Surprisingly, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas officially announced that there will be an extra P280 billion that can still be lent from monetary authorities by the government to raise its combat against the pandemic The BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno shared in a virtual press briefing that Republic Act 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) granted the …

Due to the unexpected happenings with the status of COVID-19 in the country, The Philippine government extended the ban on the new and more contagious coronavirus strain on international travelers arriving from 32 countries. The embargo, which encompasses the United Kingdom, China, plus Hong Kong, and the United States of America, will remain in place until the 31st of  January. …

SINGAPORE: On Thursday (January 14), a Singaporean man was sentenced to a fine of S$ 6,000, 30 days imprisonment by law, for sending falsified documents relating to two shipments of cigarettes to Singapore Customs. Ekbal Din Shaik Dawood, 52, is the sole owner of Turino Export Import, a freight forwarding company. In January and February of last year, the company …

KUALA LUMPUR: On Thursday (Jan 14), Malaysia recorded a staggering 3,337 new cases of COVID-19, the largest daily spike in cases since the start of the pandemic. The state of Selangor registered the largest number of new infections, 1,036, followed by Johor and Sabah, respectively, with 460 and 389 new infections. Kuala Lumpur, the capital, has reported 257 new cases. …

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has called on Members of Parliament (MPs) to write to the king and plead for the emergency proclamation to be withdrawn and for the parliament to be convened as soon as possible. Mr Anwar said in a statement dated January 14 (Thursday) that Parliament should reconvene before January 31 to address the state of emergency, …

The House of Representatives will go with their own investigation into the government’s COVID-19 vaccine programme, with a briefing scheduled by the chamber’s health committee. In view of this, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and National Task Force Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. are among the people invited to the investigation. Both authorities are supervising the government’s COVID-19 …

According to people familiar with the matter, Singapore’s Sea Ltd., the software start-up that has become the most profitable business in Southeast Asia, has acquired Indonesia’s PT Bank Kesejahteraan Ekonomi. After acquiring stakes from existing shareholders PT Danadipa Artha Indonesia and PT Koin Investama Nusantara through its subsidiary Turbo Cash Hong Kong Ltd., Sea acquired full ownership of the Jakarta-based …

PETALING JAYA: Deputy Health Minister I The office of Dr. Noor Azmi Ghazali refuted news reports via two portals that he had flouted the order for movement regulation by receiving visitors to his office in Putrajaya today.In a tweet, Noor Azmi’s office said, referring to Malaysiakini and MalaysiaPost.com, “The allegations made in the two portals are false.” Laporan berita yang …

MALAYSIA: The supply chains between Singapore and Malaysia have “no disruptions” after the latter announced further measures this week to curb the spread of COVID-19, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said on Wednesday (Jan 13). In the past few weeks, COVID-19 cases in Malaysia have increased by four-digit daily leaps. On Tuesday, the country recorded a staggering 3,309 …

Amidst the loss of passengers in the recent plane crash, Rear Admiral Abdul Rasyid the Chief of the First Fleet Command of the Indonesian Navy shared that he had suspended a diving mission to retrieve the crashed Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ-182 cockpit voice recorder. The suspension was made because the Baruna Jaya IV research vessel is performing a seafloor mapping …