SINGAPORE – Scammers have been creating fake websites made to look like those belonging to the Singapore authorities, tricking victims into divulging their personal information. In the past, many of these sites were flagged only after the victims had done so. But now, these sites are being actively hunted by a sentinel, built to screen […]
SINGAPORE – Asean’s unity and neutrality is what allows the grouping to be the convener of regional processes, and it needs to maintain that role amid stormy United States-China relations, Singapore’s ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh said on Tuesday (May 25). He was speaking at the Straits Times Connect webinar series Power Play: Stormier Days For US-China […]
SINGAPORE – Variants like the B1617 strain are said to be more transmissible, where even transient exposure with someone contagious could mean infection. The Straits Times looks at the risk of infection associated with some everyday scenarios. Q: If I share a lift with someone who is infected, will I get the virus? A: Lifts […]
SINGAPORE – If your office does not have a mechanical ventilation system to provide fresh air, you should now open all windows and doors as often as possible. And the air-conditioning should be reduced or turned off when this is happening, said three government agencies in a set of updated guidelines on improving building ventilation […]
NEW DELHI (BLOOMBERG) – India is preparing a stimulus package for sectors worst-affected by a coronavirus wave, aiming to support an economy struggling with a slew of localised lockdowns, people familiar with the matter said. The Finance Ministry is working on proposals to bolster the tourism, aviation and hospitality industries, along with small and medium-sized […]
PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, REUTERS) – Malaysia on Tuesday (May 25) reported 7,289 new coronavirus infections, the country’s highest daily tally yet. The new infections bring the total number of cases in the South-east Asian nation to 525,889. Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that Selangor topped the list of […]
TOKYO (REUTERS) – Japan stands to lose 1.8 trillion yen (S$23 billion) if the Olympics were cancelled, but that would pale in comparison to the economic hit from emergency curbs if the Summer Games turned into a super-spreader event, a top economist estimated. Mr Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute and a former Bank […]
WELLINGTON (AFP) – New Zealand suspended quarantine-free travel with Australia’s Victoria state over a new coronavirus cluster Tuesday (May 25), the fourth time the trans-Tasman travel bubble has been disrupted since it opened last month. Officials in Wellington said they were taking a cautious approach after Melbourne recorded nine locally acquired cases in the past […]
More than 200 people were injured in Malaysia’s largest city, Kuala Lumpur, on Monday when a train full of passengers collided head-on in a tunnel with another train on a test run, the authorities said. The trains were traveling at speeds of 12 to 25 miles an hour when they crashed on Monday evening. The […]
UNITED NATIONS, UNITED STATES (AFP) – The UN special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, said on Monday (May 24) she still hopes to visit the country after seven weeks spent in the region waiting for the junta that staged a coup in February to allow her in. During a meeting in Indonesia at the […]