Thailand’s latest round of regulations aimed at containing a fresh outbreak of coronavirus infections is expected to derail the gradual rebound of the economy from its recession in 2020. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha encouraged the people to remain at home and postpone travel after the authorities closed a number of venues in Bangkok and some other provinces this month – …

As the nation continues to combat the virus, The Health Ministry Spokesman for the vaccination program revealed that Indonesia’s first phase of the national COVID-19 vaccination program is expected to take 15 months to deliver the vaccines to 181 million citizens. In view of this, the government has set a goal for some 181.5 million individuals, including 1.3 million paramedics …

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians have been urged by a medical think tank to trust the science behind the approved vaccines, particularly the mRNA variants developed by companies such as Pfizer/BioNTech, as the effects of rejecting them have far greater health consequences. A statement by the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, endorsed by 20 medical leaders, said Malaysians need to …

Malaysia: The fee to be paid to Singapore by Malaysia after the termination of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project cannot be revealed publicly because the agreement between the two countries includes a secrecy clause, said Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysia’s Minister in the Department of the Prime Minister (Economy). After the HSR agreement expired on Dec 31, 2020, the project …

KUALA LUMPUR: If the virus mutates, the Covid-19 vaccine will still be safe, an expert said last night. A consultant pediatrician at KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital, Dr. Musa Mohd Nordin, said this is because the human body itself is “intelligent” because it not only releases antibodies to destroy a virus but also creates antibodies with immune memory. Musa said that …

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno instructed his MPs to step down by the end of this month from their positions in government and government agencies in an attempt to press for a general election to take place as soon as possible. Two division leaders told reporters that the order was given by Party President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at a meeting with leaders …

SINGAPORE: As of Tuesday night, in a sitting that spanned two days, Singapore‘s first public parliamentary Livestream collected more than 80,000 YouTube views. The proceedings were livestreamed on the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI). A search on YouTube for the Monday session at 11.45pm on Tuesday showed more than 50,700 views on the stream with …

The long wait is over as President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law initiatives aimed at supplying eligible students with medical scholarships, creating an alternate teaching framework for adults and out-of-school children, making certification of organic goods more available, and allowing the President to easily oversee the delivery of critical documents during a national emergency. There were actually four laws …

On Monday morning, the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry reported that, based on advance projections, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 5.8 percent year-on-year for the whole of 2020, compared to 0.7 percent growth in 2019. The economy of Singapore contracted by 3.8 percent year on year for the fourth quarter of 2020, an improvement from the …

Looking back on the third and final reading, the House of Representatives adopted a bill that aims to grant the president extra authority during national emergencies to fast-track approvals, licenses, and certifications. It was noted by a 267-6-0 margin, legislators approved House Bill No. 7884 before the special session was adjourned. In view of this, here comes a new anti-red …