Philippine soldiers will be required to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, the military said Thursday, as the country prepares to receive its first doses and begin inoculations. Pressure is mounting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s government to kickstart the delayed vaccine rollout, amid accusations its officials have bungled the procurement and delivery of jabs. Beijing’s donation […]
The World Bank has halted payments to projects in Myanmar on withdrawal requests that were made after a February 1 coup by the country’s military, the bank said in a letter to Myanmar’s finance ministry seen by Reuters on Thursday. A World Bank spokesman verified the letter, from World Bank Myanmar country director Mariam Sherman […]
Britain slapped further sanctions on Myanmar’s generals on Thursday (February 25) for “overseeing human rights violations” since toppling civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, as clashes broke out between pro-junta supporters and anti-coup residents. The country has been gripped by a torrent of anger, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets nationwide to call […]
China stands a good chance of doubling the size of its economy by 2035 and surpassing the US as the world’s largest economy along the way, said an economist from the Bank of America. As China seeks to become an advanced nation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in November that it was possible to double […]
Former US diplomat Chas Freeman urged Washington to focus on making “serious repairs” at home to effectively compete with China, as US President Joe Biden’s administration reviews US policy towards China amid increasingly strained relations. Freeman is a well-known China hand who was the principal interpreter for Richard Nixon during the 1972 China trip that […]
China’s medical products regulator said on Thursday that it had approved two more COVID-19 vaccines for public use, raising the number of domestically produced vaccines that can be used in China to four. The two newly cleared vaccines are made by CanSino Biologics Inc (CanSinoBIO) and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, an affiliate of China […]
Some 5,000 Indonesian journalists were being vaccinated Thursday for Covid-19, in gratitude for the work of the media amid the pandemic. The first doses went to photographers, cameramen and reporters on the ground, despite not being within the priority groups of the mass vaccination campaign that began in January and will be open to the […]
Hong Kong and South Korea kicked off coronavirus vaccination drives on Friday, as momentum builds for inoculation rollouts across the Asia-Pacific region. South Korea plans to inoculate 70 percent of its population within seven months while Hong Kong aims to vaccinate all adults by the end of the year. Both places were among the first […]
Myanmar police detained a Japanese freelance journalist at a protest in the commercial capital of Yangon, one of his colleagues said on Friday, the first detention of a foreign reporter since a military coup on February 1. Yuki Kitazumi, who runs a media production company, Yangon Media Professionals, and used to be a journalist with […]
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for tougher discipline within the army and appointed new chiefs of the navy and the air force as he chaired an enlarged meeting of the central military commission, state media reported on Thursday. The gathering took place at the ruling party’s headquarters on Wednesday. “The meeting referred […]
South Korea has yet to finalise its position on this year’s UN resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights abuses, but it will continue communication with the United States and others on the matter, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The ministry’s comment came as Seoul’s stance on co-sponsoring the resolution drew attention this week after US […]
New video obtained by a South Korean broadcaster offers a glimpse of a daring defection by a North Korean man who last week swam, crawled through a tunnel, and wandered around the heavily guarded border zone for hours before being noticed. The man, who has not been identified by South Korean authorities, crossed the Demilitarised […]
Thousands of COVID-19 patients continue to suffer serious, debilitating and lingering symptoms many months after their initial bout of infection, with major social, health and economic consequences, European health experts said on Thursday. Publishing a World Health Organization-led guidance report on the condition, often referred to as “long COVID” or “post-COVID syndrome”, experts said around […]
As vaccinations pick up pace around the world, the idea of “vaccine passports” is gaining traction among governments and industries looking for a way out of shutdowns, curfews and travel bans. But while some see it as a potential ticket to freedom, others fear such documentation could exclude or discriminate against those made most vulnerable […]
The World Health Organization has agreed a no-fault compensation plan for claims of serious side effects in people in 92 poorer countries due to get COVID-19 vaccines via the COVAX sharing scheme, resolving a big concern among recipient governments. The programme, which the WHO said was the first and only vaccine injury compensation mechanism operating […]
Thousands of COVID-19 patients continue to suffer serious, debilitating and lingering symptoms many months after their initial bout of infection, with major social, health and economic consequences, European health experts said on Thursday. Publishing a World Health Organization-led guidance report on the condition, often referred to as “long COVID” or “post-COVID syndrome”, experts said around […]
AstraZeneca will voluntarily withdraw the use of its cancer drug Imfinzi to treat advanced bladder cancer in the United States after it failed to meet post-approval requirements, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said on Monday. Imfinzi, mainly a lung cancer treatment, was granted accelerated approval for the bladder cancer indication in 2017, and the withdrawal does not […]
A laboratory study suggests that the South African variant of the coronavirus may reduce antibody protection from the Pfiser Inc/BioNTech SE vaccine by two-thirds, and it is not clear if the shot will be effective against the mutation, the companies said on Wednesday. The study found the vaccine was still able to neutralise the virus […]
Earnings Call Scheduled for 8:00 a.m. EST on March 5, 2021
BEIJING, Feb. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — China Online Education Group ("51Talk", or the "Company") (NYSE: COE), a lea…
TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SoftBank Group Corp. (“SoftBank”) today announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of WeWork Inc. (formerly referred to as The We Company) (“the Special Committ…
Equity markets were pummelled Friday, on growing fears that an expected strong global economic recovery this year will fan inflation and force central banks to hike interest rates, despite reassurances that ultra-loose monetary policies will be kept in place for as long as needed. The rollout of vaccines, slowing of infections and Joe Biden’s impending […]
Myanmar’s UN envoy urged the United Nations to use “any means necessary” to stop a military coup there, making a surprise appeal on behalf of the ousted government as police cracked down on anti-junta protesters. The Southeast Asian country has been in crisis since the army seized power on February 1 and detained elected leader […]
Myanmar’s UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, speaking for the country’s elected civilian government ousted in a military coup on February 1, appealed to the United Nations on Friday “to use any means necessary to take action against the Myanmar military” to restore democracy to the Southeast Asian country. He addressed the 193-member UN general Assembly […]
Myanmar’s UN envoy urged the United Nations to use “any means necessary” to stop a military coup there, making a surprise appeal on behalf of the ousted government as police cracked down on anti-junta protesters. The Southeast Asian country has been in crisis since the army seized power on February 1 and detained elected leader […]
The Biden administration plans to allow a Trump-era rule targeting Chinese technology firms deemed to pose a threat to the United States to go into effect despite objections from US businesses, the US Commerce Department said on Friday. The department issued an interim final rule in the final days of the Trump administration aimed at […]
China’s finance ministry said on Friday that it would extend tariff exemptions for 65 imported products from the United States, including logs and aircraft parts. The extension, effective on February 28, will last until September 16, 2021, the ministry said. The products received exemptions from retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on US goods. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-tariffs/china-will-extend-tariff-exemptions-for-65-u-s-products-idUSKBN2AQ1MJ
The Dutch parliament on Thursday passed a non-binding motion saying the treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority in China amounts to genocide, the first such move by a European country. Activists and United Nations rights experts say at least one million Muslims are being detained in camps in the remote western region of Xinjiang. The […]
Malaysia and the United Kingdom (UK) will look into specific Covid-19 cooperation after both countries have rolled out their immunisation programme. The matter was one of the issues discussed between Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and his UK counterpart, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in a telephone conversation yesterday. Wisma Putra in a statement […]
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today urged the government to utilise its resources and better prepare the country for a future pandemic, besides the ongoing combat against Covid-19. During a public address through his Facebook page today, the Pakatan Harapan chairman indicated that Malaysia needs to begin building necessary infrastructure, and empower local universities […]
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said only four in a million may get side effects after getting vaccinated for Covid-19. He said the Ministry of Health is prepared to handle the if such a situation happens during and after giving vaccination to any individuals. “Adverse side effects (after injection), in a million, […]
The number of overseas Indonesians who tested positive for COVID-19 rose to 3,289 as seven more new cases were registered in this group, according to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry on Thursday. Among the new cases, five were reported in Jordan, and two in Egypt. The ministry also reported that 757 Indonesians abroad are still under […]
An illegal gold mine on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island collapsed on nearly two dozen people who were working inside, killing six and leaving one worker missing, officials said Thursday. Survivors estimated 23 people were trapped in the rubble when the mine in Central Sulawesi province’s Parigi Moutong district collapsed late Wednesday due to unstable soil, said […]
Office and retail segments are still affected by weak demand, but residential property can expect a recovery driven by demand for mass-market properties Developers’ credit metrics are not likely to recover to 2019 levels yet, given the time lag between revenue recognition and marketing sales Moody’s Investors Service says in a new report that demand […]
Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh on Friday (26 February) asked the government to give an update on two separate corruption probes into Keppel Offshore and Marine (O&M), and the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and two local football clubs. Singh was speaking at the start of the Committee of Supply (COS) debates in Parliament, […]
The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 13 new cases of COVID-19 in Singapore on Friday (26 February), taking the country’s total case count to 59,913. There are no new cases of locally-transmitted infection and all cases are imported. “Amongst the new cases today, 12 are asymptomatic, and were detected from our proactive screening and surveillance, […]
While the government is interested in mitigating the public health impact of secondhand smoke, enforcing a proposed ban on smoking in homes would be highly intrusive and raise privacy issues, said minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor on Monday (5 October). Her explanation came in response to Nee Soon GRC MP […]
Bottles of black liquid lined the bar, where cocktails would normally be concocted with different gins from around the world. But on this day, they contained black vinegar, used to complement the bar’s latest offeringdumplings. A few staff members were outside manning a small pop-up stall that had become their main source of income since […]
Eight former leaders of the disbanded People’s Democratic Reform Committee sentenced to jail by the Criminal Court were released from Bangkok Remand Prison on Friday after being allowed bail by the Appeal Court. They had spent two nights in detention. They walked out about noon. Their lawyer Sawat Charoenphon said the Appeal Court on Friday […]
The Thai Ministry of Public Health is being praised after seemingly doing an about face over whether Bangkok’s Chatuchak Weekend Market could be the source of Covid-19. After health officials denied that the World Health Organization was investigating the market, a recent Facebook live press conference saw the Ministry acknowledging that wildlife trades may endanger […]
Philippine soldiers will be required to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, the military said Thursday, as the country prepares to receive its first doses and begin inoculations. Pressure is mounting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s government to kickstart the delayed vaccine rollout, amid accusations its officials have bungled the procurement and delivery of jabs. Beijing’s donation […]
The Philippines is among the countries with the highest score in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Consumer Empowerment Index (ACEI). A key initiative of the Asean Strategic Plan on Consumer Protection 2016 to 2015, the ACEI 2020 report aims to gauge the level of awareness and knowledge of consumers in terms of their […]
While all troops are required to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Friday that they can choose not to get the Sinovac shots allocated for them, but they would have to pay. “Our soldiers can choose a different vaccine brand,” AFP spokesperson MGen. Edgard Arevalo said in Filipino during a […]
The world is aging. Some countries are not only aging, but their populations are shrinking as immigration fails to make up for rapidly falling birth rates. Many US allies and security partners are among those beset by these trends. This raises questions about how decreasing fertility and increasing life expectancies will shape the future world […]
Japan, China and six other economies of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission agreed Thursday to cut their combined saury catch quota by 40 percent to 333,750 tonnes per year in order to address fishery resource depletion. The new catch limit, which was decided during a three-day online meeting through Thursday, will be in place until […]
The Japanese government will end a state of emergency in all but Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures at the end of this month, a week earlier than scheduled, public broadcaster NHK reported on Friday. Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi, Gifu and Fukuoka prefectures will all see their emergency coronavirus measures lifted, NHK said. The government had […]
The neighbourhood around Nowon station, on the north-eastern edge of Seoul, looks much like any other suburb of South Korea’s capital. Multi-storey buildings house cramming schools, coffee shops and fast-food stalls that sell tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) to hungry students during their short study breaks. There is a multi-screen cinema and a cluster of banks. […]
Korea started its Covid-19 vaccine inoculation programme on Friday, marking the first step of the country’s long-awaited return to everyday life before the pandemic. The government will inoculate 5,226 medical workers and patients under 65 at 213 nursing facilities with the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday. Nursing facility residents and workers can receive vaccinations at public […]
South Korea launched its COVID-19 inoculation campaign on Friday, with shots to be administered in some 200 nursing homes, in an effort that officials call the first step in returning the country to more normal life. The first doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine began to be given at 9 a.m.(0000 GMT) to nursing home workers and […]
The Hong Kong government’s plan to raise the stamp duty on stock transactions would add 30 per cent to the cost of every trade, diminish the allure of what’s already one of the world’s most expensive major markets, investors and brokers said. The duty on any trade will rise to 0.13 per cent for both […]
Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest property tycoon, is planning to raise funds for dealmaking by listing a special purpose acquisition company in the US, people with knowledge of the matter said. A company backed by Li’s family is working with advisers on the potential SPAC initial public offering, according to the people, who asked not […]
A man has testified to being chased and assaulted while trying to protect a journalist as they filmed a “chaotic” attack involving a white-clad mob in a northern Hong Kong railway station in 2019. His testimony on Thursday was the first witness account presented in the District Court trial of six men, who have denied […]
China announced on Friday (February 26) the country would suspend the import of Taiwan’s pineapples starting March 1, citing “harmful organisms” found in the fruit. China’s general Administration of Customs said the harmful organisms had been found in Taiwanese pineapples on multiple occasions since 2020, including Planococcus minor (passionvine mealybug), Dysmicoccus neobrevipes (gray pineapple mealybug), […]
Taiwan companies are most likely to score a winning performance internationally by using their expertise in Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) and 5G technology, said Flora Chen, marketing and operations director at Microsoft Taiwan, on Friday (February 26). She named “growth” and “global” as the two key words for Taiwan corporations in 2021, CNA reported. […]
Amid the global chip shortage, several American lawmakers have approached Taiwan’s representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim for assistance. As the car industry has struggled with a severe shortage in automotive chips, several carmakers, including Ford and general Motors, have had to scale back production. This has caused several members of congress to reach out […]
Four Vietnam-based contractors CS Wind Corporation, PTSC Mechanical and Construction, Southern Petroleum Construction JSC and Vietsovpetro will provide foundation and harbor services for the La Gan offshore wind farm project in the central province of Binh Thuan. On February 24, the La Gan Wind Power Development Corporation, the developer of the 3.5-gigawatt offshore wind farm […]
The two countries aim to further cooperation in the Covid-19 fight, recovering the regional supply chain and ensuring greater access to Covid-19 vaccines. Vietnam and Thailand would accelerate the draft of an action plan as part of the enhanced strategic partnership, including measures to ensure a balanced trade relation, which is expected to attain a […]
Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC (BSR) has operated Dung Quat Oil Refinery at 108 per cent of the refinery’s designed capacity in a safe and stable fashion in February to meet the domestic market’s increasing demand during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. According to BSR deputy general director Bui Ngoc Duong, thanks to […]
