Japan’s annual catch of prized Pacific saury collapsed by nearly 30 per cent last year to a record low haul, with fishing authorities blaming the decline on a combination of ocean conditions and the likes of China and Taiwan taking a larger haul.Tokyo is so concerned that it plans to propose new limits on catches when the eight member states of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC)– which also include Russia, South Korea and the United States – meet in February.An autumn delicacy in…
In Thailand, coronavirus outbreak among migrant workers highlights rampant people smuggling
The Central Shrimp Market – a wholesale centre in Samut Sakhon province, about an hour’s drive southwest of Bangkok – was where Thailand’s most recent Covid-19 cluster emerged in mid-December. Today, the market and nearby blocks of migrant worker dormitories are under lockdown, cordoned off by fences and barbed wire, and guarded round the clock by security officials.In an echo of the outbreaks in Singapore and Malaysia, where migrant workers bore the brunt of infections as well as blame for…
IR35: ‘no further delay’ to April start date expected
No further delays are expected to the IR35 tax changes being introduced in April, despite the latest UK Covid-19 lockdowns, according to a tax expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.
Japanese women want more representation in politics, but few are running for office
Japanese women feel there is inadequate female participation at all levels of domestic politics, according to a new survey, although very few are willing to challenge that statistic and run for office. A survey by the Nippon Foundation of 10,000 women between the ages of 18 and 69 found that 62.2 per cent of respondents believe that women are under-represented in national and local-level politics, with the figure rising to nearly 70 per cent among those educated to university level or beyond.
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Coronavirus: Thailand scrambles to contain outbreak; Japan to declare emergency in Tokyo from Saturday
For much of 2020, Thailand had the coronavirus under control. After a strict nationwide lockdown in April and May, the number of new local infections dropped to zero, where they remained for the next six months.The country closed its borders and enforced mandatory quarantines for its own citizens, as well as the handful of foreigners allowed to visit. But aside from a few outward signs of the “new normal”, like the ubiquitous wearing of masks and reminders to practice social distancing, life…
ECJ points to a ‘rolling 90-day period’ for collective redundancy consultation purposes
Stuart Neilson tells HRNews the ECJ’s decision in UQ v Marclean Technologies is a concern
In Modi’s India, political row erupts over home-grown coronavirus vaccine
In a country where everything from the food you eat to the clothes you wear can be political, India’s Covid-19 vaccine was always going to spark controversy.So it was on Sunday, when the drug regulator announced the approval of two vaccines for emergency use. One was Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield, while the other was Covaxin from local pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech.The knives were out for Covaxin just hours after the announcement, when it emerged that the home-grown vaccine was granted…
Japan, US greet European naval deployments in Asia as counter to China’s rise
Japan and the United States have welcomed planned naval deployments this year by major European countries to Indo-Pacific waters, as China’s rapid military modernisation and maritime and territorial ambitions prompt moves to increase deterrence.With Beijing showing increasing assertiveness in the East and South China seas and on the India-China border, Britain will deploy the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth and its strike group to East Asia, France will dispatch a naval vessel to Japan and…
Overseas Chinese in Japan warned on phone scams demanding bank transfers
Police in Japan are calling on the Chinese community to beware of a new spike in telephone fraud cases targeting Chinese nationals. Authorities in the Kanto region, which encompasses Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures, are investigating automated calls in perfect Mandarin Chinese from people who claim to be from the Chinese embassy in Tokyo. The recipients of the calls are instructed to call another phone number for further instructions. In these subsequent conversations, the recipients…
Singaporeans won’t be able to choose between coronavirus vaccines: Health Minister Gan Kim Yong
The 5.7 million citizens and long-term residents of Singapore eligible for a free Covid-19 vaccination will not be able to choose which shot they take, as this would “unnecessarily complicate the already complex vaccination programme”, the country’s health minister said on Monday.Instead, authorities would allocate the vaccines based on what was available, and what was assessed to be suitable for recipients, based on their medical history and other factors, Minister Gan Kim Yong said.“Anyway,…