Singapore

233 Covid deaths, 19,014 new cases announced Sunday
31Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Singapore, World

233 Covid deaths, 19,014 new cases announced Sunday

233 Covid deaths, 19,014 new cases announced Sunday People wearing masks queue up at a fruit shop in Bangkok's Yaowarat, the Chinatown in Samphanthawong district, on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s Sart Jeen festival, or Chinese Ghost Festival, amid the Covid-19 outbreak. (Photo: Apichart Jinakul) Thailand saw 233 Covid-19 fatalities and a 19-day low of 19,014 new cases over the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry reported on Sunday morning. Over the previous 24 hours, 20,672 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration said the 233 fatalities, 140 of whom were men, ranged from seven months to 101 years old, with an average age of 66. All were Thai except for four Myanmar nationals and one each from Cambodia, China and Singapo
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Jacques Rogge, IOC president for 12 years, dies at 79
31Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Politics, Singapore, World

Jacques Rogge, IOC president for 12 years, dies at 79

LONDON (AP) — Jacques Rogge approached the job of running the Olympics the same way he approached his work as a physician: Listen, analyze and consult. Before taking over as president of the International Olympic Committee, Rogge, whose death was announced Sunday, was an orthopedic surgeon who saw 5,000 patients and performed 800 operations a year at his medical practice in Ghent, Belgium. Rogge’s medical background heavily influenced his leadership style during his 12-year reign in the most powerful post in international sports, bringing stability and a steady hand to the IOC after its worst ethics scandal. He also pursued a hard line against doping as IOC president. While his predecessor, Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch, operated in an autocratic and secretive fashion, Rogge embraced
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Recession fears mount as cases rise
29Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Business, Singapore, World

Recession fears mount as cases rise

Asoke junction along Sukhumvit Road, usually jammed with traffic, is dead as people work from home during the lockdown. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb) Thailand will likely be the worst economic performer in Southeast Asia this year, with economists continuing to slash the country's growth forecast amid surging Covid-19 infections, mounting political tensions and fading hopes for a tourism revival, according to Bloomberg. The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) downgraded the country's 2021 economic forecast to 1.3% GDP growth, a dip from an April projection of 2.3%, on the assumption new infections of Covid-19 will peak in the middle of August, said director-general Kulaya Tantitemit. However, the FPO expects the situation to improve in 2022 as the business sector gradually returns to normalcy, lea...
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Asean too late for Myanmar?
29Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Conflict, Politics, Singapore, World

Asean too late for Myanmar?

Asean too late for Myanmar? The appointment of Brunei's Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof as Asean special envoy to Myanmar last week is better late than never. The special envoy's appointment is part of a five-point consensus that was agreed upon by Asean leaders during an April 24 meeting searching for a solution to the Myanmar crisis following the Feb 1 coup that ousted the elected civilian government under Aung San Suu Kyi who has been detained together with other civilian officials. The delay in the envoy's appointment is described by the international media as due to internal wrangling within the group; with Indonesia and Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines opting for a proactive approach; while the rest, including Thailand, preferring quiet diplomacy which is almost synony...
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Fully vaccinated travellers from 8 more countries can serve SHN at home from Aug 20: MOH
29Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Singapore, World

Fully vaccinated travellers from 8 more countries can serve SHN at home from Aug 20: MOH

SINGAPORE - Fully vaccinated travellers from Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Korea and Switzerland will be allowed to serve their 14-day stay-home notice (SHN) at their own places of residence instead of a dedicated facility from 11.59pm on Aug 20. This list will be updated from time to time depending on the public health risk assessment, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday (Aug 6). The differentiated measures for vaccinated travellers are part of a review of Singapore's border restrictions in the light of a high local vaccination rate. MOH said a traveller will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the full dosage of any Covid-19 vaccine under the World Health Organisation's Emergency Use Listing. These include the Pfizer-BioNTech/C...
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54 years on, Asean needs new modality
28Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Conflict, Politics, Singapore, World

54 years on, Asean needs new modality

54 years on, Asean needs new modality Flags of Asean countries are displayed in front of the Asean head office in Jakarta, Indonesia. The bloc celebrated its 54th anniversary on Sunday. Asean faces an unprecedented challenge in dealing with the political crisis in Myanmar. (PHOTO COURTESY OF ASEAN) After 54 years of being together, Asean is at the end of its tether. It has never been more divided than now, split within member states and across all 10 of them, dominated once again by divisive superpower rivalry and competition. In practice, this means Asean will appear increasingly ineffectual and inert. There will be much bureaucratic motion but few substantive organisational and policy outcomes amid unresolved challenges from within and from outside the region. Asean's best way forward ...
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PTT is going on a green spending spree
27Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Business, Singapore, World

PTT is going on a green spending spree

PTT is going on a green spending spree PTT Plc diversifies its invesments to include electric-vehicle and renewable-energy companies. (Bangkok Post photo) PTT Plc, whose sales account for about 10% of the nation’s economic output, is suddenly spending billions of dollars on electric-vehicle and renewable-energy companies and tilting its traditional businesses towards chemicals and plastics. PTT announced investments of almost $10 billion since May to build an EV business and snap up petrochemical assets in Europe and renewable-energy projects in Asia. And the group isn’t done yet. “The company must transform its strategy and vision for sustainable growth with an increased environmental awareness,” said Arawadee Photisaro, PTT’s senior executive vice president for corporate strategy. “C
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China outbreak spreads as WHO sounds alarm on Delta
27Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Singapore, World

China outbreak spreads as WHO sounds alarm on Delta

China outbreak spreads as WHO sounds alarm on Delta China’s worst surge of coronavirus infections in months spread to two more areas. BEIJING: Mushrooming outbreaks of the highly contagious Delta variant prompted China and Australia to impose stricter Covid-19 restrictions on Saturday as the WHO urged the world to quickly contain the mutation before it turns into something deadlier and draws out the pandemic. China's most serious surge of coronavirus infections in months spread to two more areas Saturday -- Fujian province and the sprawling megacity of Chongqing. More than 200 cases have been linked to a Delta cluster in Nanjing city where nine cleaners at an international airport tested positive, with the outbreak spanning Beijing, Chongqing and five provinces as of Saturday. The nat
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Delta blow knocks wind out of Asia’s economic recovery
26Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, Singapore, World

Delta blow knocks wind out of Asia’s economic recovery

Delta blow knocks wind out of Asia's economic recovery FILE PHOTO: Coronavirus disease patients sit in beds after being admitted in the chapel of Quezon City General Hospital turned into a Covid-19 ward amid rising infections, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, Aug 20, 2021. (Reuters) TOKYO: Asia's robust economic recovery from last year's coronavirus low is losing momentum as a surge in Covid-19 cases sees shops empty again and factories close, dimming prospects for corporate profit growth after a blockbuster half year. The rapid spread of the highly infectious Delta variant of the novel coronavirus and low vaccination rates have caught much of the region off-guard, especially in emerging markets, even as economies in Europe and North America reopen. "It's clear that economies...
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China’s anti-sanctions law a new headache for banks in Hong Kong
25Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Business, China, Singapore, World

China’s anti-sanctions law a new headache for banks in Hong Kong

China's anti-sanctions law a new headache for banks in Hong Kong Finance hub Hong Kong has long marketed itself as a reliable business gateway to China. HONG KONG: China's plan to expand its anti-sanctions law into Hong Kong is a fresh compliance headache for international banks already caught up in deteriorating relations between Beijing and major western powers, analysts and insiders say. As a finance hub with an internationally respected legal system, Hong Kong has long marketed itself as a reliable business gateway to authoritarian China. But swirling geopolitical tensions -- and China's crackdown on dissent in the city -- have made that business environment less smooth the last two years. And things could be about to get even more complicated. In June, China passed a broad anti-...
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