SEOUL (REUTERS) – South Korea is in talks with mRNA vaccine makers, including Pfizer and Moderna, to produce Covid-19 shots in the country and is ready to offer the capacity to make up to one billion doses immediately, a senior government official said. The plan, if agreed, will help ease tight global supply of Covid-19 vaccines, […]
SINGAPORE – Nearly one in three Housing Board blocks and 14 per cent of neighbourhoods today have reached ethnic quota limits, underscoring the importance of having the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) in place to ensure social mixing, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee. The maxing out of racial quotas for flat ownership happens across all […]
SINGAPORE – A steady queue formed at various supermarkets and pharmacies on Monday (July 5) morning, the first day of the distribution of free oximeters to every household to curb Covid-19 infection spread. The device, given out by Temasek Foundation, checks the oxygen level in the blood to detect early signs of a deterioration in […]
DEPOK, INDONESIA (REUTERS) – Indonesian volunteer biker Sebastian Dwiyantoro and his team have been particularly busy helping ambulances navigate heavy traffic in Jakarta’s satellite city of Depok to get Covid-19 patients to hospital as infections soar in the country. The volunteers ride motorbikes in front of the ambulances, the deafening noise of the sirens behind […]
SYDNEY – When Sydney’s 5.4 million residents were forced into a citywide Covid-19 lockdown last week for the first time in more than a year, many suddenly abandoned their vaccine hesitancy and rushed to find a dose. At the city’s mass vaccination hub, located at the site used for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, images […]
SINGAPORE – Singapore saw just one locally transmitted Covid-19 case on Sunday (July 4). This marks the lowest number of daily community cases reported in more than a month. The patient is currently unlinked to any other case, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Sunday’s update. Two coronavirus clusters – including the one linked to […]
TOKYO – The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan’s national ruling party but the opposition in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, is likely to have wrested back the lead in a local election on Sunday (July 4), going by exit polls. But this may not be enough to secure a majority in the 127-seat assembly, together with […]
SINGAPORE – With the oral segment of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) taking place next month, experts and teachers share tips and advice on what parents can do to help their children prepare for it. The oral examination makes up 15 per cent of the English paper and there are two parts: reading aloud […]
On a leafy campus in northwest Beijing, dotted with statues of Marx, Mao and other Communist saints, the Chinese leader Xi Jinping is training his “loyal successors,” the next generation of officials who will drive the resurgence of one-party rule. The Communist Party of China just celebrated 100 years since its founding, and for much […]
PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – The Covid-19 vaccine in development in Malaysia is expected to be ready in 2024, and it is also being designed as a booster shot, said Institute for Medical Research (IMR) director Tahir Aris. “Those who are fully vaccinated may need booster shots to stay protected, and they may even […]