SINGAPORE – There were 31 new coronavirus cases confirmed as of Wednesday noon (Jan 6), taking Singapore’s total to 58,780. There were 29 imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notices or isolated on arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). Among them, three are Singaporeans or permanent residents, and 12 are […]
SEOUL (REUTERS) – South Korea rolled out mass testing for 52 prisons in the country after a massive prison outbreak and may extend flight suspensions from Britain in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus cases, the health minister said on Wednesday (Jan 6). Over half of the total 2,292 inmates and personnel in […]
JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – A proposal by India, South Africa and eight other countries calls on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to exempt member countries from enforcing some patents and other Intellectual Property (IP) rights under the organisation’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, known as TRIPS, for a limited […]
JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – A proposal by India, South Africa and eight other countries calls on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to exempt member countries from enforcing some patents and other Intellectual Property (IP) rights under the organisation’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, known as TRIPS, for a limited […]
HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – Several Hong Kong ex-lawmakers were among dozens taken into custody by authorities on suspicion of violating the city’s national security law, in what appeared to be one of the most significant sweeps yet under the Beijing-drafted legislation. Former lawmakers Alvin Yeung, James To, Andrew Wan, Lam Cheuk-ting were arrested Wednesday morning […]
ZURICH (REUTERS) – The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday (Jan 5) he was “very disappointed” that China has still not authorised the entry of a team of international experts to examine the origins of the coronavirus. The 10-strong team had been due to set off in early January as part […]
SINGAPORE – The TraceTogether programme will be stood down when the Covid-19 pandemic ends, and much of the data collected would be deleted, said Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan on Tuesday (Jan 5). He added that the Ministry of Health may want to retain epidemiological data for research purposes, but that “it […]
MANILA (PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – China’s biggest military transport plane landed recently on Kagitingan Reef (Fiery Cross) in the West Philippine Sea, giving a glimpse of what could happen if the Chinese base there becomes fully operational. A Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force Y-20 transporter was spotted on Kagitingan Reef on […]
Hi all, In today’s bulletin: The rush to secure vaccines; South Korean tanker seized by Iran; Saudi Arabia to open borders, airspace to Qatar; Indonesia’s top start-ups Gojek and Tokopedia discuss merger; speculation rife over the whereabouts of billionaire Ant co-founder Jack Ma, and more. Reading this on the web or know someone who might enjoy […]
SINGAPORE – An increase in the cap set on government borrowing via Treasury bills and government securities was approved by Parliament on Tuesday (Jan 5). This will cater to the expected growth in demand for these debt instruments over the next five years. The increase raises the borrowing limit for Treasury bills by $45 billion […]