Month: March 2021

The body of a man was found following an avalanche Sunday on Mount Norikura on the border of Nagano and Gifu prefectures in central Japan, with two other people injured, local police said.Five people were caught in the avalanche that occurred around 10am on the Nagano side of the mountain but the two others were uninjured, according to the police.Two men from Shiga Prefecture, 41 and 49, who sustained light injuries, had been with the man believed dead when they were hit by the snowslide.“I…

At least five people were killed when security forces fired on anti-junta protesters in Myanmar on Sunday, witnesses and domestic media said, while the acting leader of the parallel civilian government vowed to continue supporting the ‘uprising’.At least three people were killed in the commercial capital, Yangon. Video taken at the main demonstration site showed protesters holding handmade shields and wearing helmets as they confronted security forces in the Hlaing Tharyar district of the city…

Sri Lanka will ban the wearing of the burka and shut more than a thousand Islamic schools, a government minister said on Saturday, the latest actions affecting the country’s minority Muslim population.Minister for Public Security Sarath Weerasekera told a news conference he had signed a paper on Friday for cabinet approval to ban the full face covering worn by some Muslim women on “national security” grounds.“In our early days Muslim women and girls never wore the burka,” he said. “It is a sign…

India will carry out a deeper review of post-vaccination side effects from the AstraZeneca coronavirus shot next week although no cases of blood clots have been reported so far, an official said on Saturday.New Delhi decided to conduct the review after several countries suspended roll-out over blood clot fears even as the World Health Organization (WHO) said there was no reason to stop using AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 jab.Denmark, Norway and Iceland paused use of the drugmaker’s shot as a…

A recent High Court decision on the legal status of a UK statutory restructuring plan may impact on the way in which these proceedings are viewed by European courts post-Brexit.

Digital infrastructure and services, and an EU rulebook to match, will be the norm across Europe by the end of this decade if a new vision set out by the European Commission is realised, experts in technology law and contracts have said.

The International Olympic Committee has accepted China’s offer to supply coronavirus vaccines for participants in the next Summer and Winter Games, in an apparent win for Beijing as it battles boycott calls.In the IOC annual session on Thursday, president Thomas Bach said the Chinese Olympic Committee pledged doses for unvaccinated participants for both the Tokyo 2021 Summer Olympics and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.“We are grateful for this offer which is in the true Olympic spirit of…

African swine fever remains a “major risk factor” for China’s pig production after the government this week was forced to step up its efforts to control a resurgence of the disease at home and in neighbouring countries.With concerns the African swine fever re-emergence may threaten efforts to rebuild its national pig herd, raising questions about food security and consumer inflation outlook, China has issued a new import ban and also cracked down harder on fake vaccines for the deadly disease…

Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth fund is exploring investing in several infrastructure projects including 24 toll road concessions worth $2.6 billion, according to Reuters.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published changes to its rules clarifying how consumer credit lenders and debt collection firms are to comply with the government’s ‘breathing space’ regulations in the context of their obligations under the FCA’s rules .