26 May 2020; AFP: Singapore's embattled economy could shrink by as much as seven percent this year, which would be the worst reading since independence, with the government saying Tuesday the coronavirus pandemic had throttled the key export sector.
The city-state is seen as a bellwether of the global economy and the historic contraction highlights the extreme pain being wrought on countries by the killer disease.
SEOUL (Reuters) - Both North and South Korea violated the armistice agreement that governs their shared border when their troops exchanged gunfire on May 3, the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) said on Tuesday.
A multinational UNC special investigation team concluded that troops from both sides had violated the agreement, which has been in place since the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee was questioned on Tuesday by prosecutors about a controversial 2015 merger and alleged accounting fraud that they said may have helped him advance his succession-planning agenda at the country’s top conglomerate.
The questioning brings fresh legal trouble for Lee who is already facing court trial over a charge of bribery aimed at winning support to succeed ailing group patriarch Lee Kun-hee, and which involved former South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
TOKYO, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday lifted the COVID-19 state of emergency in the five remaining prefectures still under restrictions, including Tokyo, as the spread of the virus has largely been brought under control.
"Today the government will lift the state of emergency across the nation. We've set some of the most strict criteria in the world to lift the declaration, and we concluded that prefectures across the country have met that standard," the Japanese leader told a press conference.
BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- To introduce national security legislation for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is an important endeavor to safeguard national security and ensure the long-term stability and prosperity of Hong Kong, overseas experts have said.
A draft decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security is under deliberation at the third session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC).
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader said Tuesday that national security legislation proposed by China’s legislature will not threaten the semi-autonomous territory’s civil rights, despite widespread criticism of the move as an encroachment on freedom of speech and assembly.
The city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, told reporters that there was “no need for us to worry” over the move being considered by China’s ceremonial National People’s Congress.
BANGKOK (AP) — The risks of reigniting coronavirus outbreaks are complicating efforts to fend off further misery for the many millions who have lost jobs, with a top health expert warning that the world is still in the midst of a “first wave” of the pandemic.
“Right now, we’re not in the second wave. We’re right in the middle of the first wave globally,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, a World Health Organization executive director.
BANGKOK, May 26 (NNN-TNA) – Thai COVID-19 vaccine research team said, it will be recruiting human beings for vaccine trials later this year, following an ongoing three-month test on monkeys.
“We injected the vaccine into 13 long-tailed macaques on Saturday. The animal testing will take three months and results are expected by the end of Aug,” said Dr. Kiat Rakrungtham, director of the Chulalongkorn University’s Vaccine Research and Development Centre.
BEIJING (AP) — China demand Monday that Washington withdraw export sanctions imposed on Chinese companies in the latest round of a worsening conflict over technology, security and human rights.
The foreign ministry accused the Trump administration of interfering in China’s affairs by adding eight companies accused of playing roles in a crackdown in its Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang to an export blacklist.
25 May 2020; AFP: Europeans flocked to parks, gyms and pools Monday as more countries eased coronavirus restrictions, while Japan lifted its state of emergency but urged vigilance to avoid another wave of infections.
However the virus, which has now infected more than 5.4 million people worldwide and killed almost 350,000, continued its rampage across Latin America, sparking a US travel ban for people coming from Brazil.
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