MANILA (REUTERS) – The Philippines has taken a big step towards tapping nuclear power, its energy minister said on Wednesday (July 29), after President Rodrigo Duterte created an inter-agency panel to study the adoption of a national nuclear energy policy. As power demand soars in what has for years been among the world’s fastest-growing economies, […]
SINGAPORE – There were 334 new coronavirus cases confirmed as of Wednesday noon (July 29), taking Singapore’s total to 51,531. They included three community cases, comprising two Singaporeans or permanent residents and a work pass holder, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday. There were also four imported cases who had been placed on […]
HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – The US and key allies Australia and the UK voiced new concern about Hong Kong’s upcoming elections, amid a flurry of local media reports that the government was considering postponing the vote for as long as a year. The US and Australia reiterated “deep concern” over the national security legislation China […]
KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Malaysian police will call the organisers involved in the gathering outside the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex on Jalan Duta during ex-premier Najib Razak’s case decision on Tuesday (July 29). Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Mazlan Mansor on Wednesday said they had received a police report from a member […]
HONG KONG (CHINA DAILY (ASIA)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Hong Kong is being hit by a third wave of Covid-19 infections, with more than 100 new cases per day being recorded – far more than that during the medical workers’ strike a few months ago. Back then, opportunists tried to incite public resentment against the mainland […]
KUALA LUMPUR (BLOOMBERG) – The guilty verdict against former prime minister Najib Razak in the first of the 1MDB trials could strengthen the current government’s hand after months of political turmoil. Najib faces at least 12 years in prison after the High Court on Tuesday (July 28) found him guilty of all seven charges in […]
MANILA (BLOOMBERG) – Fibre from a relative of the banana tree could replace plastic in millions of face masks and hospital gowns the world is making to fight the coronavirus. Abaca – a fibre from the Philippines used in teabags and banknotes – is as durable as polyester but will decompose within two months, said […]
BENGALURU (Reuters) – The outlook for India’s reeling economy has worsened again as business activity slows and COVID-19 infections soar, and will probably prompt the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rates again soon, a Reuters poll of economists suggests. The latest findings echo recent criticism of New Delhi’s $266 billion economic rescue package, […]
SINGAPORE – Total employment in Singapore saw the biggest quarterly fall on record between April and June, while unemployment and retrenchments rose sharply, as the Covid-19 pandemic took a toll on the labour market. The number of workers here, excluding foreign domestic workers, plunged by 121,800 in the second quarter, according to preliminary data released […]
HANOI (REUTERS) – Vietnam’s health ministry on Wednesday (July 29) reported eight new locally transmitted coronavirus cases linked to three hospitals in the central city of Danang, taking the outbreak to 30 infections since the virus resurfaced at the weekend. The Southeast Asian nation is back on high alert after authorities on Saturday confirmed that […]