Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
COVID-19 Budget: More than S$1 billion for aviation, tourism, other sectors
News Business Article
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
News Business Article
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
News Business Article
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
News Business Article
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”,
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
Man arrested for coughing on police officers in Northern Ireland after claiming to have COVID-19
News Business Article
DUBLIN: A Northern Ireland man has been charged with attempting to commit grievous bodily harm after claiming to have COVID-19 and deliberately coughing on police officers, the police service said Thursday (Mar 26). The man was held for common assault following a domestic incident in north Belfast on Wednesday, according to the Police Service of
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
Malaysia reports 235 new COVID-19 cases, death toll rises to 23
News Business Article
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Thursday (Mar 26) reported 235 new COVID-19 cases, taking the national total to 2,031 – the highest in Southeast Asia. The health ministry also said the country’s death toll increased to 23, as of 5pm on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Sixty of the new cases are related to a cluster linked to a
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
COVID-19: Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, top ministers to take pay cut
News Business Article
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, ministers and deputy ministers will take a two-month pay cut and the money will be donated to the country’s COVID-19 fund. The Prime Minister’s Office in a statement on Thursday (Mar 26) said the matter was decided in a Cabinet meeting the day before to prove the government’s commitment to helping those badly affected
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
Singapore’s reserves are for rainy days, COVID-19 already a ‘mighty storm’: DPM Heng
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: The COVID-19 pandemic is the sort of event Singapore has been accumulating its reserves for, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said, as he explained the need to draw up to S$17 billion from the reserves for measures to protect jobs and support the economy. “We have saved up for a rainy day,” Mr Heng told
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
COVID-19 Budget: Income tax payments for companies, self-employed people delayed for 3 months
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Companies and self-employed people will get an automatic deferment of income tax payments for three months, announced Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in Parliament on Thursday (Mar 26), amid an economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The deferment is part of a slew of measures under a S$48 billion Resilience Budget announced by Mr
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
President Halimah Yacob gives ‘in-principle support’ to draw on reserves for second COVID-19 assistance package
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: President Halimah Yacob has given her in-principle support for Singapore to draw on its past reserves, as part of a second assistance package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a message to Parliament – delivered by Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin on Thursday (Mar 26) – the President said her support was given
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
India’s coronavirus cases tick up despite immense lockdown
News Business Article
NEW DELHI: Three more people infected with coronavirus died overnight in India as the government sought on Thursday (Mar 26) to improve basic services to 1.3 billion people locked indoors to slow the spread of the disease. Streets were silent across India’s cities and towns on the second day of a three-week, 24 hour shutdown as
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
Singapore’s economy contracts by 2.2% in Q1 as COVID-19 outbreak hits construction, services sectors
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: The Singapore economy contracted by 2.2 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter, as the COVID-19 outbreak and global measures to prevent its spread threw a wrench in the construction and services industries, according to flash estimates released on Thursday (Mar 26). This is the worst contraction since the global financial crisis in 2009, and compares with the
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
Nine doctors die from coronavirus in Philippines
News Business Article
MANILA: Nine doctors have died in the Philippines from the coronavirus, the country’s top medical association said Thursday (Mar 26), as hospitals were overwhelmed and medics complained about a lack of protection on the front lines. The announcement of the doctors’ deaths heightened fears that the scale of the health crisis in the Philippines is
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 26, 2020
Malaysia’s king, queen under quarantine after 7 palace staff test positive for COVID-19
News Business Article
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia’s king and queen have been placed under quarantine, after seven palace staff tested positive for COVID-19. In a statement on Thursday (Mar 26), the Istana Negara said that all seven staff members are currently receiving treatment at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital. They are in stable condition. Advertisement Advertisement The Health Ministry is currently
