Exactly two years ago, on March 11 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a global pandemic.This was two months after there were reports of a mystery virus infecting people in Wuhan, the most populous city in central China. Early reports said the virus didn’t appear to be readily spread by humans.Well, the Sars-CoV-2 virus could indeed be spread by humans. It quickly travelled around the world, and has so far infected more than 450 million people.Covid-19, the disease it…
Singapore eyes higher-calibre foreign workers under new visa system
Singapore is seeking to attract higher-calibre foreign workers under a new points-based visa system, as part of the government’s broader push to boost local employment while positioning itself as a global city, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said.“What we are trying to do is to be able to differentiate the high talent, the really super skill sets talent that can come to our country to work to complement our existing workforce,” Tan said on Thursday.The city state last week announced one of the…
Personalised health and care should be the norm by 2030, says Javid
Personalised health and social care in England should be “the norm” by 2030, the health and social care secretary has said.
Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano unleashes hot ash, forcing hundreds to flee
Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano spewed avalanches of hot clouds in eruptions overnight on Thursday that forced about 250 residents to flee to temporary shelters and left ash blanketing nearby villages and towns. No casualties were reported.The volcano on the densely populated island of Java unleashed clouds of hot ash at least seven times just before and after midnight and fast-moving pyroclastic flows, a mixture of rock, lava and gas, travelled up to 5 kilometres down its slopes, said…
Malaysia cancels daily Covid-19 test for travellers from Singapore
Travellers from Singapore to Malaysia via the air and land vaccinated travel lane (VTL) will no longer need to take daily Covid-19 tests for six days after arrival, the Malaysian health minister has announced.
South China Sea: New Philippine leader must honour joint exploration agreement with Beijing or face conflict, says Duterte
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has told his successor that Manila must honour an agreement his administration made with China to jointly explore an area in the disputed South China Sea for oil and gas deposits – or face possible conflict.He said that in light of the presidential election taking place in May, someone “reminded me – I won’t say who from China” that both sides already had an agreement on joint development of Reed Bank, also known as Recto Bank, which falls in a contested…
Australia floods cause US$1 billion in damage as thousands flee, national emergency expected to be declared
Tens of thousands of residents from Sydney and Brisbane and nearby regional areas have been forced to flee their homes as extreme rainfall and persistent flooding wreaked havoc across Australia’s east coast.Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to formally declare a national emergency on Wednesday, as he visits one of the worst affected areas, handing the government more powers to deploy aid and defence force personnel. The floods on Tuesday left hordes of commuters stranded around…
Chinese internet or US foreign policy? Why some Indonesians support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
When the UN General Assembly held its Special Emergency Session this month, Indonesia – along with 140 other countries – voted in favour of a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the Muslim-majority country’s official stance is not shared by all its citizens.Mako Setiawati, a resident of Situbondo, a small town in East Java, is among them. The 75-year-old Indonesian-Chinese retiree has been getting her news about the war from social media, including messages sent by her…
Singapore to introduce points-based work pass assessment framework
Singapore will introduce significant changes to its employment permit process from next year, including a new points-based assessment.
North Korea reactivating closed nuclear test site, satellite images suggest
Commercial satellite imagery shows construction at North Korea’s nuclear testing site for the first time since it was closed in 2018, US-based analysts said on Tuesday, amid fears the country could resume testing major weapons.Images captured by satellite on Friday showed very early signs of activity at the new site, including construction of a new building, repair of another building, and what is possibly some timber and sawdust, specialists at the California-based James Martin Centre for…