Channel NewsAsia Hong Kong (CNA): Hong Kong riot police fired pepper pellets to disperse protesters in the heart of the global financial centre today (May 27) and arrested 300 people as new national security laws proposed by Beijing revived anti-government demonstrations. Police also surrounded the Legislative Council where a bill was due to be debated
World news
Xi urges preparedness for military combat amid coronavirus epidemic
Reuters and published by Msn.com Beijing (Reuters) – President Xi Jinping said today (26.5.2020) China would step up its preparedness for armed combat and improve its ability to carry out military tasks as the coronavirus pandemic is having a profound impact on national security, state television reported. China’s performance in fighting the new coronavirus has
Read moreIndian media report Chinese military build-up along the Himalayan border
THE border tensions between China and India have escalated once again, after hundreds of Chinese troops crossed into Indian territory. Soldiers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) breached the Indian border at multiple locations in the northern Himalayan region of Ladakh, Legal Insurrection news website quoted Indian media as saying on Saturday, May 23,
Read moreTear gas fired, arrests made as thousands protest in Hong Kong
Reuters and published by The Hindu HONG KONG police fired tear gas and pepper spray to disperse thousands protesting today (24.5.2020) against ‘plan to directly impose national security laws on the city, the biggest flare-up in the city since Covid-19 lockdowns began. Crowds thronged the bustling shopping district of Causeway Bay, where protesters chanted, “Revolution
Read moreCoronavirus ‘immunity passports’ are a terrible idea that could backfire, experts warn
By Faith Karimi, CNN (CNN) – Some governments are considering using a blood test to determine whether people can return to work, school and other public activities during the coronavirus pandemic. Lack of certain antibodies would mean you don’t have an “immunity passport” and are therefore not allowed to venture out in public. Those who
Read moreDeath and destruction after cyclone hits India, Bangladesh
By Sheikh Saaliq and Julhas Alam, Associated Press New Delhi — Wide swathes of the coasts of India and Bangladesh were flooded and millions of people remained without power today (21.5.2020), after the most powerful cyclone to hit the region in more than decade left dozens dead and a trail of destruction. In the Indian
Read moreTravellers allowed to transit through Changi Airport from June 2
(ChannelNewsAsia) Singapore: Singapore will gradually allow travellers to transit through Changi Airport from June 2, as it prepares to ease some Covid-19 restrictions and reopen its borders. “Stringent measures” will be put in place to ensure that the passengers remain in designated facilities in the transit area and do not mix with other passengers at
Read moreAdopt a grandparent: Young help the old in Bolivian pandemic
By Paola Flores, Associated Press, published by ABC News La Paz, Bolivia — Sergio Royela lived far from his parents in Bolivia and was concerned how they were faring in the quarantine imposed by interim President Jeanine Áñez to stop the spread of the coronavirus. “So, I looked for a neighbour to help me and
Read moreGreeks return to beaches in heatwave, but keep their umbrellas apart
By Reuters, published by ChannelNewsAsia Athens: Greeks flocked to the seaside on Saturday (May 16) when more than 500 beaches reopened, as the country sought to walk the fine line between protecting people from Covid-19 while reviving the tourism sector that many depend on for their livelihoods. For many people, it was their first foray
Read moreBamboo shortage forces Canada to send two giant pandas back to China
By Phoebe Zhang in Shenzhen, South China Morning Post A CANADIAN zoo has decided to send two adult giant pandas back to China because the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted essential deliveries of fresh bamboo. The Calgary Zoo said it previously had bamboo flown in from China directly, but flight cancellations had “removed this option”. “The
Read moreChinese helicopters spotted in Eastern Ladakh along India-China border: Sources
PTI published by Deccan Chronicle New Delhi: Chinese helicopters were spotted flying close to the undemarcated border between India and China in Eastern Ladakh after around 250 soldiers of both sides were engaged in a fierce face-off near Pangong Lake in the area last week, official sources said. The situation in the area remained tense
Read moreIndia, China skirmishes in Ladakh, Sikkim; many hurt
By Ajay Banerjee, Tribune News Service TROOPS of nuclear-armed India and China have clashed in eastern Ladakh and north Sikkim along the un-demarcated and disputed frontier between the two neighbours, leaving many injured on both sides. Details are emerging of the ongoing development in eastern Ladakh, which is much bigger in scale and has wider
Read moreBarack Obama lashes out at President Trump
The Associated Press, published by Denver Post Washington — Former US President Barack Obama harshly criticized President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as an “absolute chaotic disaster” during a conversation with ex-members of his administration, according to a recording obtained by Yahoo News. Obama also reacted to the Justice Department dropping its criminal
Read moreWhite House defends coronavirus safety measures as Pence aide falls ill
(ChannelNewsAsia) Washington: US Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, the wife of one of President Donald Trump’s senior advisors, has tested positive for the coronavirus, raising alarm about the virus’ potential spread within the White House’s inner most circle. The diagnosis of Katie Miller, who is married to White House immigration adviser Stephen Miller, was
Read moreWuhan market had role in virus outbreak, but more research needed: WHO
Reuters published by ChannelNewsAsia GENEVA: A wholesale market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan played a role in the outbreak of the novel coronavirus last year, as the source or possibly as an “amplifying setting”, the World Health Organization said on Friday (May 8), calling for more research. Chinese authorities shut down the market
Read moreBlood thinners may help patients with severe Covid-19 infections, study finds
By Maggie Fox, CNN (CNN) – Blood thinning drugs could help save some patients who are the most severely affected by the new coronavirus, doctors reported on Wednesday. The findings from a team at Mount Sinai Hospital could help with a troubling problem that has shocked and horrified doctors treating coronavirus patients around the world
Read moreEuropean Union backs international inquiry into origins of coronavirus outbreak
By Stuart Lau, South China Morning Post THE European Union has called for a worldwide investigation into the origins and spread of Covid-19 in a move its foreign policy chief described as “standing aside from the battlefield between China and the US”. The EU said the bloc and its 27 member states would co-sponsor a
Read moreReport warns Beijing faces Tiananmen-like global backlash over virus
By Reuters and published by Daily Mail BEIJING could face a rising wave of hostility in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that could tip relations with the United States into “armed confrontation”, an internal Chinese report has warned. The report, presented early last month by the Ministry of State Security to top Beijing leaders
Read moreIndia to start mass production of Oxford vaccine
A LEADING candidate for a Covid-19 vaccine has shown promising results in animal trials, and is expected to see mass production in India within months, a Reuters report published by South China Morning Post said today (29.4.2020) The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest maker of vaccines by volume, said on Tuesday that it
Read moreCoronavirus pandemic will cause global famines of ‘biblical proportions,’ UN warns
By Rob Picheta, CNN Updated 0956 GMT (1756 HKT) April 22, 2020 London (CNN)The world is facing multiple famines of “biblical proportions” in just a matter of months, the UN has said, warning that the coronavirus pandemic will push an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation. Famines could take hold in “about three dozen
Read more