KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Wednesday that the government will embark on an expansionary budget to ensure people’s prosperity and economic revival amid the Covid-19 pandemic. During a television interview, Prime Minister Muhyiddin said that the first focus of budget 2021 will be to fight Covid-19 in the health aspect, therefore it is important that …

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian authorities reported 12 new Covid-19 deaths today, a record in the past 24 hours, all in Sabah, with 1,054 new cases, bringing its total infection to 34,393 and 263 deaths. According to Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah during a press conference on the daily Covid-19 update, the 14-year-old foreigner who died had underlying tuberculosis and …

METRO MANILA – Moody’s Investors Service said on Monday that Philippines may suffer the negative consequences of expensive payment as early as next year. In a research note which explored a scenario of a prolonged dollar weakness, Moody’s Investors Service said that it threatens to further deteriorate the fiscal house of Asian economies especially for countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka …

METRO MANILA – The Philippine government’s COVID-19 task force is preparing for the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine once it is made available. According to Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr., the newly form task group was prescribed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) for the effective management and distribution of vaccines as well …

ASEAN – Civil organizations of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries have pushed to promote economic and industrial recovery as well as regional cooperation in the post-Covid-19 era. In a virtual meeting chaired by Gu Xiulian, president of China-ASEAN Association, they published the initiative on Monday together with the leaders of the civil organizations. Gu …

METRO MANILA – The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has announced that it had made a P500 million partial payment for the P930 milliion debt to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) due to Covid-19 tests being conducted. According to the statement released by the state health insurer, the remaining balance would be paid according to the gov’t rules and regulations. …

CLARK, PAMPANGA – The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has confirmed that one of its players were tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) inside the league bubble in Pampanga. The league announced on a press conference on Sunday that the official who also tested positive weeks earlier, now tested negative on the test. A player from the team Blackwater Elite …

METRO MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Tuesday that Metro Manila will remain under the General Community Quarantine status until November 30, even with the local government seeking to revive the battered economy. In a taped speech aired Tuesday morning, President Duterte opposed the possibility of Metro Manila easing to a more relaxed restriction as the mayors in the …

METRO MANILA – The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) assured today that they will be settling the debt to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Monday after receiving a legal opinion from the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the testing agreement between the agency and the humanitarian organization. According to statement released by Philhealth, they will release the payment on …

KUALA LUMPUR – Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob defended his daily press briefing by saying that it is crucial to let the public know about the government’s effort to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. Sabri is responding to Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh comments on the recent National Security Council’s recent communication blunders on it Work from home (WFH) policy. …