COVID-19 Updates
-
Middle-income countries’ lonely war on the coronavirus cannot be ignored
The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on middle-income countries. With the exception of the United States, the 10 countries with the highest number of Covid-19 cases to date…
-
Don’t blame ‘selfish covidiots’. Blame the British government | Stephen Reicher
The “covidiots” are back in the news – no longer crowded in parks, no longer crammed on to beaches, this time cavorting on flights back from their Greek holidays. The…
-
CanSino gets Russia’s approval to start Covid-19 vaccine trials on humans after snubbing Canada
CanSino Biologics, which developed a Covid-19 vaccine candidate with the Chinese military’s research arm, will start testing its vaccine candidate on humans in Russia as part of its global search…
-
Hong Kong extends payment holidays until April 2021 to give struggling small businesses a lifeline out of worst recession
Hong Kong’s monetary authority has instructed banks to extend their loan repayment holidays for small businesses for another six months until April 2021, providing more breathing space for some of…
-
Hong Kong shrugs off social unrest, coronavirus impact to edge closer to top 10 in global innovation rankings
Hong Kong has moved up two places to find itself just outside the top 10 in a global league table for innovation, shrugging off the triple blow of US-China trade…
-
Singapore PM concedes Covid-19 missteps, warns against leaving PAP’s ‘Garden of Eden’
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday conceded several shortcomings in the country’s Covid-19 response – including its handling of the surge in cases in migrant worker dormitories –…
-
Payments, global trade head for digital ‘tipping point’ as coronavirus pandemic forces shift in business environment
Digitisation in payments and global trade has reached a “tipping point” as a result of the challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic, creating a new level of comfort and trust…
-
Coronavirus: US calls WHO ‘corrupt’, won’t join global vaccine effort
The White House said that the United States would not join a global effort aimed at providing equitable worldwide access to Covid-19 vaccines, citing the project’s link to a “corrupt”…
-
Thailand unveils US$2.2 billion coronavirus stimulus, a day after Finance Minister Predee Daochai’s surprise resignation
Thailand on Wednesday announced 68.5 billion baht (US$2.2 billion) worth of fiscal stimulus in cash handouts and job measures to support Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, which has been battered by…
-
Why it’s too early to rule out ‘sexy killer’ coal in Asean’s energy mix
Long before the Covid-19 pandemic, climate movements had appeared globally and impacted the coal industry. For example, in 2019, a YouTube video titled “Sexy Killers” became a trending topic in…