Month: July 2021

As nations around the world race to vaccinate citizens against Covid-19, medical experts are still working to identify the best treatments for those who become ill.Several large-scale clinical trials are still under way around the globe to assess and determine the most promising drugs that can be used to treat Covid-19 even when most people are fully vaccinated.Why treatments are neededVaccination remains a key priority for many countries in managing and reopening after the pandemic, but…

Low-cost carrier AirAsia has stepped up its digital ambitions by acquiring tech behemoth Gojek’s operations in Thailand, but industry watchers say the airline faces an uphill battle in Southeast Asia’s heated superapp competition.The all-share deal will see AirAsia take Gojek’s ride-hailing and payments businesses in Thailand, which are worth a combined US$50 million, while the Jakarta-based unicorn will get a 4.76 per cent stake in AirAsia Digital.That digital venture, previously named RedBeat…

Sydney’s virus outbreak means plans for an Australia-Singapore travel bubble have been delayed until at least the end of the year, the Australian trade minister said on Sunday.While opening up the travel corridor remains a priority, the scale of the outbreak that has forced the country’s largest city into a renewed lockdown means plans are on hold, Dan Tehan told The Sydney Morning Herald.“It has been put back due to the third wave of the virus,” he said. “The hope might be towards the end of…

Eight years ago, world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao set his sights on a goal outside the ring: the Philippine presidency. Little did he know that in President Rodrigo Duterte, he would face his toughest opponent yet.He couldn’t do it immediately; he was in his mid-30s at the time, and the country’s constitution specifies that presidential candidates must be at least 40 years old on election day. So he took his time, preparing for the upcoming political battle as methodically as he had for his…

In May, when Singapore tightened its measures for four weeks to combat a surge in Covid-19 cases, it cost the government S$800 million (US$591 million) in relief measures. The money helped businesses, including fitness studios, performing arts organisations and eateries, survive that month of harsher rules.Across the border, Malaysia recently unveiled a 150 billion ringgit (US$35 billion) package, made up of cash aid and wage subsidies, after extending a nationwide lockdown indefinitely.In…

Before Covid-19 hammered the Malaysian economy, Kuala Lumpur native Jeremy Johnson, 43, made 7,000 ringgit (US$1,670) a month as the general manager of a coffee company and even had a car as part of his work benefits. His family of six were firmly entrenched in the middle class – what Malaysia calls the M40, for the 40 per cent of households considered ‘middle income’, defined as those earning 4,850 ringgit to 10,959 ringgit a month.But movement restrictions forcing people to work from home and…

The UK energy sector has a 46% difference in mean bonus payments to men and women, a gap which is more significant than in other sectors.

A majority of global infrastructure firms see decarbonisation as “extremely or critically important” for their business, according to research by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, is seeking to preserve and promote the mystical 9th-century Buddhist Borobudur temple in Central Java amid growing intolerance, raising hopes it could escape the fate of Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Buddha statues. Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said Borobudur occupied a significant place of respect for Buddhists and officials were studying how to promote ceremonies “which can be attended by Buddhists all over the world”,…

As South Korea prepared on Friday to raise antivirus restrictions in the greater Seoul area to their highest level after new Covid-19 cases climbed to a daily record for the second day running, unvaccinated young people were increasingly being blamed for spreading the disease. Under the Level 4 restrictions, effective from Monday, residents of the capital region will be advised to stay home as much as possible, schools will be closed, public meetings will be restricted to two people after 6pm…