Month: March 2020
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 27, 2020
Italy suffers setback to hopes its COVID-19 might be in retreat
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ROME: Hopes that Italy’s coronavirus epidemic might be in retreat suffered a setback on Thursday (Mar 26) when data showed that both the number of new cases and deaths had ticked higher, underscoring how hard it is to halt the disease. Officials said 712 people died of the illness in the last 24 hours, pushing
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 27, 2020
France reports new spike in virus deaths, bringing total to 1,696
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PARIS: French health authorities reported 365 new deaths from coronavirus on Thursday (Mar 26), taking the total to 1,696. The rise in the number of deaths represents a daily rise of 27 per cent, a marked increase from the previous day with the country now in its second week of lockdown. Advertisement Advertisement READ: France struggling
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 27, 2020
SIA taps investors for up to US$10.5b amid COVID-19 shock
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SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) is tapping existing investors for up to S$15 billion (US$10.48 billion) through the sale of shares and convertible bonds to offset the shock to its business from the coronavirus outbreak. The fund raising is being underwritten by the airline’s biggest investor, Temasek Holdings, which owns about 55 per cent of the group.
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 27, 2020
52 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, 2 new infections linked to PCF Sparkletots in Fengshan
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SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 52 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday (Mar 26), bringing the total number of cases to 683. A total of 28 cases are imported, while 24 are local cases, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a press release. Advertisement Advertisement The imported cases had travelled to Europe, North America, Middle East,
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 27, 2020
Switzerland coronavirus cases top 10,000
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GENEVA: Switzerland on Thursday (Mar 26) joined the small group of countries to declare more than 10,000 officially-recorded cases of COVID-19, as it launched plans to start tracking crowd build-ups through mobile phone data. The health ministry said 10,661 people in the Alpine country have tested positive for the new coronavirus – nearly 1,000 more
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
Russia thanks ‘real friend’ Jack Ma for gift of a million masks
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MOSCOW: Russia has received more than a million masks and 200,000 coronavirus testing kits as a gift from Chinese billionaire businessman Jack Ma, its Defence Ministry said on Thursday (Mar 26). Calling Ma “a real friend”, the ministry said in a statement that the co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba had spoken by telephone to
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
Putin says Russia can beat virus in 2-3 months as flights halted, shops to shut
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MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (Mar 26) he hoped Russia would defeat coronavirus in 2-3 months if it imposed tough measures, as authorities suspended international flights, ordered most shops in the capital to shut and halted some church services. Russia reported 182 new coronavirus cases, its biggest one-day rise yet, bringing its official
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
Senate sends House US$2 trillion coronavirus bill; vote expected on Friday
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WASHINGTON: The US Senate’s unanimous passage of an estimated US$2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill sent the unprecedented economic rescue legislation to the House of Representatives, whose leaders hope to pass it on Friday (Mar 27). The plan will speed direct payments on their way to Americans within three weeks, once the Democratic-controlled House passes it and
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
COVID-19 Budget: Government to announce legal measures involving paid deposits as soon-to-wed couples stuck in limbo
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SINGAPORE: The Government will present a set of measures dealing with obligations such as deposits next week, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat as he announced a Resilience Budget to help deal with the COVID-19 outbreak on Thursday (Mar 26). The announcement came as stricter safe distancing measures, such as the 10-person limit on gatherings
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
COVID-19 pandemic highlights ‘need for more cooperation between countries, not less’: PM Lee
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SINGAPORE: The COVID-19 pandemic is proof of the world’s interdependence and not an indictment of globalisation, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday (Mar 26). “It highlights the need for more cooperation between countries, not less,” said Mr Lee in a written statement, which was shared with participants of the Extraordinary Virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit.
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
COVID-19 Budget: More than S$1 billion for aviation, tourism, other sectors
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SINGAPORE: As part of the second assistance package in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, more than S$1 billion will be set aside for sectors such as aviation and tourism that have been hardest hit by the pandemic. The bulk of this, amounting to more than S$750 million, will go to two schemes for the aviation
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
Myanmar moves to increase COVID-19 test kit stockpile amid coronavirus battle
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YANGON: Myanmar is set to receive 40,000 more COVID-19 test kits in the country to help it cope with the virus outbreak, days after it detected at least three positive cases. Myanmar’s Ministry of Health and Sports spokesperson Khin Khin Gyi told CNA the country currently has about 2,000 test kits. Advertisement Advertisement “But the more we
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
COVID-19 Budget: Unemployment benefits increase; higher cash payouts for adult Singaporeans
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SINGAPORE: Financial assistance for the unemployed and low-income workers are set to increase as the COVID-19 outbreak unnerves businesses and employees across Singapore. “The best way to safeguard the well-being of our people is by supporting them to stay employed,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat in Parliament on Thursday (Mar
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
COVID-19 Budget: Self-employed people, firms, first-time jobseekers to receive more support
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SINGAPORE: Self-employed people, firms and first-time jobseekers will receive more financial support, announced Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Thursday (Mar 26), amid an economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. This is part of a S$48 billion Resilience Budget to deal with what is likely to be the “worst economic contraction since independence”,
