SINGAPORE – Eateries have seen a drop in business over the last two weeks, following the Government’s advisory on Sept 6 for the public to cut down on social gatherings. The impact was felt most among food and beverage outlets in the Central Business District (CBD), especially on weekdays with workers working from home. But […]
SEOUL (REUTERS) – North Korea’s state media accused the United States on Friday (Sept 17) of double standards over military activities and pursuing a hostile policy towards Pyongyang that was hampering the restart of talks on the country’s nuclear weapons and missile programmes. The commentary comes after North Korea and South Korea both test fired […]
TOKYO – Depending on who wins the race to lead Japan’s ruling party, the world’s third-largest economy may get a female leader, allow same-sex marriage, put fiscal health on the back foot, or acquire weapons to preemptively attack enemy bases. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) election on Sept 29 to choose its new leader has […]
BEIJING – China might have handed in its application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), but politics will bedevil and delay its bid to join the trade pact, trade experts said. The country faces a challenge in convincing the 11 member states to allow it to join, a lengthy process […]
SINGAPORE – Asymptomatic individuals who test positive for Covid-19 using do-it-yourself antigen rapid tests (ART) are being urged to self-isolate at home for 72 hours. If they are unwell during the period of self-isolation, they should visit a general practitioner (GP) as soon as possible. The Republic’s director of medical services Kenneth Mak explained the […]
SINGAPORE – Getting infected but not sick is the best thing that could happen to someone who has been vaccinated, as this could protect him against any coronavirus variants that might emerge in the future, said Professor Ooi Eng Eong of the Duke-NUS Medical School. “We would be a lot more resilient if we have […]
Good evening! Catch up on some of the main headlines on Friday, Sept 17. S’pore eases restrictions for travellers from more countries; those from Indonesia can transit here These travellers, however, will still need to be quarantined after arrival. READ MORE HERE 100 vending machines to be set up across S’pore for collection of Covid-19 […]
WELLINGTON (REUTERS) – New Zealand suspended quarantine-free travel with Australia for a further eight weeks on Friday (Sept 17), extending a halt in the so-called travel bubble between both countries, as they deal with fresh outbreaks of the Delta variant of the coronavirus. Quarantine-free travel was suspended on July 23, just weeks after it was […]
QUEENSLAND (BLOOMBERG) – Stuck in Tahiti with no available flights, Mr Paul Stratfold was running out of time to get back home to Australia and renew his residency visa. The Briton decided his best option was to sail 6,000km across the southern Pacific Ocean, a solo voyage that took almost a month. Though a professional sailor, […]
KABUL (AFP) – Girls were excluded from returning to secondary school in Afghanistan on Saturday (Sept 18), after the country’s new Taliban rulers ordered only boys and male teachers back to the classroom. The hardline Islamist group ousted the United States-backed government last month, promising a softer brand of rule than its repressive reign in […]