Home-made videos featuring a catchy Vietnamese song and an accompanying dance about the necessity of hand-washing during the coronavirus crisis have racked up more than 2 million views on video app TikTok.Cribbing the tune from pop song "Jealous" - or "Ghen" in Vietnamese - by singers Erik and Min, the Ministry of Health released an animated video with lyrics telling its citizens to "push back the virus Corona, Corona". The unlikely earworm by a usually

Cambodia's multi-billion-dollar garment industry is at risk of chain disruption from the deadly coronavirus, its strongman premier said Monday, as the outbreak cripples Southeast Asia's key industries, bringing border trade to a trickle. The death toll from the virus, which emerged from Wuhan in central China, has reached over 3,000 worldwide - the bulk of the fatalities in the mainland.Beijing issued unprecedented lockdowns for cities and provinces most affected, bringing

Relations between the EU and some ASEAN member states have been tense in recent years because of the seafood trade, stemming from the European Commission’s (EC) sanctions related to the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Vietnam's inaugural Formula One Grand Prix will take place in Hanoi in April as planned, organisers told the media on Tuesday, avoiding the fate of the Chinese Grand Prix which was postponed over the deadly coronavirus outbreak.The virus, which has killed more than 1,800 people in China, has trashed Asia's sporting calendar, forcing the postponement of top events including the Hong Kong Sevens rugby.But Vietnamese authorities said the country's inaugural F1 race would go ahead

More than 10,000 people in villages near Vietnam's capital were placed under quarantine Thursday after six cases of the deadly new coronavirus were discovered there, authorities said. In the first mass quarantine outside of China since the virus emerged there in late December, the Son Loi farming region about 40 kilometres from Hanoi will be locked down for 20 days, the health ministry said. Checkpoints have been set up around the six villages that make up Son Loi, repo

Seattle coffee franchise, Starbucks Inc. opened its largest store in Southeast Asia – the Starbucks Dewata Coffee Sanctuary, in partnership with licensee PT Sari Coffee Indonesia. The store is a tribute to Indonesia’s role, as the fourth largest Arabica coffee growing region in the world, and for bringing Starbucks customers the highest quality coffees.

An analysis of 65 countries has found that only 20 percent of the world's internet users enjoy "free" access according to international watchdog organisation, Freedom House. The remaining 32 percent are "partly free" and 35 percent are "not free", while 13 percent of users have yet to be assessed. The declining freedom of the internet in ASEAN highlights some serious concerns for its citizens in terms of privacy and ownership of data.

Asia stepped up its defences Tuesday against a new SARS-like virus, introducing mandatory screenings at airports of arrivals from high-risk areas of China as authorities move to head off a billowing regional health crisis.From Bangkok to Hong Kong and Seoul to Sydney, authorities have gone onto high-alert over the new coronavirus, following China's confirmation of the first case of human-to-human transmission of the deadly illness.Four people have died in China while scores more have bee

A court in Vietnam sentenced a former communications minister to life in prison Saturday for receiving millions of dollars in bribes, as the hardline administration presses its anti-graft drive against once-powerful figures in the communist state.Nguyen Bac Son was charged alongside his then-deputy Truong Minh Tuan with receiving US$3.2 million in bribes to approve the 2015 purchase of a TV firm that would have lost state-run telecommunications firm Mobifone US$300 million.The two-week trial

Vietnam seized more than two tonnes of ivory tusks and pangolin scales hidden inside wooden boxes shipped from Nigeria, state media reported Tuesday.The bust comes at the end of a year of big wildlife seizures destined for communist Vietnam, a hotbed of the illicit but lucrative trade in animal parts from elephants, pangolins, tigers and rhinos.Authorities in northern Hai Phong city found 330 kilograms of ivory and 1.7 tonnes of pangolin scales after checking three container shipments from Ni