SYDNEY (REUTERS) – China’s WeChat social media platform blocked a message by Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison amid a dispute between Canberra and Beijing over the doctored tweeted image of an Australian soldier. China rebuffed Morrison’s calls for an apology after its foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian posted the picture of an Australian soldier holding […]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans and Democrats in Congress remained unable to reach agreement on fresh relief for a pandemic-hit U.S. economy on Wednesday, with top Republicans supporting what the Senate’s top Democrats dismissed as an “inadequate, partisan proposal.”FILE PHOTO: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testifies before the Senate Banking Committee hearing on “The Quarterly CARES Act […]
SINGAPORE – There were no new coronavirus cases in the community but there were two more imported ones, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a press release on Wednesday night (Dec 2). This brings Singapore’s total to 58,230. The first case was a 52-year-old permanent resident who returned from India. The other case was […]
He left Indonesia three and a half years ago under a cloud of infamy that included a pornography charge and accusations of an extramarital affair. He returned from self-imposed exile in Saudi Arabia last month and was greeted like a conquering hero. The fiery Muslim cleric Rizieq Shihab has targeted Indonesia’s secular democracy for decades, […]
BANGKOK – Thailand’s constitutional court on Wednesday (Dec 2) cleared Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha of wrongdoing for staying in army housing beyond his retirement as army chief, as youth vowed to continue rallying on the streets calling for his resignation. “General Prayut Chan-o-cha can legitimately stay in the army guests facility… as a former army […]
BANGKOK (REUTERS) – Thailand’s tourism-dependent economy should receive eight million foreign visitors next year and see a recovery to a pre-coronavirus pandemic level of 40 million visitors by 2024, the country’s Finance Minister said on Wednesday (Dec 2). South-east Asia’s second-largest economy contracted 6.4 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier after […]
SINGAPORE – The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has started evaluating the available data submitted by Covid-19 vaccine developer Moderna “to ensure expeditious review”, the authority said on Wednesday (Dec 2). HSA said in response to queries from The Straits Times that it has been in discussion with the American biotechnology company on the submission plan […]
ISLAMABAD (DAWN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – With the signing of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Pakistan finds itself in a situation reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, having to run just to stay still. Interpreted in the RCEP context, if we are to retain our status quo position with market access, we must renegotiate or fall behind. […]
HANOI (REUTERS) – Natural disasters in the past two months caused Vietnam 30 trillion dong (S$1.75 billion) in economic damage and killed 192 people, with 57 still missing, the authorities said on Wednesday (Dec 2), with its central provinces bearing most of the losses. Vietnam’s central region has had a tough year, with its important […]
JAKARTA (BLOOMBERG) – Indonesia cut short its year-end holiday in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus infections, after a long weekend in October led to a spike in confirmed cases weeks later. The government shortened the break by three days, compared with an 11-day long stretch previously. Now, only Dec 24-25 and Dec […]