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Business
Prime minister praises Mongolians’ resilience, announces MNT 5.1 trillion plan to combat COVID-19
By Tuul Chuluunbaatar ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA: After an extraordinary meeting of the Government of Mongolia, Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh made a statement on the measures to be taken by the Government to support the economy in connection with the transition to a higher level of preparedness throughout the country amid the…
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Business
Satanic Viruses
By Ashraf Aboul-Yazid President of Asia Journalists Association (AJA) CAIRO: As the whole world is combating coronavirus, the destructive virus of modern times, Egyptians, both authorities and people, are persuading themselves that they are in fact fighting more than that one specific virus! The first virus the Egyptian government faces…
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Politics
Kopi-tiam pundits hedge bets on Singapore polls outcome
By Ivan Lim Former AJA President, Contributor to AsiaN SINGAPORE: The kopi-tiam, Singapore’s well-known name for the coffee shop, is the go-to place in the city-state to get your latest update on engrossing political gossip. Freshly brewed events come alive, with arm-chair critics holding forth, in between sips of kopi-O…
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Society
Bahrain using tracker bracelets to geofence self-isolating individuals
By Habib Toumi Manama: Bahrain is leveraging technology to ensure that people under compulsory home quarantines do not move away from the confines of their homes. Electronic tracker wristbands that alert authorities to rogue escapees have been rolled out by the island kingdom as it seeks to curb the spread…
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Society
No Ramadan bazaars in several states across Malaysia this year
KOTA KINABALU: The government of Sabah, the second largest of the 13 states of Malaysia, will not hold the traditional Ramadan bazaars this year in additional efforts to curb the COVID-19 outbreak. It is likely to join several other Malaysian states, including Kedah, Selangor, Terengganu and Melaka,that earlier this week have…
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Politics
35 million South Koreans to benefit from ‘disaster relief money’ for households
SEOUL: The South Korean government will grant “emergency disaster relief money” to a majority of the country’s households in a one-off stimulus program to help with the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis, President Moon Jae-in said Monday. He also unveiled a plan to seek another supplementary budget during a…
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Politics
South Korea’s culture minister vows utmost help to revive coronavirus-hit arts, tourism
SEOUL: South Korean Culture Minister Park Yang-woo has vowed utmost efforts to help the recovery of the country’s arts, sports and tourism sectors, among the worst hit areas in the COVID-19 pandemic. “The sectors that are getting a particularly acute impact from COVID-19 are culture, sports and tourism. The…
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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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