World

Cruise ship crew and hospitality staff are international labour migrants driven by hopes of a better life. COVID-19 has revealed the precarity of their employment, says the Australian National University’s Kathryn Robinson. SYDNEY: The early focus during the COVID-19 outbreak on cruise ships as “petri dishes” of infection has been eclipsed by the enormous economic and health impacts of the pandemic. But early outbreaks on mega cruise ships presaged the global dimensions of the outbreak. The Diamond Princess was quarantined in Yokohama in February 2020 as over 700 of its 3700 passengers were infected and over a dozen died. Subsequently, its sister ship, the Ruby Princess controversially disembarked 2,700 passengers in Sydney in March 2020, seemingly the result of failures in Australi...

Federal mandate could pave the way for private-sector policies Dr. Bruce Y. Lee, professor at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, tells CNBC Make It the Biden announcement is "significant." First, the federal decision provides a sweeping precedent that employers can point to as a reason why they're adopting a similar policy for their own staff right now. Businesses will also have a point of reference for how to handle pushback and employees who may threaten legal action against the requirement. And finally, leaders can learn from the way the federal policy is rolled out and enforced. Working through operational challenges will take time and could be especially difficult for small businesses, Lee says. Employers will have to figure out how to verify their employees' ...

BANGKOK: Customs officials in Thailand made their biggest seizure of heroin this year, about 315kg worth up to 944 million baht (US$29 million), bringing the total confiscated so far this year to 2 tonnes, officials said on Tuesday (Jul 6). They did not say where the drugs originated, but the seizure comes amid concerns that production may surge in neighboring Myanmar, the region’s main supplier of illicit drugs, because of severe instability following the military's ouster of an elected government in February. Customs Department Director-General Patchara Anuntasilpa said 134 shrink-wrapped packets of heroin, each weighing about 2.4kg, had been concealed in a shipment of acrylic paint headed for Australia. He said the drugs were discovered on Monday because the packets of heroin wer...

Indian digital payments firm Paytm expects to launch its initial public offering (IPO) at around the end of October, pending regulatory approvals, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. NEW DELHI: Indian digital payments firm Paytm expects to launch its initial public offering (IPO) at around the end of October, pending regulatory approvals, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. Paytm, which has filed for a 166 billion rupee (US$2.2 billion) IPO that will likely be the largest ever in India, also expects to break even in 18 months, the source said, declining to be named as the matter is not public. Paytm's IPO plan comes at a time when several first-generation homegrown startups in India prepare to go public on domestic bourses, led by food delivery firm Zomat...

PHNOM PENH/HANOI: Buried in a long US indictment accusing China of a global cyberespionage campaign was a curious detail: Among the governments targeted by Chinese hackers was Cambodia, one of Beijing's most loyal Asian allies. The target of the hack, which two sources with knowledge of the indictment said was Cambodia's foreign ministry, was also revealing: discussions between China and Cambodia over the use of the Mekong River, a new battleground for US and Chinese influence in Southeast Asia. Four Chinese nationals - three security officials and a contract hacker - have been charged with attacks aimed at dozens of companies, universities and government agencies in the United States and abroad, the US Justice Department said on Monday. Reaction from the defendants named in the ind...

SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday (Jul 28) announced it would lift dividend restrictions on local banks and finance companies. Last year, the authority asked banks and finance companies to cap their financial year (FY) 2020 dividends per share at 60 per cent of the previous year’s and offer shareholders the option of receiving the remaining dividends to be paid for FY2020 in shares in lieu of cash. “The dividend restrictions were a pre-emptive measure, introduced to ensure that local banks and finance companies maintain strong lending capacity to support the economy throughout the pandemic, given the significant uncertainties at that time,” MAS said in a press release. It added that the global economic outlook has since improved. “While some uncertai...

Five Asian countries are responsible for 80per cent of new coal power plants planned around the world, the Carbon Tracker group said on Wednesday, saying most would prove uneconomical and the new plants would put international climate goals out of reach. LONDON: Five Asian countries are responsible for 80per cent of new coal power plants planned around the world, the Carbon Tracker group said on Wednesday, saying most would prove uneconomical and the new plants would put international climate goals out of reach. China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam plan to build more than 600 new coal-fired power projects, with a combined capacity of more than 300 gigawatts. Coal use has declined in Europe, the United States and elsewhere, with governments under pressure to cut carbon emission...

The Malaysian government has limited fiscal space for COVID-19 relief, after running budget deficits for over 20 years, says a researcher. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia continues to grapple with its growing second wave of COVID-19. The country of 32 million people has now exceeded 995,000 infections and 7,900 deaths since the start of the pandemic. In early June, the number of infections increased by more than 7,000 in a single day, rising to over 10,000 daily cases in July. For a country in political crisis, the poor state of public health has had inevitable economic consequences. In May 2020, unemployment rose by 5.3 per cent after the first lockdown in March 2020 had a severe impact on Malaysia’s economy. The economy picked up as the year progressed – by January, the unemployment rate ...

The art of lying flat – or “tang ping” – has fired up discussion boards and social media platforms and spooked the Chinese establishment. But embracing this change in thinking can light a new way forward for the country, says William Wan. SINGAPORE: In his speech at the Chinese Communist Party's grand centennial anniversary celebrations on Jul 1, President Xi Jinping called on Chinese citizens to “be prepared to work harder than ever before” to realise the goal of national rejuvenation. He optimistically declared that “the future belongs to the young people, and our hopes also rest with them.” But if you look at what’s going on in the minds of China’s youths today, Xi’s vision might not go down so easy. Instead of working harder than ever before, there is a growing youth counter-cul...

related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) is expanding its wastewater surveillance programme to cover more than 400 sites by next year, the agency announced on Thursday (Jul 8). Wastewater testing is a "non-intrusive" way to detect COVID-19 transmission in a community and supports the monitoring and management of the coronavirus, NEA said. Since February last year, more than 200 sites have been placed under surveillance, including workers' dormitories, student hostels, welfare and nursing homes, as well as residential sites. In a pilot programme launched last year, wastewater testing was used to support the monitorin...