• Society

    Seoul cancels year-end bell-ringing ceremony for first time in 67 years

      SEOUL: The Seoul metropolitan government said that a traditional bell-ringing ceremony at midnight on New Year’s Eve would be canceled amid a recent surge in novel coronavirus infections. “Considering the rapid spread of COVID-19, we have to cancel the year-end bell-ringing ceremony,” said an official from the municipal government…

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  • Society

    Bahrain becomes second country in the world to approve use of Pfizer vaccine

    MANAMA: Bahrain’s approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has made it the second country in the world to grant an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for the vaccine. The confirmation of approval by the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) followed thorough analysis and review undertaken by the authority of all available…

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  • Culture

    Memorial to victims of forced sex work in WWII may remain in Berlin district

    BERLIN: A Berlin district council has passed a resolution seeking to keep a statue of a girl symbolizing the victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery permanently installed at a public site, officials and reports said Wednesday. The resolution, approved by a majority vote at Berlin’s Mitte district parliament, calls for…

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  • Society

    Vietnam suspends international flights following new COVID-19 wave threats

    By Lan Phong Head of World News, Dantri Online Newspaper, Vietnam HANOI: Vietnam has had to suspend all incoming commercial flights after a series of new COVID-19 infection cases were reported in Ho Chi Minh, the country’s second biggest city. The decision was made by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc…

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  • People

    Malaysia: Noraseela first woman president at Malaysian Olympians Association

    KUALA LUMPUR: Former national hurdler Noraseela Mohd Khalid has become the first woman to helm the Malaysian Olympians Association (MOA). The association, in a statement today, announced the historic news, saying that Noraseela was appointed alongside seven others as MOA’s 2020-2022 term office-bearers without voting as their nominations were not…

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  • South Asia

    Second wave of Covid-19 grips Pakistan

    By Nasir Aijaz The AsiaN Representative  Islamabad: The second wave of novel coronavirus has gripped Pakistan, compelling the government to again close down the educational institutions, impose a ban on visiting the shrines, curtail the business timings and strike ‘smart lockdown’ in specific areas identified as hubs of the pandemic.…

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  • Society

    UNICEF working with more than 350 partners to deliver COVID-19 vaccines

    NEW YORK: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is working with major global airlines and freight providers to step up efforts to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to over 92 countries around the world as soon as vaccines become available. To kickstart preparations, UNICEF together with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)…

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  • Society

    Optimism over Covid- 19 vaccine, but WHO sounds note of caution  

    By Ivan Lim Former AJA President, Contributor to AsiaN SINGAPORE: Amid the continuing dread caused by the coronavirus pandemic, two American drug-makers, Pfizerand Moderna,  have announced that their experimental vaccines are more than 90 per cent effective, bringing a glimmer of hope in a gloomy world that an antidote is…

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  • Society

    The importance of overcoming COVID-19 anxiety

    Dr. Rasha Abdelrahman, Head of psychology Department, Ajman University -UAE AJMAN: Doubtless, COVID-19 pandemic is considered a global health emergency, the unpredictable, fast-spreading cause of multiple serious socioeconomic and psychological impacts. Researches and media reports have pointed to the universal anxiety and distress. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has underlined…

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  • Society

    Time for scientists to speak up and be heard

    By Crispin Maslog ‘Science communication, however, is not a one-way street. The public, on the other hand, should start taking science and scientists seriously.’ MANILA: Science and scientists are being viewed more positively by people across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the US, and other regions and countries as the COVID-19 pandemic…

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