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East Asia
Music, poetry and paintings – Italians, Chinese inspire one another amid traumatic pandemic
By Shan Jie BOLOGNA: While Italy is at its darkest moment in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, many warm-hearted stories often occur, cheering up people here who have been singing on balconies and painting rainbows to look for hope. Elisa Lanari cried when she read an email sent to her workplace,…
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Culture
South Koreans turn to social media challenges to beat coronavirus blues
SEOUL: When YouTuber Ddulgi uploaded a four-minute video on making dalgona coffee on the global video-sharing platform in mid-February, she did not expect it to turn into a mega-hit garnering over 3 million views in less than a month. Amid “social distancing” measures due to COVID-19, more South Koreans are…
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Society
Popular Seoul park to close on virus fears
SEOUL: A park in southeastern Seoul, famous for its picturesque cherry blossom trees, will close until mid-April as part of precautionary measures to contain the new coronavirus. Seokchon Lake Park in Songpa Ward will close from Saturday to April 12, according to a Facebook post written by ward chief Park…
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Politics
Malaysia announces $57.78 billion stimulus package to deal with coronavirus fallout
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia’s government will channel RM25 million to the vulnerable groups through the RM250 billion ($57.78 billion) economic stimulus package announced on Friday by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. The funds are to be channelled towards supporting people and businesses most adversely impacted by the economic disruption from the Covid-19 outbreak…
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Society
South Korea again urges social distancing, strict self-isolation amid steady rise in virus cases
SEOUL: South Korea once again urged people to stay home, avoid mass gatherings over the weekend and comply with self-isolation rules if they returned from abroad, as COVID-19 clusters continued to emerge amid a rise in imported coronavirus cases. The 91 new cases, which were detected Thursday and down from…
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IT-Science
97-year-old woman fully recovers from new coronavirus
Seoul: A 97-year-old South Korean woman infected with the novel coronavirus has fully recovered and been released from quarantine, making her the country’s oldest fully recovered virus patient, officials said Thursday. The patient, from the southeastern city of Cheongdo, returned home after fully recovering from COVID-19. The city is adjacent…
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IT-Science
Malaysia’s King, Queen in self-quarantine after seven staff tested positive for COVID-19
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al Mustafa Billah Shah and Queen Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah are observing a 14-day self-quarantine after seven of Istana Negara staff were tested positive for COVID-19. Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, in a statement, said Their Majesties…
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Business
Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung: We will be providing basic income to all citizens promptly
By Sang-ki Lee Founder of AJA and CEO of Asia N Suwon: South Korea’s Gyeonggi Provincial Government has announced that they will be providing disaster subsidy of about $81 (about 100,000won) per person and $324(400,000won) per household of four people. The “Gyeonggi Province disaster subsidy”, officially announced by the…
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Politics
Only a surge in COVID-19 cases may change Singapore move for elections
By Ivan Lim Former AJA President Contributor to AsiaN Singapore Singapore: Many Singaporeans would agree that the prevalent Corvid-19 pandemic is an inconvenient time, for all intents and purpose, to hold a general election. However, the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) strategists apparently have their own ideas. The government…
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Society
South Korea: New virus cases on downtrend, but imported infections accelerate
Seoul: South Korea’s new virus cases appeared to be steadily decreasing Tuesday, but imported infections saw their biggest one-day increase as the nation enforced quarantines on arrivals from Europe and other regions. The 76 new cases, which were detected Monday and were slightly up from the 64 new cases a…
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