Surprisingly, hundreds of businesses have expressed support for British drugmaker AstraZeneca to acquire the second batch of COVID-19 vaccines from the private sector. Joey Concepcion the presidential business advisor and founder of Go Negosyo shared in a statement that there was an impressive turnout for the purchasing of a second batch of COVID-19 vaccines, as more than 200 corporations showed …

SINGAPORE: Digital health passports have been developed by Singapore companies that can check the COVID-19 test results of travelers, as the country is steadily reopening its borders with safe management measures in place. Affinidi said that it is working on trials for inbound travellers with government agencies and private sector partners, while two other companies said they were involved in …

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) reports that it is in the midst of formulating a plan to reopen the borders of the country to delegations from neighboring countries who are coming for business events. The plan includes delegations from Singapore meeting in Desaru, Johor, Thai delegates in Langkawi, and officials from Brunei in Sabah and Sarawak …

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment on Monday (Dec 21) after being convicted of corruption four years ago for accepting RM2 million (US$494,000) from a businessman. Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan of the High Court ruled that the prosecution had proven its case against Tengku Adnan, who turned 70 on Sunday, beyond …

The Pheu Thai Party’s Pichai Lertpongadisorn was surprisingly elected chairman of the Provincial Administration Organization of Chiang Mai defeating his nearest competitor and old friend Boonlert Buranupakorn in the recent voting, according to an unofficial count of votes. Both Mr. Pichai and Mr. Boonlert, the current Chairman of the PAO, were once old mates and camp members loyal to Thaksin …

In an attempt to stem the spread of coronavirus, Indonesia’s capital is growing controls on movement as more tourists are likely to fly to and from the region over the year-end holiday. Starting last December 19 to January 8, 2021, Jakarta already a hotbed of Covid-19 cases in the region that is restricting activities in numerous public places. Offices must …

In anticipation of the peak holiday season, Thailand is relaxing their travel restrictions on visitors from 56 nations, including Singapore, Japan, and the United States, to improve the ailing tourism sector of the country. Mr Taweesilp Witsanuyotin, a spokesman for the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration shared that visitors are permitted to enter Thailand without prior visas but will need …

Pasig City exempts bikers from the provision of the national government for all people outside their residences to wear face masks, saying it is unsafe to wear one while biking. The evidence suggests and made a consultation among bikers shows that biking is unsafe while wearing a face mask. The Pasig Transport has added that biking isolates riders from other …

The intense work for coronavirus shots continues as the country’s vaccine czar maintained that amid some delays in talks with manufacturers the government is still on track with its vaccine’s search. Amid updates that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III dropped the ball in negotiations with US drugmaker Pfizer by failing to sign a single text here’s Carlito Galvez Jr., who …

There’s a serious request to the Indonesian authorities to guarantee the halal status of China’s Sinovac vaccine until massive use for the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program from the Center for the Syarikat Islam Ideological Protection (Perisai). Looking back, before granting its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for safety purposes, the Indonesian Food and Drug Monitoring Agency should also conclude its thorough …