinese city where the coronavirus first emerged has raised its death toll by 50 percent to a total of 3,869.The revision came as a growing chorus of world leaders suggested China had not been entirely open about the full domestic impact of the virus.The additional deaths in Wuhan were cases that were "mistakenly reported" or missed entirely, according to the official an

The Indonesian government has strong reason to draw policy lessons from the international community in order to deal with over 14,000 transiting refugees and asylum seekers, before the situation deteriorates further.While the refugee issue is not a political priority in Indonesia, it seems to garner much traction for Australian politicians – where refugee issues dominate their agenda. Over the years, the Australian government has implemented an increasingly restrictive immigration policy.

Owing to the smoke from nearby wildfires, Canberra in December had the world’s worst air-quality index, with readings 20 times above the official hazardous threshold. The city also recently experienced its hottest day on record (111°F/44°C). Meanwhile, Delhi had its coldest December day on record.

Four Australians were deported from Indonesia’s Papua region on Monday, the immigration department said, after they allegedly took part in demonstrations demanding independence for the restive province.Impoverished Papua, where a low-level insurgency against Indonesian control has simmered for decades, has seen two weeks of mass protests and deadly riots sparked by anger over racism and fresh calls for self-rule.The four foreigners entered the island region on a yacht through the port of Soro

East Timor on Friday marks 20 years since a UN-backed vote ended a bloody, decades-long occupation by Indonesian forces and paved the way for it to become an independent nation.On 30 August 1999, nearly 80 percent of East Timorese voted to split from neighbouring Indonesia, which invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975, starting a brutal 24-year military occupation.But joy over independence quickly turned to terror as Indonesian security forces and proxy militias went on a scorched-earth

Depending on who you listen to, the 580,000 tonnes of radioactive waste at Lynas’ rare earth processing plant in the Malaysian state of Pahang is either going to cause harm to generations to come or is part of the Australian company’s policy of causing “zero harm”.Currently the hottest environmental debate in Malaysian, the government’s decision last week to extend the company’s licence for another six months has turned up the heat on the issue as Lynas has yet to remove waste containing low

International investigators on Wednesday charged three Russians and a Ukrainian with murder over the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, the first people to face justice over the tragedy five years ago in which 298 people were killed.The trial of the four men with military and intelligence links will start in the Netherlands in March next year, although they are likely to be tried in absentia as neither Russia nor Ukraine extradites their nationals.Moscow slammed the "absolut