METRO MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte announced that Metro Manila will stay under general community quarantine (GCQ) from Oct. 1 to Oct 31. According to Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, The president approved the recommendation of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to place Metro Manila and other areas under GCQ. Other areas included on …

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s flagship budget airline AirAsia Group is set to lay off hundreds more jobs as the company is still reeling in with the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the economy. It’s Malaysian unit and subsidiary AirAsia X Bhd also plans to cut staff. The affected staff will be informed within 72 hours. The company will also be …

PETALING JAYA – Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin confirmed today that The Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s admission to the INJ last week was due to the to food poisoning and also to treat sport injuries. Ahmad Fadil said that Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has undergone food poisoning and intervention treatment as well …

METRO MANILA – Malacañang said on Monday, that President Rodrigo Duterte is not keen on extending his term beyond 2022, while noting that amending the constitution is the only way that the national election in 2022 will be postponed. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that the President is not interested and he will leave the decision to the Filipino people …

METRO MANILA – Public utility buses (PUB) with routes plying the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa) will implement a cashless payment starting Thursday (Oct. 1). The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said in a statement that they will enforce a strict “no Beep card, no ride” policy starting Thursday. DOTr said that the beep card cashless payment system will pave …

Indonesian trade unions threatened to stage a national strike next month after a committee in Parliament decided to move forward with planned labor reforms in the contentious” Job Creation “bill of President Joko Widodo. Global investors are closely monitoring the Bill to see that its terms have not been weakened in parliamentary debates, as the largest economy in South-East Asia …

In mid-October, democracy activist Arnon Nampha called for a major and lengthy street rally to bring pressure on the government to amend the constitution. Mr. Arnon, an attorney, made the call in a speech at a rally attended on Sunday night by members of several pro-democracy organizations at a public park near the city gate, off Mitraparp Highway, in Nakhon …

At the United Nations General Assembly session, Vanuatu again criticised the Papua issue. The Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Bob Loughman, in a speech at the 75th UN session (UNGA 2020), accused Indonesia of committing human rights violations in Papua. Vanuatu is one of the countries in the Pacific that has highlighted alleged human rights violations in Papua. Vanuatu also supports …

The State Intelligence Agency (BIN) of Indonesia opened their voices about the accuracy of the results of the COVID-19 virus swab test it that being carried out. They also said about the equipment being used to carry out the swab test was following laboratory protocol standards. Deputy VII BIN Wawan Hari Purwanto said BIN uses two RT PCR kits of …

PETALING JAYA – Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) respects Sabah’s decision in yesterday’s election, says PKR President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) was able to secure a simple majority win and the right to form a new state government. According to Anwar, The people of Sabah has fulfilled their responsibility despite the country in recovery movement control order …