South Korea is closely monitoring North Korea’s military moves in coordination with the United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday, amid signs of activity at the North’s main shipyard used to develop submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). According to 38 North, commercial satellite imagery of the North’s Sinpo Shipyard indicates that a missile […]
The future of diplomatic and financial relations between Iran and South Korea is at stake as prime minister Chung Sye-kyun visits Tehran for three days of talks. South Korea has for years blocked at least $7bn of Iranian money in its banks as it fears falling afoul of harsh economic sanctions the United States started […]
China’s failure to provide access to global health experts made the COVID-19 pandemic worse than it had to be, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday, and it was important to “get to the bottom” of the origin of the novel coronavirus. The top US diplomat’s sharp words underscored criticism from other members […]
Myanmar’s detained government leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, asked a court on Monday to be allowed to meet her lawyers in person as she appeared at a hearing via video link to face charges brought by the military junta that could see her jailed for years. As the champion of decades of struggle against military […]
Philippine and US soldiers will conduct a two-week joint military exercise from Monday, resuming the annual training event after last year’s cancellation due to the pandemic, the Philippine military chief said on Sunday. The announcement came after the two countries’ defence secretaries held a phone call to discuss the drills, the situation in the South […]
Joe Biden’s secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Sunday the US is concerned about China’s aggressive actions against Taiwan and warned it would be a “serious mistake” for anyone to try to change the status quo in the western Pacific by force. “What we’ve seen, and what is of real concern to us, is […]
Canada’s government under prime minister Justin Trudeau is reportedly threatening to withdraw government funding for the Halifax International Security Forum (HFX), if it goes through with its plans to present an award to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. According to multiple sources cited by Politico, HFX had planned to present its John McCain Prize for Leadership […]
Military activity in the South China Sea spiked over the weekend as a Chinese aircraft carrier entered the region and a US Navy expeditionary strike group wrapped up exercises. Meanwhile, the US and Philippines were preparing for joint drills as the US secretary of defense proposed ways to deepen military cooperation between Washington and Manila […]
Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised China Sunday for not disclosing information on Covid-19 and its aggression in Taiwan and said that the US has “real concerns” about Russia’s actions on the Ukraine border. “I think China knows that in the early stages of Covid, it didn’t do what it needed to do, which was […]
In a rare admission of the weakness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines, the country’s top disease control official says their effectiveness is low and the government is considering mixing them to get a boost. Chinese vaccines “don’t have very high protection rates,” said the director of the China Centers for Disease Control, Gao Fu, at a […]
Defense minister Nobuo Kishi and Adm. Philip Davidson, the outgoing commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, agreed Monday to deepen security ties to counter China’s growing maritime assertiveness in the East and South China seas. Reaffirming the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Davidson was quoted by the Defense Ministry as […]
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday the United States is concerned about China’s aggressive actions against Taiwan and warned it would be a “serious mistake” for anyone to try to change the status quo in the Western Pacific by force. “What we’ve seen, and what is of real concern to us, is […]
As many as 60 countries, including some of the world’s poorest, might be stalled at the first shots of their coronavirus vaccinations because nearly all deliveries through the global programme intended to help them are blocked until as late as June. COVAX, the global initiative to provide vaccines to countries lacking the clout to negotiate […]
Nations around the world set new records Thursday (April 8) for COVID-19 deaths and new coronavirus infections, and the disease surged even in some countries that have kept the virus in check. In the United States, Michigan has averaged more than 7,000 new cases a day. Brazil this week became just the third country, after […]
A South Korean professional video gamer has described the “unspeakable” racism he has suffered while based in Texas in a clip that has gone viral on social media, sparking condemnation of the abuse. The United States has seen a surge in anti-Asian violence in the past year, which activists have blamed on former President Donald […]
Britain should give an alternative to Oxford/AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to under 30s where possible due to a “vanishingly” rare side effect of blood clots in the brain, Britain’s vaccine advisory committee said on Wednesday. Officials said the benefits of the shot continued to outweigh its risks for the vast majority, after safety concerns spurred over […]
The US National Institutes of Health said on Wednesday it had begun a mid-stage study to determine the risk of allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna Inc and Pfiser Inc. Several allergic reaction incidents, including serious episodes, known as anaphylaxis, have been reported in the US after vaccinations of Pfiser/BioNTech and Moderna shots. […]
A British trial of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on children has been paused, Oxford University said Tuesday, as global regulators rush to assess its possible link to rare blood clots in adults. The university, which helped develop the embattled vaccine, said in a statement that there were “no safety concerns” in the trial, but acknowledged […]
GUANGZHOU, China, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — LIZHI INC. ("LIZHI" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: LIZI), a leading online UGC audio community and interactive audio entertainment platform in China, tod…
BEIJING, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ – Mercurity Fintech Holding Inc. ("MFH" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: MFH), today announced that three investors, namely Kaiyu Chen, Baibang Technology Co., Ltd. an…
BEIJING–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The past two years have been tough on the world, not just due to the pandemic but also the geopolitical volatility that has roiled many countries and regions. In East Asia, the financial hub of Hong Kong has experienced its fa…
Instead of the usual water pistols, splashing and jubilant crowds during Myanmar’s New Year festival of Thingyan, this year’s holiday will see real guns, blood on the streets and grief over a democracy robbed. For a second year running, Myanmar’s traditional Buddhist holiday period, which runs from Tuesday to Friday this week, has been disrupted. […]
The Covid-19 pandemic has entered a critical phase as infections exponentially increase despite widespread measures aimed at stopping them, the WHO warned Monday, with record case numbers in South Asia triggering tough new restrictions. However Britons enjoyed the freedoms of a pint and a haircut for the first time in months as curbs eased, illustrating […]
Myanmar’s detained government leader Aung San Suu Kyi asked a court on Monday to be allowed to meet her lawyers in person when she appeared at a hearing via video link to face charges brought by the military junta that could see her jailed for years. As Suu Kyi appeared, her supporters called for people […]
Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies is making business resilience its top priority with a push to develop its software capabilities as it seeks to overcome US restrictions that have devastated its smartphone business. Huawei was put on an export blacklist by former US President Donald Trump in 2019 and barred from accessing critical technology […]
HSBC and Huawei Technologies’ Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou have reached an agreement in a dispute about the publication of documents relating to US fraud allegations against her, their lawyers told a Hong Kong court. The judge, Linda Chan, made court orders along the lines of the agreement, she said on Monday. The orders were, […]
China has imposed a sweeping restructuring on Jack Ma’s Ant Group, the fintech conglomerate whose record $37 billion IPO was derailed by regulators in November, underscoring Beijing’s determination to rein in its internet giants. The overhaul, in the works for several months, includes Ant turning itself into a financial holding firm, a move expected to […]
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) today clarified that MKD Signature Sdn Bhd (MSSB), a company owned by minister of Finance (Incorporated) [MoF (Inc)] is still the major shareholder of Mulia Property Development Sdn Bhd (MPDSB). “Currently, MSSB remains as the major shareholder of MPDSB and there has not been any share sale agreement with any […]
Anwar Ibrahim appears to chide Azmin Ali over the latter’s alleged sex tape after the senior minister claimed the audio recording of the PKR president and his Umno counterpart Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was genuine. Yesterday, Azmin said he was “confident” that a leaked clip depicting a conversation between the two was authentic. A longtime PKR […]
Johor Barisan Nasional (BN) has begun discussions on the distribution of seats to contest in the upcoming 15th general Election (GE15) between its component parties, said Johor BN chair Datuk Hasni Mohammad. Hasni said Johor BN had decided that Umno, MCA and MIC would contest in the election. “I have started the discussions with the […]
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from a crashed Sriwijaya Air jet has been downloaded successfully and includes the last minutes of the flight that ended with 62 people dead, an official at Indonesia’s air accident investigator said on Monday. The contents of the recording from the 26-year old Boeing Co 737-500 that crashed shortly after […]
Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Sunday ordered swift rescue and relief efforts after eight people died in an earthquake that hit off southern Java island. Three others were badly injured in Saturday’s magnitude-5.9 quake and more than 1,180 buildings were damaged, most of them slightly, the disaster agency BNPB said. Some houses were flattened, images […]
The death toll from tropical cyclone Seroja in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province rose to 177, with 45 other people still missing and several villages remaining isolated as land routes were cut off due to rock slides, a local official said on Sunday. “The villages are still isolated including those in Kupang district. Tomorrow we […]
The rumblings started shortly after Singapore’s ruling party won 89% of seats in last year’s election. What would be hailed as a fantastic outcome in most places amounted to the worst parliamentary performance ever for the People’s Action Party, which has been in power since the country’s independence in 1965, one of the longest uninterrupted […]
Late last month, Secondary 2 students from Riverside Secondary School were one of the first nationwide to receive their personal learning devices. The excitement of getting a brand new tablet to tinker with was palpable. On its Facebook page, the school, which opted for the iPad, described the experience as “unbox(ing) the wonders to an […]
Some 9,500 job seekers have participated in two SGUnited schemes that were launched last year to tackle weakened hiring demand caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Four in five of those taking part in the SGUnited Traineeships and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways programmes are recent graduates, while the rest are mid-career workers. As of end-February, about 200 […]
An expert is warning that the African and Brazilian variants of the Covid-19 virus must be prevented from spreading in the country, as several reports suggest that currently available vaccines aren’t fully effective against the mutated strains of the coronavirus. The head of Chulalongkorn University’s Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology, Yong Poovorawan, said the […]
The government could revamp immigration rules this year to make it easier for expats and long-term tourists to stay in the country, part of a strategy to boost investment and tourism revenue once the pandemic eases. The proposed changes could mean foreigners would no longer have to file 90-day reports of their whereaboutsa deeply deeply […]
The managers of Krystal Club and Emerald Club in Bangkok’s Thong Lor area, where a new wave of Covid-19 in the country allegedly began, have been each sentenced to two months in jail without suspension, Metropolitan Police Sub-division 5 commander Pol Maj Gen Sopon Sarapat revealed on Sunday. He said the Bangkok South Kwaeng Court […]
Philippine and US soldiers started two weeks of military exercises on Monday against a backdrop of rising tensions in the South China Sea, though the drills were reduced in scale due to the coronavirus pandemic. The countries are proceeding with the exercises, which were postponed last year due to the pandemic, after Manila recently accused […]
The country’s road to economic recovery is now getting less and less bright amid the sustained surge in COVID-19 cases, even as the government has reimposed strict lockdown measures, a global data analytics firm said. In its weekly economic preview, IHS Markit said it now expects lower gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year of […]
The Philippines has called on Myanmar to adhere to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Human Rights Declaration amid the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Southeast Asian nation. During the 33rd meeting of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights held recently through a video conference, ICHR Philippine Representative Jaime Victor Ledda joined representatives […]
Japan’s imperial couple sent messages of condolence to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II following the death of her husband Prince Philip last week, the Imperial Household Agency said Monday. Emperor Naruhito paid tribute to Prince Philip in remembering how kind he was to him while he was studying at the University of Oxford for two years […]
Japan is to release more than 1m tonnes of contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, the government has said, a decision that is likely to anger neighbouring countries and local fishers. Official confirmation of the move, which came more than a decade after the nuclear disaster, will also deal […]
Japan plans to release into the sea more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station, the government said on Tuesday, a decision that is likely to anger neighbours such as South Korea. The move, more than a decade after the nuclear disaster, will deal another blow to the fishing […]
South Korea said on Monday it plans to begin local production of Novavax Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine as early as June, while five domestic companies aim to start late stage clinical trials of their own shots in the second half of this year. The announcements came after President Moon Jae-in hosted a special meeting on anti-virus […]
South Korean prime minister Chung Sye-kyun arrived in Iran on Sunday to help try to restore a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and free up $7 billion in Iranian funds trapped in South Korea, Seoul officials said. Chung is the first South Korean prime minister to visit Iran in 44 years amid […]
South Korea’s prime minister said Monday his country is willing to provide “sideline” support for Iran to advance “productive” dialogue with partners in restoring the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Chung Sye-kyun made the remarks during a joint press conference Sunday (local time) with Iran’s First vice President Eshaq Jahangiri in Tehran following their 90-minute talks. […]
HSBC and Huawei Technologies’ Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou have reached an agreement in a dispute about the publication of documents relating to US fraud allegations against her, their lawyers told a Hong Kong court. The judge, Linda Chan, made court orders along the lines of the agreement, she said on Monday. The orders were, […]
Thirteen people who describe themselves as “victims of forced confessions broadcast on Chinese television” are urging European satellite operator Eutelsat to reconsider carrying Chinese channels CGTN and CCTV4. The letter published by human rights watchdog Safeguard Defenders details a list of violations that the signatories say China is guilty of using to extort confessions from […]
Three elections coming up in Hong Kong will play out in a dramatically reshaped political landscape following Beijing’s sweeping overhaul of the city’s electoral system, and there have already been calls for voters to protest by casting blank ballots. So much will be different, from an expanded Legislative Council to an enlarged Election Committee with […]
Joe Biden’s secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Sunday the US is concerned about China’s aggressive actions against Taiwan and warned it would be a “serious mistake” for anyone to try to change the status quo in the western Pacific by force. “What we’ve seen, and what is of real concern to us, is […]
Taiwan-based Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp. (MVC) on Sunday announced positive trial results for its enterovirus 71 (EV71) virus vaccine and expressed hope the vaccine could hit the market in Taiwan next year. At a press event, MVC spokesman Leo Lee said the results of the Phase III clinical trial of the EV71 vaccine, released publicly […]
The Army is moving forward with budget preparations for its plan to station some of its AH-64E Apache helicopters at Taitung’s Fengnian Airport for training purposes, despite opposition from local residents. According to a budget report, the Army Aviation and Special Forces Command intends to move some Apache helicopters to the new location to meet […]
A lack of deep-water ports and warehousing has seen transport costs surge and Mekong Delta agriculture product competitivity drop, experts have said. “Logistic costs accounts for 30 percent of product price, which is an unreasonably high proportion. In Thailand the figure is 12.5 percent, and the average global figure, 14 percent. This hinders Mekong Delta […]
The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange has suspended new listings from April 8 to fix its overloaded trading system. All approved listings will temporarily go to the Hanoi Stock Exchange and return to HoSE after the system is upgraded. In recent months, with investors flocking to trade in humongous numbers, the 20-year-old system used by […]
The central city’s people’s committee and the Import-Export Pan Pacific Group (IPPG) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the development of an international and regional finance centre to attract investors in the future. Director of the city’s Investment Promotion Agency (IPA), Huynh Thi Lien Phuong said the MoU, which was signed late last […]
