BANGKOK -- Protesters returned to the streets of Mandalay last Saturday, stamped on the flag of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and then burned it.

A student leader in Myanmar's second-largest city said opponents of the junta, the State Administration Council, will carry on fighting for national freedom "without expecting any help from ASEAN or the U.N."

The slow pace of diplomatic engagement -- and the manner in which it is being conducted -- is fueling anger toward the international community.

Six

TAIPEI -- As Taiwan prepared for another weekend under semi-lockdown, the iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper lit up on Friday to thank Japan for the speedy delivery of 1.25 million doses of AstraZeneca following a round of secret negotiations.

Thousands of Taiwanese also flocked to social media to thank Japan amid anxiety over how Taiwan will contain its worst outbreak since the pandemic began.

From just 1,200 cases spread out over 18 months, Taiwan now tops 10,000. Though

TOKYO -- A pharmaceutical alliance between Japan's Eisai and U.S.-based Biogen has succeeded in developing the world's first therapeutic drug approved for slowing the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

On June 7, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Aducanumab, a new drug developed by the two companies. Until now, there have been no drugs that can suppress the progression of dementia symptoms and this drug, the first new Alzheimer's treatment approved in the U.S.

HONG KONG -- A top Chinese producer of energy equipment, with a corporate history tracing to the Qing dynasty in 1902, has sparked investor and analyst worries after the manufacturer warned that other state-controlled businesses had fallen behind on almost $1.4 billion in payments.

Shanghai Electric Group's shares have dropped by 16% in Hong Kong and 15% in Shanghai since the potential losses were disclosed before trading on May 31. Moody's Investors Service and S&P Global

PHNOM PENH -- Workers at Cambodia's largest casino NagaWorld have urged the government to stop the company's plan to lay off more than 1,300 of its 8,000 employees.

Representatives of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of Naga World delivered a petition signed by more than 2,000 members to the Labor Ministry on Tuesday morning, requesting that officials intervene.

The union says the company is using COVID-19 as an excuse to target their leadership and

HANGZHOU, China -- Chinese, like their peers elsewhere, are getting more and more of their news via videos. At the same time, the country's news organizations are under increasing financial pressure as advertisers shift their purchasing to top online platforms like those of Tencent Holdings.

Based in the historic eastern city of Hangzhou, four-year-old Xinhua Zhiyun Technologies has developed a solution for the country's news providers: an automated system powered by artificial intelligence to generate video news clips and known as Media Brain

TOKYO/NAGOYA, Japan -- Nearly four years ago, a 28-year-old engineer at Toyota Motor was driven to suicide after relentless bullying and abuse from his boss, who told him that he "should die," mocked his educational background and prevented him from taking time off.

On Monday, the automaker announced a set of measures aimed at addressing what Japan terms "power harassment."

The move underscores the growing risks of inaction as the rise in socially conscious investing means that companies that let such

YANGON/BANGKOK -- Myanmar's military on Feb. 1 detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the country's first coup since 1988, bringing an end to a decade of civilian rule.

The Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy had won a landslide in a general election in November . But the military has claimed the election was marred by fraud.

For all our coverage, visit our Myanmar Coup page.

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GHOTKI, Pakistan (AP) -- An express train barreled into another that had derailed in Pakistan before dawn Monday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said. More than 100 were injured, and rescuers and villagers worked throughout the day to search crumpled cars for survivors and the dead.

Cries for help pierced the night as passengers climbed out of overturned or crushed rail cars, and continued to echo throughout the day at the scene in the district of Ghotki, in the southern province of Sindh. Heavy