China reported 21 new confirmed coronavirus cases for October 20 compared with 30 a day earlier, the country’s health authority said on Thursday. Of the new infections, 13 were locally transmitted cases, according to a statement by the National Health Commission, compared with 17 a day earlier. The new local cases were reported in the […]
President Joe Biden on Thursday didn’t hesitate when asked whether the US would come to Taiwan’s defense if China attacked. “Yes, we have a commitment to do that,” Biden said during a CNN town hall in Baltimore. But the White House later clarified the president’s comments, telling POLITICO that there had been no change in […]
South Korea failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit on Thursday after the first launch of its domestically developed three-stage Nuri rocket, the country’s President Moon Jae-in announced on Thursday. “Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to reach our goal perfectly, but it was a wonderful achievement for a first trial,” Moon said. “We still […]
The Philippines and Malaysia on Wednesday decried continued incursions by Chinese vessels in areas of the South China Sea they claim as their own in yet another sign of continuing tensions in the disputed waters. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said it protested provocative actions by Chinese government vessels that used “the unlawful issuance […]
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday he took full responsibility for the bloody war on drugs that has killed thousands of people, but maintained he will never be tried by an international court. “If there is any person who is going to prison, it would be me,” Duterte said in a speech during an […]
Myanmar has spiralled into civil war following a military coup, the outgoing UN special envoy on Myanmar said on Thursday, warning that the chance to return to democracy is disappearing and signaling that further targeted sanctions could be helpful. Christine Schraner Burgener, who is stepping down after more than three-and-a-half years in the role, told […]
The United States and other countries on Wednesday accused China of undermining the rules-based global trading system through its massive use of industrial subsidies and other practices, as the world’s second-largest economy approaches the 20th anniversary of its entry into the World Trade Organisation. “China has used the imprimatur of WTO membership to become the […]
White House officials are gearing up for a virtual meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping they hope will show the world Washington can responsibly manage relations between the rival superpowers, people familiar with the matter say. Combative diplomatic exchanges with China early in the Biden administration unnerved allies and US officials […]
Dozens of countries kept up pressure on China at the United Nations on Thursday over accusations of rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in the country’s Xinjiang region, sparking an angry response from China’s UN envoy. Confrontations over Xinjiang between China and mostly Western countries, including the United States, have become a regular […]
The US Navy and Army tested hypersonic weapon prototypes following China’s test launch of a nuclear-capable space missile that has “worried” Joe Biden. While China has denied reports it tested a hypersonic missile that circled the earth, claiming it was a “routine spacecraft experiment,” the president said he was concerned about the August test that […]
In mid-September, Marcel Schliebs, a disinformation researcher at the University of Oxford who had been tracking messaging that Chinese diplomats and state media spread on Twitter for 18 months, spotted the emergence of a surprising coronavirus origin theory. Zha Liyou, the Chinese consul general in Kolkata, India, tweeted an unfounded claim that Covid-19 could have […]
Australia, India, and Japan have quietly spent years deepening their partnership. The United States and the United Kingdom are also committed to strengthening relationships in the region. Henry Kissinger thought in triangles. His strategic triangle featured the United States, the Soviet Union, and China. Today, there is a new strategic triangle in the Indo-Pacific. Its […]
A US medical team has succeeded in temporarily attaching a pig’s kidney to a person, a transplant breakthrough hailed as a “potential miracle” by the surgeon who led the procedure. The surgery, carried out on September 25, involved a genetically modified donor animal and a brain-dead patient on a ventilator whose family had given permission […]
The World Bank mishandled sexual harassment complaints brought by multiple women against a senior official, according to the bank’s labour tribunal. The case involved disturbing reports dating back to 2009 of the official inviting young colleagues to hotel rooms, trying to trick them into kissing him, and making inappropriate comments. The official was demoted but […]
An expert committee on Thursday recommended a booster dose of Moderna’s anti-Covid vaccine in the United States for certain at-risk groups, a month after making a similar decision for the Pfiser shot. The opinion submitted by the advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration composed of researchers, epidemiologists and infectious disease experts is not […]
A US medical team has succeeded in temporarily attaching a pig’s kidney to a person, a transplant breakthrough hailed as a “potential miracle” by the surgeon who led the procedure. The surgery, carried out on September 25, involved a genetically modified donor animal and a brain-dead patient on a ventilator whose family had given permission […]
An expert committee on Thursday recommended a booster dose of Moderna’s anti-Covid vaccine in the United States for certain at-risk groups, a month after making a similar decision for the Pfiser shot. The opinion submitted by the advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration composed of researchers, epidemiologists and infectious disease experts is not […]
The World Health Organization said on Wednesday its newly formed advisory group on dangerous pathogens may be “our last chance” to determine the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and urged China to provide data from early cases. The first human cases of COVID-19 were reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. […]
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Explored challenges and prospects of quantity surveying industry and forged practical solutions HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 23 October 2021 - The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS) Quantity Surveying Division hosted the HKIS …
The United States is at a turning point in deciding how to handle the crisis in military-ruled Myanmar, weighing further political and economic steps to pressure the government to change its behavior, a senior US official said Thursday. “The situation is getting worse inside Burma, both from a humanitarian point of view, from a security […]
Myanmar has spiralled into civil war following a military coup, the outgoing UN special envoy on Myanmar said on Thursday, warning that the chance to return to democracy is disappearing and signaling that further targeted sanctions could be helpful. Christine Schraner Burgener, who is stepping down after more than three-and-a-half years in the role, told […]
The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) plans to launch a dollar-denominated green bond fund focusing on investments in Asia in the first half of next year. It will be the third green bond fund created by the Basel, Switzerland-based organisation in the past two years, but focusing on a region where it can have the […]
China reported 21 new confirmed coronavirus cases for October 20 compared with 30 a day earlier, the country’s health authority said on Thursday. Of the new infections, 13 were locally transmitted cases, according to a statement by the National Health Commission, compared with 17 a day earlier. The new local cases were reported in the […]
The Biden administration’s mounting Afghanistan, immigration, and spending woes threaten to obscure its failure to hold Beijing accountable for the deceptions that sped the spread of SARS-CoV-2 into an unsuspecting world. Yet, as widely acknowledged, we ignore at our peril the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) staggering wrongs. Prudence requires America and its allies adopt a […]
China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) wired funds to a trustee account on Thursday for a bond interest payment due September 23, a source told Reuters on Friday, days before a deadline that would have plunged the embattled developer into formal default. Shares of Evergrande, which is saddled with more than $300 billion in liabilities, rose as […]
DAP’s Teo Nie Ching has challenged Transport minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong to confirm whether he will attend a debate with Lim Guan Eng on the cabotage policy next month. The DAP assistant national organising secretary said television station TV3 has already offered to host, which Astro Awani would broadcast online. “After TV3 sent […]
The Ministry of Health (MoH) logged 6,210 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The latest numbers represented an increase of 694 cases compared to the new infections recorded yesterday. This brings the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country, since the start of the pandemic, to 2,413,592. Health director-general Tan Sri Dr […]
Malaysia’s economy is on course for a modest rebound in 2021 and recovery is expected to take hold from fourth-quarter (Q4’21), albeit at a moderate pace, as the economy gradually reopens, with a full recovery estimated in mid-2022, according to the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) and Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC). “In […]
People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) deputy Speaker Lestari Moerdijat, nicknamed Rerie, urged stakeholders to intensify monitoring of health protocols as a precautionary measure against an increase in the people’s mobility. In a written statement received here on Friday, Rerie deemed it crucial to strengthen the monitoring of health protocols in public areas in a measured […]
Tourism and Creative Economy minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno believes that gaming in future has vast potential for contributing to Indonesia’s economy, as it will create several jobs in the creative economy sector. Uno, concurrently the Tourism and Creative Economy Agency head, affirmed that it is the parents’ responsibility to mentor and guide their children as […]
Indonesia has been on the right course to realise its commitment to slashing carbon dioxide emissions in a bid to limit climate change, vice Foreign minister Mahendra Siregar stated. Indonesia remains resolute to lowering carbon dioxide emissions by 29 percent on its own or 41 percent with international support by 2030, Siregar noted at the […]
The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (21 October) confirmed 3,439 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore bringing the country’s total case count to 162,026 as well as 16 deaths due to the disease. Thursday marks the 32nd day in a row with fatalities from COVID-19 reported in Singapore, with a total of 179 people here […]
Some love it, while others loathe it. Durians are banned on all public transportation in Singapore due to their smell which some have likened to sewage or smelly socks. Some hotels in Southeast Asia even stop their guests from bringing the fruit into the rooms. Yet some durian-lovers are willing to pay top dollar for […]
From the end of the month, vaccinated migrant workers will be able to visit Geylang Serai, in addition to Little India, as part of the pilot community visit programme to ease their lockdown restrictions amid the pandemic. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a media release on Friday (22 October) that from 30 October, […]
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Health have confirmed schools are now ready for reopening, with those in areas with fewer infections and higher vaccination coverage to press ahead with campus reopening on 1 November. Minister of Education Trinuch Thienthong said schools across the country will resume classes for the new academic […]
To help SMEs retain employees, the Thai Cabinet has approved a 37 billion-baht (US$1.1 billion) subsidy programme that will help pay for salaries. The programme will provide financial assistance to SME employers who are members of the Social Security Fund (SSF), said government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana. Besides being members of the SSF, SMEs will qualify […]
Bank of Ayudhya (BAY), marketed under the brand Krungsri, has reported a net profit of 27.41 billion baht for the first nine months of 2021, an increase of 39.5 percent year-on-year. According to Krungsri’s consolidated performance for the first nine months of 2021, normalised net profit contracted by 2.2 percent or 431 million baht from […]
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the Philippines is well-placed to survive the impact of a possible tightening of global financial conditions as many central banks in advanced and emerging economies start their policy normalisation process. BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said many central banks have started reassessing their respective monetary policy settings in view […]
Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello yesterday said certain establishments are allowed to require their workers to get vaccinated, based on a resolution issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), despite the absence of an enabling law. “The legal basis of restaurants, spas and other similar establishments (to require vaccination […]
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday he took full responsibility for the bloody war on drugs that has killed thousands of people, but maintained he will never be tried by an international court. “If there is any person who is going to prison, it would be me,” Duterte said in a speech during an […]
Japan’s core consumer prices rose in September for the first time since the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, a sign that rising energy and raw material costs are gradually pushing up inflation. Analysts expect rising fuel costs to accelerate consumer inflation in coming months, though any increase will be modest compared […]
Japan’s banking system remains broadly stable but financial institutions could face risks including from a possible increase in credit costs caused by a delay in the economic recovery, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said in a report on Thursday. Financial institutions also risk incurring losses on their securities investment portfolios in the event of a […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has unexpectedly helped Japan’s nursing homes and information technology (IT) companies overcome years of labour shortages, as job cuts at restaurants and hotels have prompted workers to look for new careers. This newfound job mobility marks a shift in a country whose rigid labour practices are partially blamed for a long term […]
South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI will jointly produce electric vehicle batteries in the US with global carmaker Stellantis, the South Korean firm said Friday its partner’s second such deal in a week. The two companies will set up a “joint production body” in the United States to produce “EV battery cells and modules”, Samsung […]
For decades, Seoul Central Market, with its shabby shops and grungy street food, has been a gathering place for retirees seeking cheap meals, clothing and kitchenware. These days, they’re increasingly competing for space with hipsters in heels and Birkenstocks who troll chic restaurants and cafes sprouting between hole-in-the-wall rice shops and noodle joints. Aspiring chefs […]
The global auto industry’s shift to electric vehicles (EVs) has spurred an expansion race among battery makers and led to a growing skills shortage. Global EV sales, estimated at 2.5 million vehicles in 2020, is forecast to grow more than 12-fold to 31.1 million by 2030 and account for nearly a third of new vehicle […]
Australia said it is seeking answers from China on why its lobster exports have been blocked, after a top Hong Kong customs official said Beijing had imposed trade restrictions and lobster smuggling was a national security matter. Almost all of Australia’s exports of the live seafood, prized at Chinese banquets for its red colour, went […]
China’s foreign ministry in Hong Kong has criticised a United States policy allowing city residents granted so-called safe haven status to apply for work there, urging Washington to “pull back from the brink” and end its “brutal meddling” campaign. A spokesman for the office of China’s foreign ministry commissioner in Hong Kong on Thursday accused […]
Decoding the demands of mainland Chinese authorities before the border with Hong Kong can reopen appears to have become a big guessing game for ordinary residents and bureaucrats alike. One key stumbling block has been the issue of the adoption of health codes that could aid detection and prevention of the spread of the coronavirus. […]
Chinese fighter jets crowding Taiwan’s radar screens are Beijing’s latest tool to ramp up pressure on the democratic island, sparking fears that one mistake could suddenly turn a festering cold conflict into an all-out war. Self-ruled Taiwan has lived under the threat of a Chinese invasion since the two sides split at the end of […]
The delivery of a Harpoon coastal missile defense system will be completed in 2028, Defense minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said Friday (October 22). Taiwan is spending $2.37 billion (NT$66.1 billion) on a package of 404 missiles, 100 Harpoon launcher systems, radar trucks and associated equipment and services. Speaking to reporters at the Legislative Yuan on Friday, […]
The United States would come to Taiwan’s defense and has a commitment to defend the island China claims as its own, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday, though the White House said later there was no change in policy towards the island. “Yes, we have a commitment to do that,” Biden said at a […]
Hanoi’s deputies to the National Assembly have called for a national vaccination strategy in 2022, with a focus on vaccine administration to children. Hanoi stands firm on pursuing safe and flexible adaptation to the Covid-19 pandemic for socio-economic development and effective control of the situation. Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung gave […]
In Vietnam, there are not many insurance products developed on technology platforms. There are currently no regulations to encourage the application of new tehcnolgies in insurance business. Life insurance and health insurance products must all be approved by the Minsitry of Finance before being deployed, which has caused difficulties. Therefore, when the revised Law on […]
As many as 19 foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises with nearly 70,000 workers in Tien Giang Province have written to the prime minister seeking help to cope with the province’s unbearable Covid-19 restrictions. Tien Giang still requires enterprises to comply with the stay-at-work and one-route-two-destination mandates. The stay-at-work mandate forces workers to stay at the […]
