The death toll from floods in central China last month is at least 302 with dozens of people still missing, officials said Monday, after record downpours dumped a year’s worth of rain on a city in just three days. Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province and the epicentre of the record flooding, was hardest hit […]
Millions of people were confined to their homes in China Monday as the country tried to contain its largest coronavirus outbreak in months with mass testing and travel curbs. China on Monday reported 55 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases, as an outbreak of the fast-spreading Delta variant reached over 20 cities and more than a […]
Chinese cities rolled out mass testing of millions of people and imposed fresh travel restrictions as health authorities battled Sunday to contain the country’s most widespread coronavirus outbreak in months. China on Sunday reported 75 new coronavirus cases with 53 local transmissions, with a cluster linked to an eastern airport now reported to have spread […]
Officials are investigating how two rare Sumatran tigers in Indonesia became infected with COVID-19. The two tigers, nine-year-old Tino and 12-year-old Hari, started to become ill, showing COVID-19 symptoms within days of each other in early July, The Associated Press reported. On July 9, Tino began showing signs, including a runny nose, shortness of breath, […]
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned on Sunday that next month’s annual military drills between South Korean and US troops will undermine prospects ties between the Koreas, just days after the rivals reopened their long-dormant communication channels. Kim Yo-jong’s statement carried by state media targets only South Korea, and this could […]
South Korea said Monday it’ll keep pushing to improve ties and resume talks with rival North Korea, despite the North’s threat to rekindle animosities if Seoul holds its summertime military drills with the United States. On Sunday night, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned the drills would seriously undermine efforts […]
Hundreds of black-clad Malaysian youth rallied Saturday in central Kuala Lumpur to demand the resignation of the prime minister over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as new cases soared in a surge that has also become a political crisis. Public anger against Muhyiddin Yassin’s unelected government, which took power in March 2020 after forming […]
Malaysia’s embattled prime minister postponed a critical parliamentary session set for Monday, citing COVID-19 infections and allowing him to avoid a no-confidence vote amid growing calls for him to resign. A circular sent to lawmakers Saturday said the session will be held at a later date, after the health ministry deemed Parliament a high-risk venue. […]
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet virtually with Southeast Asian officials every day next week, a senior state department official said on Saturday, as Washington seeks to show the region it’s a US priority while also addressing the crisis in Myanmar. The top US diplomatwill attend virtual meetings for five consecutive days, including […]
After months of failed talks, Asean under pressure to name Myanmar envoy Foreign ministers from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are under pressure to appoint a special envoy to Myanmar this week after months of negotiations failed to find a consensus candidate. Six months after the military toppled Myanmar’s democratically elected […]
Myanmar’s military ruler Min Aung Hlaing has taken on the role of prime minister in a newly formed caretaker government, state media reported on Sunday, six months after the army seized power from a civilian government. In a speech on Sunday, Min Aung Hlaing repeated a pledge to hold elections by 2023 and said his […]
Thailand on Sunday extended tighter containment measures in the capital and high-risk provinces probably until the end of August in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19 as the country deals with its biggest outbreak to date. Thailand reported 18,027 infections and 133 deaths on Sunday, bringing the cumulative total to 615,314 cases and […]
The world is at risk of losing hard-won gains in fighting COVID-19 as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads, but WHO-approved vaccines remain effective, the World Health Organization said on Friday. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described the Delta variant of the coronavirus as being as transmissible as chickenpox and […]
The war against COVID-19 has changed because of the highly contagious Delta variant, the US Centers for Disease Control said, proposing a clearer message, mandatory vaccines for health workers and a return to universal masking. An internal CDC document said the variant, first detected in India and now dominant across the globe, is as contagious […]
Children in Israel aged five to 11 at risk of serious health complications can be vaccinated against Covid-19 as of August 1, Israeli health officials said Wednesday. The Israeli health ministry gave the green light for the vaccinations to children who are “at significant risk of serious illness or death” from coronavirus. “This is a […]
The world is at risk of losing hard-won gains in fighting COVID-19 as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads, but WHO-approved vaccines remain effective, the World Health Organization said on Friday. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described the Delta variant of the coronavirus as being as transmissible as chickenpox and […]
The war against COVID-19 has changed because of the highly contagious Delta variant, the US Centers for Disease Control said, proposing a clearer message, mandatory vaccines for health workers and a return to universal masking. An internal CDC document said the variant, first detected in India and now dominant across the globe, is as contagious […]
Children in Israel aged five to 11 at risk of serious health complications can be vaccinated against Covid-19 as of August 1, Israeli health officials said Wednesday. The Israeli health ministry gave the green light for the vaccinations to children who are “at significant risk of serious illness or death” from coronavirus. “This is a […]
Financial firms including British insurer Prudential, lenders Citi and HSBC and BlackRock Real Assets are devising plans to speed the closure of Asia’s coal-fired power plants in order to lower the biggest source of carbon emissions, five people with knowledge of the initiative said. The novel proposal, which includes the Asian Development Bank (ADB), offers […]
Asian markets fell on Tuesday while oil held most of the previous day’s losses as the impact of the fast-spreading Delta Covid variant on the global recovery fuelled concerns the outlook might not be as rosy as initially hoped. While corporate earnings continue to impress, trader optimism has taken a knock after a series of […]
TOMONI HUB Analytics and Performance Centers provide – Sophisticated analysis to increase plant reliability, profitability and sustainability – Real-time protection and resiliency against extreme weather and unplanned maintenance – Integrated resources to support advanced operations and maintenance decision making YOKOHAMA, Japan, Aug 3, 2021 – (JCN Newswire) – Mitsubishi Power, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy […]
Australian airline Qantas announced Tuesday it will furlough 2,500 workers as coronavirus outbreaks and regional lockdowns pummel demand for flights. Pilots, cabin crew and airport workers from Qantas and its low-cost affiliate Jetstar will be sent home without pay from mid-August for an estimated two months, the firm said. “This is clearly the last thing […]
South Korean Foreign minister Chung Eui-yong on Tuesday requested the 10-member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations play a “constructive role” in resolving the issues on the Korean Peninsula. Chung made the call during the South Korea-Asean meeting held virtually in the morning, where he discussed various issues, including responses to the pandemic […]
Myanmar should return to a democratically elected government, Britain said on Monday, after military ruler Min Aung Hlaing took on the role of prime minister in a caretaker administration six months after the army seized power. “The decision by the military to extend the so-called state of emergency in Myanmar is unjustifiable and a blatant […]
The United States will raise concerns about China’s human rights record and “coercion” in the South China Sea during ministerial meetings with Southeast Asian countries this week, yet will not force countries in the region to pick sides in the ongoing US-China spat, a senior US official said on Monday. The Joe Biden administration’s offensive […]
Market turbulence caused by Beijing’s clampdowns on its tech, education and property sectors drove trading in US-listed Chinese stocks to a record high in dollar terms last month, data shows. The concerns triggered the biggest monthly fall in China-linked American Depository Receipts (.HXC) or ADRs, as they are known, since the height of the 2008 […]
India is sending a task force of four warships into the South China Sea on a two-month deployment that will include exercises with Quad partners the United States, Japan and Australia, India’s Defense Ministry announced Monday. The warships will depart India early this month, the Defense Ministry statement said, without giving a specific departure date. […]
Opposition members of Malaysia’s parliament were met by riot police and threatened with arrest as they tried to march to the parliament building on Monday amid rising political tension over the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parliament began a “special session” last week after a months-long shutdown that was triggered by a declaration of […]
Malaysia today received 415,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine contributed by the United Kingdom (UK), which will further boost the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK). The consignment was flown in via Emirates Airlines EK 346 which landed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here at 2.20 pm. On hand to receive the vaccines were PICK […]
The High Court here today ordered Datuk Seri Najib Razak and four other defendants to respond to a suit filed by the SRC International Sdn Bhd for alleged breach of trust and breach of statutory duty in relation to the RM4 billion Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) loan to SRC by August 30. The four were […]
Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced on Monday (August 2) that the current restrictions put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 will be extended until August 9. Several cities and regencies, including the Indonesian capital Jakarta, have been under Level 4 curbs, which restrict people’s movements. Only employees in essential and critical sectors such […]
Forty-three foreign tourists visited the island of Bali in the first half of this year, a drop of 99.99 percent compared to the year-ago period, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Office in Bali informed. Bali had received 1,069,171 foreign tourists in the January-June 2020 period, chief of BPS Office Bali province, Hanif Yahya, said in […]
Indonesia aims to start gradually reopening its economy in September, a senior minister said on Monday, as the government announced an extension of curbs on movement until next week in some parts of the Southeast Asian archipelago. Driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant, Indonesia has over the past month faced an exponential surge in […]
A former insurance agent who cheated his primary school friend into paying him S$24,900 for a fake insurance policy and forged an AIA letter to trick her was given a year’s jail on Tuesday (August 3). Sng Kang Xiang, 37, had pleaded guilty in May to one count each of cheating and forgery, with another […]
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has apologised for the delays in taking people under quarantine orders to government facilities, following complaints about the process and confusion over the information given to affected individuals. “We have been getting a lot of feedback on quarantine operations and its related ground coordination and communications lapses,” said MOH in […]
TikTok’s new CEO, Shou Zi Chew, is said to be “in the early stage” of buying a bungalow in Singapore for $86 million Singapore dollars, or about $63.5 million, The Business Times reported. The property is in the Queen Astrid Park area of Singapore’s affluent 10th district, known for its upscale residential estates and top-tier […]
Economists are urging Thailand’s central bank to cut interest rates this week to support the economy amid rising downside risks. Pipat Luengnaruemitchai, chief economist at KKP Research, a research house under Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group (KKP), said the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) should reduce the policy rate at its next meeting on […]
Thailand’s cabinet on Tuesday approved an additional 30 billion baht ($909 million) in relief measures for those hit by tougher restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 infections, a government spokesman said. On Sunday, the Southeast Asian country extended the curbs for another month and expanded lockdown areas in 29 provinces as it deals with […]
Restaurant operators remain unhappy with the government’s latest decision to ease restrictions for restaurants and eateries at malls in dark red zones, allowing them to sell food via delivery using online platforms. Atchara Burarak, founder and creative director of Iberry Group, operator of Kub Kao Kub Pla, Ros’niyom and Thongsmith restaurants, said despite the easing […]
The Department of Foreign Affairs reported the arrival of its ninth chartered repatriation flight with 374 Filipinos on board, including 78 pregnant women. In a statement issued Tuesday, the DFA said that the arrival brought the number of Filipinos who have benefited from repatriation efforts supported by the department from the United Arab Emirates to […]
The Philippines is studying the possibility of raising its target for COVID-19 vaccine coverage from 70 percent to 80 percent of its 109 million population amid the threat of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant, a health official said Tuesday. “With the Delta variant, there is a looming proposal na kailangan taasan pa ‘yung ating […]
The country’s manufacturing sector slowed down in July as threats of the COVID Delta variant and other pandemic-related restrictions continue to weaken demand. Market intelligence firm IHS Markit said the country’s headline purchasing managers’ index (PMI) registered at 50.4 last month, lower than the 50.8 recorded in June. Despite the slowdown, July’s headline index still […]
Tokyo consumer prices unexpectedly rose for the first time in a year, another sign of a recovering inflation pulse in Japan, though the pace of gains was far from the levels fuelling fears elsewhere in the world. Prices in the capital, excluding those for fresh food, ticked up by 0.1 percent in July compared with […]
The government Pension Investment Fund made a record cut to the weighting of Treasuries in its portfolio last fiscal year as the world’s safest asset led a global debt selloff. GPIF, as the world’s biggest pension fund is known, lowered US government bonds and bills to 35 percent of its foreign debt holdings in the […]
The heat and humidity in Japan have become a major hurdle for athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics, even though organisers stress they have taken sufficient steps to prevent such conditions from posing a health hazard. With endurance events like marathons and race walking coming up in Sapporo, where the temperature recently reached 35 degrees […]
South Korea should not suspend military exercises with the US to rebuild ties with North Korea because Pyongyang is not interested in peace efforts like Seoul, experts said Tuesday. On Sunday, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned Seoul against holding the drills, which Pyongyang routinely denounces as rehearsals for war. […]
South Korea said on Monday no decision has yet been made on its joint military exercises with the United States but they should not create tension, after North Korea warned the South against holding the exercises amid signs of a thaw in relations. South Korea and the United States regularly stage military exercises, mainly in […]
South Korean game developer Netmarble Corp said on Monday it agreed to buy 100 percent of Hong Kong-based social casino game company SpinX Games for $2.19 billion. Netmarble acquired SpinX through its holding company based in the Cayman Islands, in an effort to diversify its game portfolios and strengthen global business competitiveness, it said in […]
Cloud Village, the music streaming subsidiary of NetEase, has moved a step closer to its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) after winning the approval from the city bourse’s listing committee late last week. The Hangzhou-based company, with over 60 million tracks in its library, is aiming to raise up to $1 billion, according to […]
A Hong Kong-listed private education company with operations in the Greater Bay Area is expanding its colleges in mainland China as it takes advantage of the transport network, state support and cheap land amid a regulatory storm in the industry. Edvantage Group Holdings is expanding its Zhaoqing campus in Sihui, which it opened last September, […]
Hong Kong’s revamped quarantine rules for inbound travellers will come as a “relief” to domestic workers stuck overseas, but there are still hurdles to solving a local labour shortage, such as authorities’ reluctance to recognise foreign vaccination records, a representative has said. The government on Monday said it would consolidate its five-tier coronavirus risk assessment […]
The ROG Phone 5 by computer and electronics maker Asus performed the best in the mobile gaming phone segment in Taiwan during the second quarter. The gaming phone was introduced in March of this year and during Q2 was able to capture 90 percent of the market for mobile gaming devices, according to CNA. Asus […]
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu on July 28 highlighted the threat that China poses to Taiwan and detailed the progress of Taiwan-US relations in a virtual interview with Kuwaiti think tank Reconnaissance Research. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) revealed on Tuesday (August 3) that the foreign minister had talked with Reconnaissance Research’s founder […]
Taiwan’s Taoyuan City on Tuesday (August 3) established sister-city relations with the US city of Newark, New Jersey. Taoyuan City Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan said in a Facebook post that he met virtually with Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka at 6 a.m. on Tuesday to hold a sister city agreement signing ceremony. Cheng said he is […]
The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,176 VND per USD on August 3, down 4 VND from the previous day. With the current trading band of _+/ 3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial banks during the day is 23,872 VND/USD and the floor rate 22,480 VND/USD. The […]
Economists gathered at an online conference on August 2 to seek financial solutions for struggling Vietnamese airlines amid COVID-19 pandemic. Nguyen Quoc Hung, general Secretaryr of the Vietnamese Banks Association said that before the pandemic broke out, Vietnamese airlines had recorded outstanding growth, with many private airlines emerging such as Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways. […]
The Lam Dong Department of Transport has announced the construction of a ring road and infrastructure components in Da Lat City, with a total investment of VND800 billion. Of the total capital sourced from the provincial budget, over VND350 billion will be used for construction work, VND309 billion for site clearance and compensation, and the […]
