BANGKOK (THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Thailand on Saturday (May 22) reported 3,052 new cases and 24 deaths, according to its Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). Bangkok led the list again with 1,191 cases, followed by 437 in Phetchaburi and 99 in Nonthaburi. The fatalities included 13 in Bangkok, three in Samut Prakan and […]
KATHMANDU (AFP, REUTERS) – Nepal’s Parliament was dissolved for the second time in five months on Saturday (May 22) and new elections called for November as the Himalayan country battled political turmoil alongside the coronavirus pandemic. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari made the order after declaring that neither Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli nor Sher Bahadur […]
SINGAPORE – Pasir Ris Elias Community Club, where a vaccination centre is sited, has undergone deep cleaning after a food delivery worker linked to the McDonald’s outlet there tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday (May 20). The outlet has been closed. An outlet in Bedok Reservoir was also closed after another food delivery worker tested positive on the same day. Both workers […]
SINGAPORE – New Covid-19 cases here have not shot up in the past week thanks to the stricter precautions that Singapore has taken, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Saturday (May 22). The country tightened its safety measures from May 16, including banning dining in and restricting social gatherings. Mr Ong said that the […]
NEW DELHI (REUTERS) – A court in India on Friday (May 21) acquitted a former top news magazine editor of charges he raped a colleague in an eight-year-old case that raised questions about the safety of women in the workplace. The prosecution said it planned to appeal the verdict. Tarun Tejpal, 58, was editor of […]
They were once poster children of Asia’s Covid-19 mitigation success stories for their ability to keep the pandemic under control for the most of last year. But Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam have been seeing a sudden surge in cases in recent weeks. The Straits Times examines the reasons behind the spike and what the […]
TAIPEI – Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen shared a series of photos on social media on May 16, all showing empty stretches of Taipei’s busy Zhongxiao East Road. While Taiwan is not under official lockdown yet, the island’s worst community outbreak since the Covid-19 pandemic began had Taiwanese go into voluntary quarantine, steering clear of public […]
BEIJING (AFP) – An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 jolted China’s northwestern Qinghai province early on Saturday (May 22), the US Geological Survey said – following another tremor in the country’s south-west that left at least two dead. The epicentre of the quake in Qinghai, which struck at 2.04am at a relatively shallow depth […]
SINGAPORE – Two home vaccination teams have started providing Covid-19 jabs to persons who are homebound, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday (May 21). Ten persons were vaccinated as of Wednesday (May 19), in the pilot project between MOH and the Health Promotion Board. Vaccines are transported in an ice box with the […]
SINGAPORE – Another Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) Primary 6 pupil has tested positive for Covid-19. The boy is the classmate of another ACS (Junior) pupil who tested positive for the virus on Wednesday (May 19), The Straits Times has learnt. In a notice from the school’s principal to parents via the Parents Gateway platform, the boy […]