China on Friday rejected the World Health Organization's (WHO) calls for a renewed probe into the origins of COVID-19, saying it supported "scientific" over "political" efforts to find out how the virus started.Pressure is once more mounting on Beijing to consider a fresh probe into the origins of a pandemic which has killed more than four million people and paralysed economies worldwide since it first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.A delayed and heavily

Singapore police are investigating several karaoke bars for breaching coronavirus restrictions and have arrested 20 foreign women for alleged "vice-related activities" after an outbreak linked to the nightspots, authorities said.The city-state has seen a spike in cases this week connected to the bars – including a 10-month high of local transmissions on Wednesday – and the number of infections in the cluster now stands at 87.A staple of Singapore nightlife, the karaoke bars typicall

A group of international scientists called for a new investigation into the origins of COVID-19 on Wednesday after China and the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a scrutinised report last week concluding that the virus most likely came from wildlife instead of a laboratory.24 scientists from Europe, the United States (US), Australia and Japan issued an open letter, which was obtained by The New York Times, that analysed steps to complete a more comprehensive investigation.&qu

Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) visited a Wuhan hospital Friday as the fieldwork began in a closely watched coronavirus origins probe that will take in a food market presumed to be "ground zero" of the pandemic.The WHO investigation has been hobbled by delays, and there are fears over access and the strength of evidence a year after the virus emerged in the central Chinese city.The team met Chinese officials Friday and then left their Wuhan hotel in a fleet of cars,

China's ruling Communist Party leaders have congratulated themselves on their "extremely extraordinary" success in handling the COVID-19 outbreak domestically, ahead of a World Health Organization (WHO) probe into the disease's origins.China faced a barrage of criticism at home and abroad over its initial handling of the virus, which emerged in the central city of Wuhan last December.China's Politburo, the top decision-making body of the Communist Party, said late Fri

Receiving money to "offset" buying planes and equipment did not necessarily constitute bribery, Malaysia's Prime Minister said Thursday, days after AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes stepped aside temporarily in the wake of a US$4 billion Airbus graft scandal.AirAsia founder and CEO Fernandes and company executive Chairman Kamarudin Meranun deny allegations of misconduct, but have stepped aside after Airbus last week settled a court case in Europe which alleged the planemaker paid bri

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte apologised and pledged a probe into the troubled run-up to Saturday's opening of the Southeast Asian Games after a rush of logistical problems and last-minute construction.Complaints over transport, accommodation and food stacked up as thousands of athletes have flooded into Manila for the biggest ever edition of the Games, which are also threatened by an approaching typhoon forecast to hit the northern Philippines early next week.Though initially con

Philippine organisers of the Southeast Asian Games fired back on Thursday after days of critical coverage of the messy build-up to Saturday's opening ceremony.Reports of unfinished construction, transport delays and complaints about food have surfaced as competitors have poured in for the regional competition.In response, lawmakers and the spokesman of President Rodrigo Duterte have called for a probe into the preparations.Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the organising committee, told j