Day: March 24, 2020
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
India’s poor, hammered by COVID-19 lockdown, fear for future
News Business Article
MUMBAI: Shaikh Bahaduresha, 31, lived on Mumbai’s streets for two months last year, unable to make ends meet on his meagre taxi-driving profits of roughly US$5 a day. After he got married in December, his wife put some money towards renting a small apartment, and they moved in together. But with much of India now
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
Australian coronavirus cases leap as lockdown broadens
News Business Article
SYDNEY: Australia’s most populous state recorded its highest daily rise in coronavirus cases on Tuesday (Mar 24) and officials warned of harsher penalties for anybody violating self-isolation orders as the country stepped closer to a full lockdown. While schools officially remained open in most of the country, parents were strongly advised to keep their children home,
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
UN Security Council stalemate over COVID-19
News Business Article
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council, which has not met for 12 days due to the coronavirus outbreak, is deeply divided over a proposed declaration on the crisis and holding “virtual” meetings to vote on resolutions, diplomatic sources said Monday (Mar 23). The impasse comes as world leaders struggle to respond to the pandemic, with
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
Trump suggests he may scale back closures soon despite worsening COVID-19 outbreak
News Business Article
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Monday (Mar 23) he is considering how to reopen the US economy when a 15-day shutdown ends next week, even as the highly contagious coronavirus is spreading rapidly and hospitals are bracing for a wave of virus-related deaths. “America will again and soon be open for business,” Trump told a
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
A peek at the illicit trade of smuggled vegetables in Singapore
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Some vegetable suppliers from Malaysia are resorting to smuggling their vegetables into Singapore to avoid being fined and their produce being confiscated if they do not meet food safety standards. These are suppliers that use a lot of pesticides on their vegetables to protect them from pests and to guarantee that they look fresh,
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
‘Help us fight this’: New Zealand PM Ardern appeals ahead of lockdown
News Business Article
WELLINGTON: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appealed to New Zealanders to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, as the country prepared for a complete lockdown from Thursday to beat the spread of the virus. Cases of COVID-19 crossed the 100 mark in New Zealand this week as the government imposed self-isolation for everyone, with all-non-essential services, schools
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
UK govt orders three-week lockdown to tackle COVID-19
News Business Article
LONDON: Britain on Monday (Mar 23) ordered a three-week lockdown to tackle the spread of coronavirus, shutting “non-essential” shops and services, and banning gatherings of more than two people. “Stay at home,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a televised address to the nation, as he unveiled unprecedented peacetime measures after the country’s death toll climbed
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
COVID-19 patients who are ‘well and stable’ to be transferred to selected private hospitals: MOH
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Patients with COVID-19 who are “well and stable” will be transferred to selected private hospitals so that the public sector can have the capacity to manage more severe cases, said the Ministry of Health on Monday (Mar 23). “As the number of COVID-19 cases rise globally and the virus spreads across the world, we expect the
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
Singapore reports 54 new COVID-19 cases in highest daily spike, including 48 imported infections
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Singapore on Monday (Mar 23) confirmed 54 new cases of COVID-19, the highest daily increase to date, taking the total to 509 cases. Of the new cases, 48 are imported infections. Advertisement Advertisement The imported cases had travel history to Europe, North America and ASEAN countries. All except one were returning residents and Long Term Pass
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
Trump calls for protection of Asian Americans after coronavirus uproar
News Business Article
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday (Mar 23 called for protection of Asian Americans after charges that his use of the term “Chinese virus” had aggravated a backlash. “It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States, and all around the world,” Trump wrote on Twitter. Advertisement
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
Commentary: The world’s airlines are headed for a crash landing. Government parachutes need to be activated now
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Commentary Commentary The economic damage to the aviation industry from COVID-19 is expected to extend to every aspect of the global economy, says IATA chief Alexandre de Juniac. FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A380-800 aircraft of Singapore Airlines takes off from Zurich airport, Switzerland October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo 24 Mar 2020 06:06AM(Updated: 24 Mar
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
Commentary: South Korea has been exemplary. Even then, it hasn’t slayed COVID-19
News Business Article
SEOUL: Over the past week, as the United States and Europe began to wake up to the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and slip into panic, something very different has been happening in South Korea. Nearly two months into the country’s outbreak, the general level of social anxiety has eased as the number of new
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 24, 2020
Coronavirus pandemic ‘accelerating’, says WHO
News Business Article
GENEVA: The pandemic of disease caused by the coronavirus is accelerating, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday (Mar 23), with more than 300,000 cases now recorded and infections reported from nearly every country worldwide. While it took 67 days from the first reported case to reach the first 100,000 cases of COVID-19, it
Commentary: Joe Biden’s establishment credentials suddenly look attractive with this coronavirus outbreak
SYDNEY: Back in 2008, the Democrats were excited about Senator Barack Obama’s run for US President, but he was also perceived as a newcomer and a change agent. When Senator Joe Biden – who first ran for President in 1988 – agreed to sign on as Obama’s nominee for vice-president, he provided a reassuring dose