HONG KONG -- Kate, a marketing executive in her late 20s, hastily bought a one-way ticket to London earlier this year when the Hong Kong government introduced a controversial immigration law giving authorities vast powers to bar people from entering or leaving the city, starting Aug. 1.

Having "actively" participated in the pro-democracy protests of 2019 -- and stopped and searched by police near the Polytechnic University during its siege -- Kate said she was worried she would be banned from

Nikkei Asia is tracking the spread of the coronavirus that was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Cumulative global cases have reached 197,270,918, according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The worldwide death toll has hit 4,207,124.

For more information about the spread of COVID-19 and the progress of vaccination around the world, please see our interactive charts and maps.

-- Global coronavirus tracker charts

-- Status of

TOKYO -- The Tokyo Olympics are well underway after a long journey filled with controversy, and an unprecedented one-year postponement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proceedings officially began with the opening ceremony at the National Stadium , a mostly subdued affair mixed with joyous moments like a high-tech drone show, and capped by tennis star Naomi Osaka lighting the Olympic cauldron.

We're tracking the latest medal count .

Read our breakdown of the events to watch .

Here are the latest developments:

Saturday,

Nikkei Asia is tracking the spread of the coronavirus that was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Cumulative global cases have reached 197,270,918, according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The worldwide death toll has hit 4,207,124.

For more information about the spread of COVID-19 and the progress of vaccination around the world, please see our interactive charts and maps.

-- Global coronavirus tracker charts

-- Status of

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. Justice Department (DoJ) on Friday announced the seizure of a 2,734-ton tanker it said was owned and operated by a Singaporean national and used to make shipments of petroleum products to North Korea in violation of international sanctions.

A DoJ statement said the M/T Courageous was seized by Cambodian authorities in March 2020 in accordance with a U.S. warrant, having been used to transfer oil products to North Korean vessels and

TOKYO -- Vietnamese payments provider VNLife on Friday said it has raised $250 million from investors, including U.S.-based General Atlantic and Dragoneer Investment Group, highlighting global interest in the country's fintech industry.

PayPal Ventures, the venture capital arm of U.S. payments company PayPal, and Singapore's EDBI participated in the funding round, along with existing investors GIC and SoftBank Group's Vision Fund.

In an interview on Zoom, Managing Director Niraan De Silva said the investment

TOKYO -- The Tokyo Olympics are well underway after a long journey filled with controversy, and an unprecedented one-year postponement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proceedings officially began with the opening ceremony at the National Stadium , a mostly subdued affair mixed with joyous moments like a high-tech drone show, and capped by tennis star Naomi Osaka lighting the Olympic cauldron.

We're tracking the latest medal count .

Read our breakdown of the events to watch .

Here are the latest developments:

Friday,

HONG KONG -- A viewing party for an Olympic event that produced Hong Kong's first gold medal in a quarter century has led to the arrest of a man accused of disrespecting China's national anthem.

The territory's police said Friday evening a 40-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of violating the national anthem law, based on a video from Monday night, when he was watching local fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long win the men's foil competition in Tokyo.

The police

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Singapore and Vietnam in August, the White House said Friday, as Washington seeks to bolster ties with the two key Asia-Pacific partners.

This will mark the first time an American vice president visits Vietnam. Harris will meet with leaders to discuss issues ranging from regional security to climate change to the coronavirus pandemic.

Harris aims to "strengthen relationships and expand economic cooperation with two critical Indo-Pacific partners of the United States," the White House said