Malaysia's prime minister narrowly won a vote to remove the parliament speaker during a rowdy session of the legislature Monday, a key test of support for the embattled leader.The Southeast Asian nation has been gripped by turmoil since a reformist government collapsed in February and Muhyiddin Yassin became premier, at the head of a coalition backed by a scandal-plagued party.He took power without an election, and there had been speculation he did not have sufficient support from MPs to

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that it is still possible to bring coronavirus outbreaks under control, even though case numbers have more than doubled in the past six weeks.WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the examples of Italy, Spain, South Korea and India's biggest slum showed that however bad an outbreak was, the virus could still be reined in through aggressive action."In the last six weeks, cases have more than doubled," Tedros told a virtual pres

Singapore's long-ruling party retained power Saturday but its support fell sharply, while the opposition made gains, in a general election held under the shadow of a coronavirus outbreak.Voters put on masks and gloves and had to observe social distancing rules during a poll held as the city-state emerges from a lengthy lockdown. The affluent financial hub has seen large virus outbreaks in dormitories housing low-paid foreign workers, but with new infections slowing and authoriti

In an alert for Chinese citizens posted on the embassy's website Thursday, Beijing warned of a disease with "a mortality rate far higher than COVID-19" – an assertion that was later removed from the statement. The statement also said the pneumonia outbreak had caused 1,772 deaths in the first half of 2020 and "628 in June alone".The statement originally referred to "Kazakhstan pneumonia" but this wording was later changed to "non-COVID pneumoni

Singaporeans will vote in a general election Friday with a raft of safety measures in place as the city-state emerges from a major coronavirus outbreak that swept through migrant worker dormitories.Voters will wear masks and gloves, and go through temperature checks before casting their ballots, following a short nine-day campaign that took place mostly online as rallies were banned to reduce infection risks.The People's Action Party (PAP), which has governed Singapore for six decades, i

The World Health Organization (WHO), which has faced criticism over its early handling of the coronavirus crisis, on Thursday launched an independent review into the global response to the pandemic.Announcing the assessment, which will be presented next May, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it should help the world understand how to prevent such crises in the future.The Independent panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response will be headed by former New Zealand prime minister Helen

President Donald Trump on Tuesday formally started the withdrawal of the United States (US) from the World Health Organization (WHO), making good on threats to deprive the United Nations (UN) body of its top funding source over its response to the coronavirus.Public health advocates and Trump's political opponents voiced outrage at the departure from the Geneva-based body, which leads the global fight on maladies from polio to measles to mental health - as well as COVID-19, at a time whe

Malaysian police said Tuesday they are investigating an Al Jazeera documentary about the arrests of undocumented migrants during the coronavirus lockdown after officials denounced it for damaging the country's image.The move comes after several activists, journalists and opposition figures have been put under investigation recently in what critics say is a bid to silence dissent. The documentary by the Qatar-based broadcaster, "Locked Up in Malaysia's Lockdown", f

An international group of 239 scientists on Monday urged authorities including the World Health Organization (WHO) to recognise that the coronavirus can spread in the air at distances well beyond two meters (six feet), and to revise their prevention guidelines accordingly.In a commentary that appeared in the Oxford Academic journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, researchers wrote that studies have shown "beyond any reasonable doubt" that viruses can travel tens of meters in the air,

Critics of a new anti-terrorism law in the Philippines called on the country's highest court Monday to suspend the legislation, arguing it threatens human rights and freedom of speech. The law approved by President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday gives the security forces sweeping powers to go after terrorists, but critics fear it could be used to stifle dissent and target government opponents.Rights groups had called on Duterte to veto the law, which allows for a special council comp