Business – Page 33 – The Singapore Post

Indonesia to ban air, sea travel to end-May: officials

20May

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Indonesia to ban air, sea travel to end-May: officials

Indonesia will temporarily ban domestic and international air and sea travel, with some exceptions, starting this week to prevent a further spread of the coronavirus, the transport ministry said in a statement on Friday. The announcement came as the holy month of Ramadan began in the world's largest Muslim majority country, and the government has already banned citizens' traditional annual exodus from the cities to the provinces during the holiday period.. The ban on sea travel took immediate effect, but the ban on air travel will start on Saturday so that some pre-booked flights can go-ahead. The ban will apply across-the-board until May 31. The ministry had previously given different dates for the end of the ban for different modes of transport. Cargo transport is exempte

Coronavirus: China investing millions in WHO to make up for Trump cuts and boost its influence, officials say

20May

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Business, Conflict, World

Coronavirus: China investing millions in WHO to make up for Trump cuts and boost its influence, officials say

China's President Xi Jinping (L) speaks next to US President Donald Trump during a business leaders event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. Donald Trump urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to work "hard" and act fast to help resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis, during their meeting in Beijing on November 9, warning that "time is quickly running out" China has pledged to invest millions of additional dollars into the World Health Organisation (WHO) after Donald Trump announced he was cutting off US funding for the group while reviewing its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Beijing said it would contribute an additional $30m as the United Nations organisation battles the Covid-19 pandemic, with Chinese Foreign Ministry ...

Tribes along India-Myanmar border dream of a ‘united Nagaland’

20May

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Asia, Business, Politics, World

Tribes along India-Myanmar border dream of a ‘united Nagaland’

Dozens of Naga tribes yearn to reunite the 3 million living in India with their 400,000 estranged cousins in Myanmar.The king of the Konyak tribe sleeps in Myanmar, but eats in India - his house, village and people divided by a mountain border which serves as a vulnerable lifeline now severed by a coronavirus lockdown. The Konyak are just one of dozens of Naga tribes, a people yearning to reunite the 3 million living in India with their 400,000 estranged - and much poorer - cousins in Myanmar's isolated far north.Many from Myanmar cross the border to attend school, sell vegetables or visit a hospital, as it is a days-long journey by foot to the nearest town in Myanmar. Even in normal times, they live at the mercy of Indian soldiers guarding checkpoints against the threat of armed groups fi

Millions of people in Indonesia could be at risk

20May

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Business, World

Millions of people in Indonesia could be at risk

Some parts of Indonesia that do not have early warning systems in place for earthquakes could be at increased risk of tsunamis, according to a new study. Analysis of more than 2.5million years' worth of geological data revealed 19 enormous ancient underwater landslides around the island nation. The submarine landslides happened, on average, once every 160,000 years. Should one of these events happen in the modern world, the most at-risk locations would be the cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda, with a combined population of over 1.6 million people. Researchers say the proposed new capital city of Indonesia at Balikpapan Bay would also be heavily affected. The research team, led by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, said the findings suggest coastal communities in the country witho

Missouri is suing China over coronavirus

14May

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Business, World

Missouri is suing China over coronavirus

Missouri is suing the Chinese government and other top institutions for the role they played in the coronavirus pandemic and the effects it has had on the state, accusing the country of covering up information, silencing whistleblowers and doing little to stop the spread of the disease, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced Tuesday. At least 6,105 people have been confirmed to have the virus in Missouri and at least 229 have died, according to numbers from Johns Hopkins University. Schmitt, in his official role as attorney general of Missouri, filed the civil lawsuit in federal court in the eastern district of Missouri.The lawsuit, the first of its kind, claims "Chinese authorities deceived the public, suppressed crucial information, arrested whistleblowers, denied human-to-huma

Millions of people in Indonesia could be at risk from a devastating tsunami

8May

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Business

Millions of people in Indonesia could be at risk from a devastating tsunami

Research found 19 ancient underwater landslides dating back 2.5million yearsThese resulted in a tsunami approximately once every 160,000 years Found an event in today's world would decimate cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda Some parts of Indonesia that do not have early warning systems in place for earthquakes could be at increased risk of tsunamis, according to a new study. Analysis of more than 2.5million years' worth of geological data revealed 19 enormous ancient underwater landslides around the island nation. The submarine landslides happened, on average, once every 160,000 years. Should one of these events happen in the modern world, the most at-risk locations would be the cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda, with a comb...

Ramadan bazaars go digital in Southeast Asia amid pandemic

8May

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Asia, Business

Ramadan bazaars go digital in Southeast Asia amid pandemic

KUALA LUMPUR - For 15 years, Siti Zabedah Abdul Wahab’s family food business has opened for one month a year, selling murtabak, a pan-fried bread stuffed with meat, at Malaysia’s popular Ramadan bazaars. But this year, Murtabak Mami Murtabak Sultan started taking orders on Whatsapp and Facebook weeks before the Muslim fasting month began on April 23, as authorities across Southeast Asia called off Ramadan bazaars amid the coronavirus pandemic. “This is the first time we are selling online, so we wanted to start early to make sure our customers can find us,” 38-year-old Siti Zabedah told Reuters. Ramadan is traditionally a lucrative time for food vendors in Muslim-majority countries, with more people going out for late-night meals after breaking their fast at sunset. But the g

Complaints of racism mar China’s coronavirus response

8May

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Business, Conflict

Complaints of racism mar China’s coronavirus response

Race-based COVID-19 containment measures in Guangzhou evolve into major test of China-Africa relations. Lewis was at the hospital where he interns when he saw videos on social media of a black man being chased in the street by police. When the 23-year-old medical student from Sierra Leone checked his phone, he had missed calls and messages from friends in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou who had also seen the video, and there was a notice online in Chinese saying that Africans were "importing" the virus and needed to be quarantined. Then, local authorities came to the hospital where Lewis (who asked that his name be changed for fear of reprisals) worked and told him he needed to quarantine, too. They showed him a government notice that said if he had returned to China that ...

China coronavirus cases may have been four times official figure, says study

8May

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Business, China, Conflict

China coronavirus cases may have been four times official figure, says study

China coronavirus cases may have been four times official figure, says studyNew estimates from Hong Kong come amid call for inquiry into outbreak’s origins More than 232,000 people may have been infected in the first wave of Covid-19 in mainland China, four times the official figures, according to a study by Hong Kong researchers. China reported more than 55,000 cases as of 20 February but, according to research by academics at Hong Kong University’s school of public health, published in the Lancet, the true number would have been far greater if the definition of a Covid-19 case that was later used had been applied from the outset. China has now reported more than 83,000 cases. Globally, the death toll from the coronavirus has exceeded 184,000, with the number of cases worldwide

Amid Pandemic, UK-Vietnam Cooperation Continues to Deepen

2May

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Asia, Business

Amid Pandemic, UK-Vietnam Cooperation Continues to Deepen

A closer look at recent developments between the two countries, both before and during the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, two Vietnamese children donated 20,000 facemasks to help the United Kingdom fight the coronavirus pandemic. The British Embassy staff in Hanoi sent the masks, along with 100 stranded British nationals, on a commercial flight back to the UK. With the growing number of deaths in the UK and shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers, these gifts are valuable; they further underscore strengthened relations between the UK and Vietnam. As covered at The Diplomat previously, since 2010 the relationship between Vietnam and the United Kingdom has been elevated to a strategic partnership. Tran Ngoc An, Vietnam’s Ambassador to the UK, has strongly

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