Southeast Asian countries need more help securing Covid-19 vaccines, as the region struggles to contain record infections and deaths driven by the Delta variant, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.The region escaped the worst when the pandemic erupted last year, but in recent weeks has seen the highest deaths globally, as soaring infections push fragile health care systems to the brink and expose sluggish vaccination roll-outs.“This Covid-19 surge driven…
Covid to impact construction claims ‘until at least 2023’
Construction projects continue to be impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic, with a knock-on effect on claims.
Australia will not be able to help all Afghans who worked with military, PM says
Australia will not be able to help all Afghans who worked with its military, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday, as it prepares its evacuation plan after the Taliban seized control of the country.Australia said on Monday it would send 250 military personnel to Kabul to evacuate it citizens and an unspecified number of Afghans who had been given visas after working with Australia.US forces in control of Kabul’s airport resumed evacuation flights on Tuesday, a day after chaos there as…
Coronavirus: New Zealand will enter lockdown after community case detected; Singapore may allow vaccinated travellers
New Zealand will go into a hard lockdown within hours as it deals with its first community case of Covid-19 in almost six months.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a case had been detected in Auckland on Tuesday.As a result, the entire country will be placed in a hard lockdown for at least three days – meaning all schools and non-essential businesses must close. People are only able to leave their homes to visit the supermarket, for solo exercise, or for medical care.“We’ve seen the dire…
Legal framework for Early Access to Medicine Scheme planned
The UK government plans to introduce a legal framework for the Early Access to Medicine Scheme (EAMS) and has launched a consultation on it.
Indonesia’s Joko Widodo seeks to balance health and economy during coronavirus pandemic
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Monday in his annual state-of-the-nation speech that there was a need to strike a balance between health and economic interests amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in Southeast Asia’s biggest country.“The pandemic has indeed significantly slowed down our economic growth, but it must not hinder the process of structural reforms of our economy,” the president told parliament.Struggling with a jump in infections driven by the Delta variant, Indonesia has become…
Malaysia’s political crisis: PM Muhyiddin Yassin finally quits, but question mark over successor remains
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin resigned on Monday after weeks of turmoil in his government, ending a 17-month stint in power during which his legitimacy came under constant scrutiny and amid seething public anger over his handling of the Covid-19 crisis.The 74-year-old’s departure was expected, after a key minister revealed over the weekend that the prime minister would meet the country’s king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, to tender his resignation and end an impasse triggered…
Japanese PM Suga vows to ‘never again repeat the devastation of war’ but cabinet members visit Yasukuni Shrine
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged on Sunday that the country would not wage war again, making the vow on the anniversary of the end of World War II as members of his cabinet visited a controversial shrine.Nearly eight decades since the end of the war, the conflict remains a source of tension between Japan and its neighbours, particularly China and North and South Korea.“Since the end of the war, Japan has consistently walked the path of a country that values peace,” Suga said in a…
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin poised to resign on Monday, ending political crisis, minister says
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will resign on Monday and pave the way for the country’s protracted political crisis to be resolved, a minister has said.“We just finished the meeting. Tomorrow, there will be a special cabinet meeting. After that, he will head to Istana Negara [National Palace] to submit his resignation,” Redzuan Yusof, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, told the Malaysiakini news portal.Muhyiddin, 74, announced the decision to lawmakers during a meeting in…
As South Korea marks 30 years since first ‘comfort woman’ testified in public, President Moon promises ‘historical truth’
South Korea on Saturday marked the 30th anniversary of the day the first South Korean woman publicly spoke out about her experiences as a “comfort woman” during World War II as it commemorated those who were forced to work in the Japanese military’s wartime brothels.The government-sponsored Japanese Military Comfort Women Victims Memorial Day ceremony was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic this year, with President Moon Jae-in delivering a video message. The memorial day was…