USA

Jobless because of SARS, she built a thriving hostel. Now with COVID-19, it’s closing
1Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, Singapore, USA, World

Jobless because of SARS, she built a thriving hostel. Now with COVID-19, it’s closing

Last month, Viji Jagadeesh had only eight guests at Mitraa Inn, not even enough to cover the Internet bill. CNA Insider looks at how hostels like hers could face a wipe-out, in a series on micro SMEs beaten down or changed drastically by the coronavirus pandemic. SINGAPORE: During the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, Viji Jagadeesh lost her job when the accounting firm she was working in struggled with poor business. After being jobless for more than a year, she started a small outfit with 12 beds, offering short-term rental to budget travellers. Three years later, Viji opened hostel Mitraa Inn with 60 beds, riding the low-cost aviation boom which saw a spike in budget travellers in Singapore. Her business flourished and, over the years, became one of the ...
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From marine waste to fashion: A journey of flip-flops and trash heroes from Thailand’s far south
31Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
USA, World

From marine waste to fashion: A journey of flip-flops and trash heroes from Thailand’s far south

PATTANI, Thailand: It was a journey that began five years ago on the islands of Satun, with 100,000 flip-flops and sandals that had been spat out by the sea and washed ashore. It was not known where this debris had come from or how far it had travelled before reaching some of the most beautiful beaches in southern Thailand. It took three months of daily work for all of it to be collected by environmental volunteers in a group called Trash Hero. All of them were crammed into the back of a lorry – a pile of marine trash heading for a new life in Pattani, hundreds of kilometres away. These discarded shoes may have been unwanted before, but someone wanted them now. “I contacted them to ask for some ocean waste we were experimenting with,” said Nattapong Nithi-Uthai, a lecturer at the F...
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Police arrest Thai activist Anon Nampa over rally calling for reform of monarchy
30Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
USA, World

Police arrest Thai activist Anon Nampa over rally calling for reform of monarchy

BANGKOK: Police in Thailand said they had arrested human rights lawyer Anon Nampa for a third time this month on Tuesday (Aug 25), to charge him for sedition over his role in a political rally where calls were made for reforms to the country's powerful monarchy. “The police brought Anon to the station to read him the charges for his protests on Aug 10, and will question him before bringing him to court to file for detention,” Police Lieutenant General Amphol Buarabporn told Reuters. The rights lawyer will be held along with another political activist, Panupong Jadnok, who was arrested on Monday during a protest against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who first seized power in a 2014 coup. Protesters vowed to move ahead with a planned demonstration on Sep 19, the anniversary of a p...
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India-Bangladesh building maritime ties to easily ship goods to NorthEast India
30Aug By Michael SmithNo Comments
USA

India-Bangladesh building maritime ties to easily ship goods to NorthEast India

In order to ship goods from Kolkata to northeastern Indian states, the ‘chicken’s neck’ or the 22-km wide Siliguri corridor is the only land-based connection which can be used.  However, with the strengthening of India’s maritime ties with neighboring Bangladesh, the goods are easily being transported through the Chattogram (Chittagong) Port now.The first trial container ship from Kolkata to Agartala through Chattogram port was launched by the Shipping Minister Mansukh Madaviya on July 16.Termed as a historic move, this sea route will open a new chapter in the India-Bangladesh maritime relations by allowing use of Chattogram and Mongla ports for transit of goods from India.Vineet Kumar, Chairman of Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port in Kolkata calls it the extension of the Look-East policy of the...
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China denounces statement of ‘five eyes’ on Hong Kong as meddling
30Aug By Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, USA, World

China denounces statement of ‘five eyes’ on Hong Kong as meddling

The Chinese embassy in Canada has denounced the five eyes alliance for their statement on Hong Kong government's disqualification of candidates and postponement of Legislative Council elections.On July 9, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States (the five eyes) had said that the disqualification of candidates and postponement of elections have undermined the democratic process that has been fundamental to Hong Kong's stability and prosperity.In a sharp response, the Chinese embassy in Canada, in a statement said, “…the foreign ministers of Canada and other countries made a statement which once again contained irresponsible comments on the Hong Kong affairs and amounted to gross interference in China's domestic affairs. China expresses its strong dissatisfac...
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Free lunch! Bosses lure bankers back where they can see them amid COVID-19
30Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, USA, World

Free lunch! Bosses lure bankers back where they can see them amid COVID-19

LONDON: Investment banks in London are trying to tempt more staff members into the office, laying on free food, Friday night drinks and other perks to lure bankers back where they can pass skills to others - and compliance departments can keep a closer eye on them. Mass remote-working has been largely successful for many financial firms, improving communications and sparing staff from long commutes during a near-global COVID-19 lockdown. But some firms are keen to reunite teams after the hiatus. In public, they tend to cite the importance of building teams, boosting morale and mentoring junior staff. "Relationship building and developing a knowledge base are important for new associates and others, and that's easier in the office," said Ram Nayak, Deutsche Bank's global head of fixe...
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Sericulture in J&K to get boost with new silk weaving factory
28Aug By Mike TrudellNo Comments
Asia, Market, USA

Sericulture in J&K to get boost with new silk weaving factory

In order to give sericulture in Jammu and Kashmir a boost, the government of India has installed new silk weaving and silk filatures factories at Bari Brahmana area of Samba district.Equipped with modern machinery and equipment, the new facilities have been established with project cost of Rs 16.80 crore and Rs 6.64 crore respectively in a record time of two years.The Principal Secretary of Industries and Commerce, Jammu & Kashmir, Manoj Dwivedi said that with the establishment of these units, work ranging from the treatment of cocoons to the production of silk and designing of finished fabrics like sarees, everything can be done at one place from now onwards.The silk filatures and silk weaving factory has already produced 4,60,000 meters of silk fabric and it is estimated that in futu...
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Article 370 abrogation impact: Skill development schemes in Kashmir valley empower women
28Aug By Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, USA

Article 370 abrogation impact: Skill development schemes in Kashmir valley empower women

Since the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, skill development schemes by the government of India have gained momentum in the valley, enabling thousands of youngsters to receive training under them and become independent.Women of Kashmir have especially been empowered and have become self-reliant with these government-backed initiatives.Ufia Jan, who is a programme manager at a skill development center for tailoring and stitching, said the central government schemes have proven to be instrumental in the overall growth of women in the Union Territory.“We have started this skill development center under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana scheme where youngsters from the economically backward sections are given skill training. This is an inclusive training programme and we p...
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Saudi Arabia defers to renew pact to supply oil to Pakistan on deferred payments
26Aug By Michael SmithNo Comments
USA

Saudi Arabia defers to renew pact to supply oil to Pakistan on deferred payments

Saudi Arabia is yet to renew an agreement worth $3.2 billion with Pakistan that allows oil supplies on deferred payments after that pact expired two months back and decision about its renewal remains pending with Riyadh.According to media reports, the $3.2 billion Saudi oil facility was part of the $6.2-billion Saudi Arabian package announced in November 2018 to ease Pakistan’s external sector woes.“Pakistan has already prematurely returned $1 billion Saudi loan - four months ahead of its repayment period. Pakistan could also return $2 billion remaining Saudi cash loan, subject to availability of similar facility from China. The agreement over $3 billion cash support and $3.2 billion oil facility per annum had the provision of renewal for two more years…Saudi Arabia has not provided the oi...
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Timeline: Three years on, a look at the Rohingya crisis
26Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
USA, World

Timeline: Three years on, a look at the Rohingya crisis

DHAKA: This month marks the third anniversary of the fleeing of more than 730,000 Rohingya from Myanmar's Rakhine State to Bangladesh after a military-led crackdown in response to an attack by Muslim militants on Myanmar security posts. Here is a timeline of events in the crisis: Aug 25, 2017 - Muslim insurgents of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attack 30 police posts and an army base in the north of Rakhine State. Aug 26, 2017 - As fighting spreads between the army and ARSA, thousands of Rohingya flee to Bangladesh. Sep 2, 2017 - More than 2,600 houses are razed in Rohingya-majority areas in the week following the Aug 25 attack, the government says. Sep 11, 2017 - The UN human rights high commissioner calls the military operation “a textbook example of ethnic clean...
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