Archive for April, 2020
Indonesia disputes WHO’s method of counting the country’s fatality rate
The head of Indonesia’s expert team on its Covid-19 task force has disputed the convention used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to measure the fatality rate of [...] » More
Fight COVID-19, not critics
There’s no clear cut-off point when democracy ends and authoritarianism begins. History does not move in a straight line and most of the times, authoritarian leaders [...] » More
Tests on at-risk groups to double in next month
The number of Covid-19 tests on at-risk groups, such as healthcare workers, migrants and new prisoners, is expected to double next month, in line with the government’s [...] » More
Phuket; 3 new infections, total 217
Three new Covid-19 cases were reported in Phuket on Thursday morning, all had close contact with previous patients, raising the provincial tally to 217. The three, all men, [...] » More
DOH reports Philippines’ youngest COVID-19 survivor
The Department of Health recorded its youngest COVID-19 survivor on Thursday. DOH wrote in a Facebook post that a 16-day-old baby recovered from COVID-19. “Our [...] » More
Exclusive: SoftBank-backed Oyo to offload more loss-making hotels amid pandemicsources
India’s Oyo Hotels and Homes, backed by SoftBank Group <9984.T>, plans to offload more properties around the world, three sources familiar with the matter said, [...] » More
SoftBank sees $8.4 billion net loss on WeWork writedown
SoftBank Group Corp <9984.T> said it sees a loss of around 700 billion yen ($6.6 billion) in the year ending March on the portion of its WeWork investment held outside [...] » More
Japan’s factory output, retail sales slump as virus hits economy
Japan’s March factory output fell at the fastest pace in five months, while retail sales also dropped as businesses struggled with the coronavirus pandemic’s [...] » More

Japan’s parliament to pass $241 billion extra budget to combat pandemic fallout
Japan’s parliament is set to approve on Thursday a $241 billion supplementary budget to fund a record stimulus package featuring cash payouts and loans to cash-strapped [...] » More

China’s factory activity expands for second month, but slump in export orders deepens
Factory activity in China expanded for a second straight month in April as more businesses resumed work from the coronavirus-led shutdowns, but a worsening slump in export [...] » More

Help wanted: Jobless China workers await relief
Life is never easy for China’s nearly 300 million migrant workers, but with the coronavirus zapping jobs at a historic clip, unemployed factory labourer Wei Guikun is [...] » More
Thomas Hui, trusted aide of Li Ruigang ‘China’s Rupert Murdoch’ is named chair of HK’s troubled TVB free-to-air broadcaster
Thomas Hui To, the chief operating officer of mainland Chinese tycoon Li Ruigang’s China Media Capital, has become non-executive chair of Television Broadcasts (TVB), [...] » More
How Beijing is reigniting HK’s protests
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters want to reignite their movement after a coronavirus lockdown lull, angered by a flurry of moves by China to subdue them. Flashmob [...] » More
HK press associations condemn arrest of journalists carrying out investigative reporting in Clear Water Bay
Two associations representing Hong Kong journalists have condemned the arrest of two reporters outside a private property, saying they were conducting investigative work [...] » More

‘Stop Misrepresenting’: Taiwan tells Roque China has no say on Filipina worker’s deportation
Taiwan governs independently of China, and the mainland has no influence on the sovereign island’s decision to reject the call for deportation of an anti-Duterte [...] » More