HONG KONG -- Vicky Lau says while she has had a lifelong passion for food, it was a sense of sheer necessity that led her into the kitchen to cook for herself.

Lau was a student in New York -- hungry and very far from home -- when she first tried to recreate the tastes and the textures of Hong Kong. It was the start of a journey that would lead Lau to earlier this year becoming the first Asian woman to receive two Michelin stars, for her work in the kitchen of

HONG KONG -- China's market regulator has reportedly fined 15 after-class tutoring schools a total of 36.5 million yuan ($5.7 million) for false advertising and price fraud, signaling an attempt to ease the cost of education for families as the country tries to boost its birthrate.

Tencent-backed Yuanfudao and Alibaba-backed Zuoyebang, as well as established players New Oriental Education & Technology Group and TAL Education Group, are among the companies hit with fines, the state-run

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor's stock price jumped 3.4% to close at 9,423 yen on the Tokyo market on Tuesday, reaching its highest-ever level.

Shares in the Japanese automaker have climbed rapidly since mid-May as investors welcome its bullish sales forecast and ability to weather the global chip shortage thanks to its supply chain management.

Its shares have risen in seven of the last eight trading sessions and surged 13% over the past three weeks, gaining momentum since it announced last

TOKYO -- Japan's KDDI is set to invest in the country's third-largest food delivery service, Menu, as the telecom operator seeks to expand its mobile payment platform by making use of delivery data amid flat growth in the telecommunications business.

Uber Eats Japan and Demae-can are the two largest food delivery companies in Japan, but the latest move illustrates the heightened competition prompted by an expanding market and increased demand for deliveries brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

KDDI will invest around 5

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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BANGKOK -- Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has begun chartered cargo flights connecting its home country to Thailand, looking to fulfill online orders involving shipments between the two countries within 48 hours.

The three round-trip flights weekly between Shenzhen's Bao'an International Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok represent JD's first such chartered links in the Asia-Pacific region, the company said.

"We see enormous potential in Southeast Asia, and this is just the first step," Stard Huang,

PHNOM PENH -- U.S. senior diplomat Wendy Sherman says Washington has "serious concerns" about China's "military presence" at a naval base undergoing Beijing-backed expansion on Cambodia's coast.

Sherman, the deputy secretary of state, made the remarks during a two-hour meeting with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday in Phnom Penh, which she described on Twitter as "candid."

The senior Joe Biden administration official also called on Cambodia to drop "politically motivated charges against

TOKYO -- India has begun to emerge from widespread lockdowns triggered by its latest surge in coronavirus cases, but the economy is unlikely to bounce back anytime soon, given the deep toll exacted on employment and personal spending.

New Delhi began gradually easing its coronavirus restrictions Monday, and construction and manufacturing have begun to resume in the capital and in certain other areas. This comes after the nation's infections have fallen to below 200,000, down from around 400,000 in

SHANGHAI -- The World Health Organization on Tuesday approved the second Chinese COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, providing a possible boost to its global access initiative as concerns about trial data linger.

Sinovac Biotech's CoronaVac joined Sinopharm and five other Western vaccines recognized by the WHO, which is trying to meet the global demand for inoculation.

An independent panel of experts at the WHO said in a statement it recommended Sinovac's vaccine for adults over 18, with a second dose two to four weeks later.