Wednesday, 20 Nov 2024

Asia

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CNY celebrations toned down but still present: Sin Chew Daily

KUALA LUMPUR (SIN CHEW DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Chinese New Year celebrations, to many a Chinese, is a lengthy process of festivities that typically last about three weeks. Few among Chinese Malaysians can name all the festivities in details, and it is weird that this year, we need our non-Chinese government officials to help us […]

Global short-bias funds lag in price performance this year

(Reuters) – Global mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that have net short positions in assets including stocks and commodities are the worst performers this year, according to Refinitiv data. The retail trading frenzy, hopes of U.S. stimulus measures and vaccine roll-outs have lifted prices in several assets and pushed global stocks to record highs. […]

Japan says its world-class health system is buckling under Covid-19 pressure

TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) – Coronavirus infections in Japan are at a fraction of major western countries, yet the island nation is signalling increasing concern that its highly rated medical system faces impending collapse. Though it has the world’s longest-living citizens and an abundance of hospital beds and medical equipment, reports of overwhelmed hospitals and deaths from […]

15 of 18 pedestrian deaths last year involved seniors

SINGAPORE – Fifteen of the 18 pedestrian deaths last year were seniors above the age of 60. They made up 83 per cent of the total pedestrian deaths, up from nearly 70 per cent in 2019. Half of the total pedestrian deathswere the result of jaywalking, said the police on Wednesday (Feb 10) in its […]

New Covid-19 cluster in Australia's Melbourne sparks mass testing

SYDNEY (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) – Health authorities in Australia’s Victoria state ramped up contact tracing and prepared for more mass testing of residents in Melbourne after a new Covid-19 cluster linked to a quarantine hotel grew to eight cases on Thursday (Feb 11). More than 22,500 test results were conducted in the past 24 hours in […]

Myanmar anti-coup protesters march again as US sanctions generals

YANGON (AFP) – Anti-coup protesters on Thursday (Feb 11) took to the streets of Myanmar for a sixth consecutive day, after US President Joe Biden announced sanctions against the South-east Asian nation’s generals and demanded they relinquish power. There has been an outpouring of anger and defiance since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San […]

China reports 2 new Covid-19 cases, fewest in over 5 months

BEIJING (REUTERS) – China reported the fewest number of new Covid-19 cases in over five months, official data showed on Thursday (Feb 11), after a combination of robust countermeasures helped stamp out a new wave of the disease in the northeast that emerged last month. A total of two new cases were reported on Feb […]

7.5-magnitude earthquake strikes off coasts of Vanuatu, New Caledonia: USGS

SYDNEY (AFP) – A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the coasts of Vanuatu and New Caledonia on Wednesday (Feb 10) night, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, sparking a tsunami warning for surrounding nations. The quake struck at just after midnight local time about 415km east of Vao in New Caledonia at a depth of 10km, […]

Myanmar Protests Continue, Despite Warnings of a Military Crackdown

The mood on the streets was both festive and tense. In a matter of days, protests against the military coup in Myanmar had swelled to hundreds of thousands of people, from a few dozen. Students, laborers, doctors and professionals had gathered in droves to proudly defend democratic ideals in their country, even as the police […]